Epilepsy is a seizure disorder that is usually diagnosed after two or more seizures. Fear of having a seizure can keep epilepsy sufferers from enjoying their daily lives. Dr. Loveneet Singh, Director of Neurology and Director of Neurodiagnostics at Community Regional Medical Center is helping valley patients who suffer from epilepsy control their seizures.
A seizure happens when there is a sudden surge of electrical activity to an area of the brain. The location of the seizure in the patient’s brain determines what behaviors the seizure sufferer will exhibit. Seizures can include:
- Chewing movements
- Convulsion
- Difficulty talking
- Drooling
- Eyelid fluttering
- Eyes rolling up
- Falling down
- Foot stomping
- Had waving
- Inability to move
- Incontinence
- Lip smacking
- Making sounds
- Shaking
- Starting
- Stiffening
- Swallowing
- Sweating
- Teeth clenching/grinding
- Tongue biting
- Tremors
- Twitching movements
- Breathing difficulty
- Heart racing
Treatment of epilepsy starts with a full neurodiagnostic of the patient, according to Singh. Diagnosing epilepsy can include: patient history, physical exam, an EEG (a tests that looks at brain waves), an MRI (a test that looks at the structure of the brain) and a long term video monitoring study.
Treatments can include medication and sometimes surgery.
For more information about epilepsy, visit these web sites:
www.epilepsyfoundation.org
www.cureepilepsy.org
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