Epilepsy Talk
Zinc Can Help You Think!
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Researchers at Duke University Medical Center, published the results of a collaboration with a Massachusetts Institute of Technology research study, which found that zinc plays a key role in signal transmission between neurons in the hippocampus — a zinc enriched region of the brain responsible for learning and memory — and where disrupted communication may contribute to epilepsy.
Tags: AEDS, communication, epilepsy treatment, memory, neurons, recommended dose, zinc, zinc supplements
Anti-Epilepsy Drugs and Their Side-Effects…
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For people with epilepsy, Anti Epilepsy Drugs (AEDs) are the most common method used to control seizures. Although there are more than 40 different types of epilepsy, the right medication or combination of medications can usually control seizures. However 30% of people are drug resistant, owing to either their gene factors or biological makeup.
The most important consideration in your treatment is identifying the exact type of epilepsy you have, therefore you may want to consult more than one doctor.
Medications prescribed will also depend on factors such as which side-effects you can actually tolerate, other illnesses you may have, and how the drug should be taken.
It may take several months before the best drug and dosage are determined for you. After all, medicine is more of an art than a science. And finding the right combination can literally be a crap shoot. I know for me and many others, it took many months to get it “right.”
Tags: AEDS, complications, follow-up, seizure control, side effects
Suicide and Epilepsy
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“There is an underlying joint susceptibility to suicide attempts and epilepsy, and it can’t be ignored, because epilepsy in general is more than just seizures,” Dr. Dale Hesdorffer of Columbia University in New York City, told Reuters Health in a telephone interview.
Epilepsy Medication Conflicts…
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Common wisdom is that it’s best to take one anti-seizure medication. But for many of us, monotherapy just doesn’t work. However adjunct therapy has its dangers. And both treatments carry their own interactive risks – even with things as innocent as aspirin.
For example, some seizure medicines can lower or raise the levels of other types of medicines in your blood. Some combinations cause the levels of both medications to fall. Some cause one level to fall and one level to rise. And some cause unpredictable side- effects…
So I hunkered down to discover the unhappy marriages between anti-seizure meds. I’m sure there are many more, but it’s a start. And more than I knew before embarking on this research. Here’s what I discovered…
Tags: AEDS, drug interaction, Epilepsy, risks, side effects, unpredictable
If You’re Thinking Of Getting Pregnant…
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Years ago, women who had epilepsy were often discouraged from getting pregnant. Today, that’s no longer the case. Thanks to early and regular prenatal care, more than 90 percent of pregnant women who have epilepsy deliver healthy babies, according to the Epilepsy Foundation.
Tags: AEDS, breastfeeding, Epilepsy, Folic Acid, magnesium sulfate, Neurologist, obstetrician, pre-natal care, pregnancy, safety, seizures, single medication, Tips, Vitamin K
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