Tracking Seizures

 

Knowing what happens during a seizure and how often they occur are two of the most important seizure details. Keeping track of seizures can help:

  • Seizures can look and feel different from one person to the next.
  • A first-person report of what is going on will help the doctor tell if the events are seizures or not. And figure out what kind of seizure it is.
  • Knowing the seizure type will help you and your family know: how to respond to a seizure, what to be concerned about, what NOT to worry about, and when to get emergency help.
  • Not all seizure medicines work for all types of seizures. Some are better for focal seizures than for generalized ones or in people with a specific epilepsy syndrome.
  • Knowing the seizure type will help everyone decide which medicine or treatment to try.
  • Track if seizures happen less often or have changed after a new medicine or treatment is started.
  • If seizures continue or get worse, this information will also help you and your team decide when to try a different treatment.
  • Tracking side effects of medicines on seizure calendars can help you and your doctor know how you are tolerating the drug.
  • See if side effects get better over time or go away when a dose is changed.
  • If side effects don't go away, it’s one more piece of information to use when deciding if other treatments should be tried.
  • Writing down when seizures occur and what happened around that time helps you recognize possible triggers.
  • You may notice a pattern, such as seizures that occur only at a specific time of day.
  • Or you can see if certain factors occur around the time of your seizures, such as not sleeping well, sick with fever or illness, stress or missing medicines.
  • Use this information to make changes and help you get better seizure control.

Authored By:

Steven C. Schachter MD

on Sunday, August 11, 2013
on Friday, August 20, 2021

Resources

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