What kind of treatment is available for epilepsy in addition to medication?
Many individuals feel the way you do, after they have taken antiepileptic medications for a number of years. Unfortunately, often antiepileptic medications have side effects that impact on quality of life, whether or not seizures are controlled. It has been estimated that up to 50 percent of individuals experience chronic side effects from their seizure medications. Yet, antiepileptic medications remain the mainstay of therapy for epilepsy. Several nonpharmacologic options do exist. One of these is vagus nerve stimulation therapy, which consists of an implantable device like a pacemaker. The device is connected to a nerve in the neck. It stimulates the nerve every five minutes, and in addition a magnet is provided, which can be used to stop a seizure, if there is some kind of warning. The VNS does not work for everyone. It provides substantial seizure relief to approximately one third of patients who try it. However, antiepileptic medications can rarely be stopped , even if the VNS has
