Tip Sheet: Successful Epilepsy Treatment
What can you do to improve your epilepsy treatment? Plenty. WebMD asked
epilepsy experts for their advice.
Take an active role. You need to be more than a patient.
Be an active participant in your health care. Learn about epilepsy and its
treatments. Know the names and doses of your medicines. Ask your
health care provider questions.
Take your medicine as prescribed. Your medicine won’t help
if you don’t take it. If you have trouble remembering, buy a pillbox with
spaces for each dose. Use alarms on your watch, cell phone, or computer to
remind you. Ask your doctor if you should take any precautions, such as taking
your pills with or without food, or in the morning or at night.
Don’t run low on your medication. Get in the habit of
requesting drug refills several days before you’ll run out.
Store your medicines safely. Keep all medicines safely
away from young children and pets. Don’t keep your medicines in direct sunlight
or in humid places, such as bathrooms.
Be careful when starting a new medicine. Take precautions,
since you don’t know how a new medicine will affect you. Don’t drive until
you’re comfortable with the drug’s effects.
Take care of yourself. “Living a healthy life is
important too,” says John M. Pellock, MD, spokesman for the American
Epilepsy Society and chairman of child neurology at Virginia Commonwealth
University. “Get enough sleep and stay healthy. Women should be on folic
acid and vitamins.” Also, ask your doctor if it’s safe to drink alcohol
when using your medicines.
Know what to do when you miss a dose. Everyone will forget
a dose from time to time. But make sure you know what to do. Do not double-up
on a dose unless your health care provider specifically tells you to.
Be honest with your doctor. Don’t lie about missing doses.
If you’re not taking your medicine and your health care provider doesn’t
realize it, he or she might increase the dose. That could lead to side effects.
Also, tell your doctor about other drugs, vitamins, and supplements you
take.Drug interactions are a
concern when you are taking an epilepsy medication.
Ask about side effects. Your doctor may recommend that you
try to treat the side effects of some medicines. For instance, Orrin Devinsky,
MD, director of the New York University Epilepsy Center, recommends that people
who are using medicines that cause osteoporosis — like Dilantin,
phenobarbital, Depakote, and Tegretol — take supplements of calcium and
vitamin D to help counteract the effects.
Don’t stop taking your medicine without your doctor’s
permission. Stopping medication — especially if you do it suddenly –
is likely to lead to more seizures. Never stop taking your medicine without
your healthcare provider’s approval.
“If someone stops taking a medication because of side effects and has a
seizure, that can be a lot worse than any side effects,” says Pellock.
“Recurrent seizures can damage the brain, so it’s very important to keep
them under control.”
Don’t give up. Finding the right medication can take some
time. You might need to try a few different drugs at different doses. They
might take time to work. But if you keep at it, you’ll probably find a drug
that works for you.
