Informative Essay On Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a disease that can transform a person’s life forever. It can affect all aspects of day to day living that many people take for granted. Many who have epilepsy experience the stigma and misconception of this disorder even when dealing with the medical community. As a person living with Epilepsy, I have experienced this first hand. 65 million people around the world have epilepsy and 1 in 12 people in the United States have epilepsy.. “Epilepsy is a chronic disorder, the hallmark of which is resurrect, unprovoked seizures.”(www.epilepsy.com) Medical professionals diagnose epilepsy through various medical tests which include an EEG or an Electroencephalogram, and take an in depth look the patient’s family history to fig and life events
The type, duration, and severity of seizures vary. Treatment plans for epileptics differs by the type of epilepsy a person has and the seizures caused by it. Even the medical care, one-third of people who have epilepsy continue to have seizures because no treatment will control their seizures. This is called refractory epilepsy. Others obtain full or partial control. As medical discoveries are made and new treatments are available, there is hope within the epilepsy community that many who suffer from this disease will no longer be limited by this medical condition. Epilepsy became part of my life at a young age. It effected my life physically and emotionally and took a toll on my family and the people I consider myself closet to. This essay will go through the following topics: a brief explanation of epilepsy, my life through epilepsy, the effects on the individual with epilepsy, and their caregiver, and medicines and surgery that can help relive
Lamictal or Lamotrigine is a medicine that can either be used alone or together with various other medicines. This medicine cannot cure epilepsy along with every other medicine, but can be used to control seizures as long as you continue to take it. The side effects can include sleepiness, rash, feeling depressed, unusual bleeding, and others. (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) Zonegran or Zonisamide is another seizure medicine that can assist with control seizures. Some side effects include skin rash, hives, difficulty breathing, swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. (www.rxlist.com) A controversial drug that is still being tested is medical marijuana. Medical marijuana uses the whole, unprocessed marijuana plant or its basic extracts to treat a disease or symptoms. The FDA has not recognized or approved the marijuana plant as medicine. (www.drugabuse.gov) There have been reports with people with uncontrolled seizures who have used this type of treatment, and have received beneficial effects and reduced seizure activity with the CBD oil. (www.epilepsycolorado.org) A surgery called the Vegas Nerve Stimulation (VNS) . The VNS sends regular, mild pulses of electrical energy to the brain via the vagus nerve, through a device that is similar to a pacemaker. Patients cannot generally feel the pulses. This surgery is limited to individuals with