Dr. Jeffrey Bigelow at IMC in Murray Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY A variety of medications are available to help epilepsy patients manage seizures, however, some cannot tolerate the side effects and others are not responsive to medications at all, requiring surgical treatment.
The key, said Dr. Jeffrey Bigelow, a neurologist and epileptologist at the Intermountain Medical Center's Epilepsy Clinic, is to see a doctor regularly and get on the right dose of a medication.
"A lot of patients take seizure medications and have absolutely no side effects," he said, adding that older medications tend to have more side effects than newer ones. Bigelow said roughly 25 percent of patients with epilepsy struggle to manage their seizures, with or without medication.
Bigelow and Jody Anderson, a nurse practitioner at the clinic, were on hand to answer dozens of questions from readers during Saturday's Deseret News/Intermountain Healthcare Health Hotline on epilepsy.
Patients who are not responsive to medication can resort to surgical treatment methods, including insertion of a vagal nerve stimulator, or brain surgery to remove the affected portion of the brain that is causing seizures.
While death is not a common result of seizures, Bigelow said patients should be aware of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy, which affects less than 1 percent of patients. Those at highest risk are individuals suffering from uncontrolled convulsive seizures, typically someone not taking any medications for seizure control.
It remains unknown what causes SUDEP, but Bigelow said a common medical belief is that if abnormal electrical activity exists in the brain, it may also be present in the heart, causing it to stop suddenly, resulting in death. With so few cases, he said the condition is hard to research.
"Patients should be aware of it," he said. "They should not live in fear of it, but hopefully it motivates them to get the treatment they need."
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Doctors offer a variety of solutions for epilepsy patients