Epilepsy: A frightening disease that can happen to anyone - St. Mary's Hospital treatment review

What do you think about epilepsy? I will share the timing and moments when epilepsy symptoms appear, as well as the causes, diagnosis, and treatment experiences. Now, let's get started.

It can be considered a brain disorder. Brain nerve cells temporarily malfunction, causing sudden loss of consciousness, seizures, and agitation.

To put it simply, our brain moves and acts through certain stimulus signals. Just like a remote control makes a robot or toy car move, this is a signal, meaning the control was correct, but if the stimulus isn't properly transmitted, it can cause malfunction. In other words, you can think of it as the signal not being properly delivered.

So why does epilepsy occur? It can result from complications during childbirth, nutritional deficiencies due to nutritional imbalances, head trauma, toxic substances, brain infections, brain injuries, tumors, strokes, degenerative brain changes, and various other forms. The occurrence of epilepsy varies depending on age. In my case, it is called idiopathic, and it mainly occurs in young adults.

Most symptoms are primarily behavioral seizures. Some individuals have generalized seizures that cause the entire body to convulse, while others experience seizures affecting only one arm. These are called motor seizures. People showing signs of epilepsy may temporarily collapse and forget what happened. They may become dazed, foam at the mouth, lose consciousness, experience full-body convulsions, collapse, and fall down.

So, lightly, only my eyebrows move, or I have a full-body seizure with a grand mal seizure. Fortunately, I only move my eyebrows.

I visited the hospital to get diagnosed. I need to accurately tell the doctor how often I experience epileptic seizures, whether I remember during the seizures, and the severity of my behavioral seizures. I also need to mention the duration of the seizures. Since these symptoms originate from various parts of the brain, many tests are conducted, including EEG, MRI, PET scans, and more—it's not just one or two tests.

Treatment methods are generally divided into medication and surgery. I don't think surgery is necessary. Most epilepsy patients usually undergo medication treatment. Some need to take medication for a long time, and if they stop, seizure symptoms may reappear. This varies from patient to patient. I was able to receive early treatment, so I only took medication. If medication treatment is not effective, surgery may be necessary. Usually, anti-epileptic drugs are prescribed, and the doctor will discuss with the patient based on their condition. The appropriate dosage and timing of medication should be followed. Initially, a small dose is taken and gradually increased. Fortunately, I was fine with a small dose. Epilepsy can improve if you actively and voluntarily pursue treatment.