Epilepsy Drugs and Treatment

Epilepsy Drugs and Treatment
By Ryan Block

The most common way to treat epilepsy is to prescribe anti-epileptic drugs. The first antiepileptic drugs were bromides, bromides were introduced by Sir Charles Locock in 1857.

He observed that bromides had a sedative effect and seemed to reduce seizures. More than 20 different antiepileptic drugs are currently available, all with different benefits and draw backs including side effects.

The choice of which drug you take, and at what dosage, depends on a lot of factors, some factors are the type of seizures you have, your age, current health, and how often you have seizures.

People with epilepsy should do what their doctor prescribes and ask any questions about their epilepsy drugs that they may have.

Doctors seeing a patient who was just diagnoised with epilepsy are often prescribed carbamazepine, valproate, lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, or phenytoin first, unless the epilepsy is a type that requires different treatment.

For absence seizures, ethosuximide is often the best treatment. Other commonly prescribed drugs include clonazepam, phenobarbital, and primidone.

Some relatively new epilepsy drugs include tiagabine, gabapentin, topiramate, levetiracetam, and felbamate. Other drugs can be used in combination with one of the standard drugs or for intractable seizures that do not respond to other medications.

A few drugs, like fosphenytoin, have been approved for use only in hospitals to treat specific problems such as epilepticus.

For people who have frequent severe seizures that can be easily recognized by the person's family, the drug diazepam is now available as a gel that can be administered rectally.

This method of drug delivery may be able to prevent epilepticus.

For most people with epilepsy, seizures can be controlled with one drug. Combining medications usually amplifies negative side effects such as fatigue and decreases appetite, so doctors usually prescribe only one epilepsy drug, Combinations of drugs are sometimes prescribed if one drug fails to effectively control your seizures.

source : http://ezinearticles.com/?Epilepsy-Drugs-and-Treatment&id=1550655