A 12 year old girl has seizures nearly every day, often times at night. She has dark rings under her eyes, but not from medications, but from lack of sleep. She hasn't been on medications for epilepsy for some time now, although she might go back in the future. She started having seizures from 2 weeks before she was born in the womb, and they have continued until today. Her seizures are known as "tonic-clonic (what used to be referred to as grand mal.) At 6 months of age she went on phenobarbital, a sedative medication for epilepsy.

Some 50 million people are estimated to have epilepsy worldwide. In the US, the number is put at 2.7 million, approximately 1.3 million of these are children. Phenobarbital is a barbiturate used to treat and prevent seizures, to treat sleep disorders, to treat anxiety, and to relieve anxiety before surgery. It may also be used to treat other conditions as determined by your doctor. The reason why this 12 year old is not on medications despite her seizures is the side effects. The side effects of phenobarbital and Depakote, an anticonvulsant that she used to take regularly are intolerable.

They are so sedating that learning, cognitive functions is next to impossible. At the age of six she began taking two anticonvulsants, Depakote and Topamax every day. The medications made her so sleepy that her mother gradually weaned her off them. Afterwards she started talking and reading for the first time. She hadn't spoken in full sentences until 6 years old.

The highly sedating Depakote is also a common medicine used in treating bipolar disorder and other serious disorders. The little girl went on what is known as the "ketogenic diet," which is that of vast quantities of fats, and almost no carbohydrates. In close to 2 years she had only 2 seizures. However, in time, she had a few more seizures and finally started having one or two each month. She almost drowned once when swimming.

She had implanted what is known as a "vagus nerve stimulator", but it only made her have seizures more often, so it was turned off. Since that time she has had daily seizures. The mother commented that "throughout the years, we've had to find things out for ourselves." No one told her about possibilities in speech therapy, other therapies and services available for children with epilepsy.

The little girl takes dance lessons, piano lessons and goes to school regularly. Her mother works hard for her. She takes swimming and gymnastics. Her decision not to give medications to her daughter at the present time, is a most difficult one for her. The reason is that off the medications, her daughter can live normally, think, learn, play, on the medications, she has less in the way of seizures, but her life is on hold because of its heavily sedating side effects.

The side effects of medication are "almost as disabling as seizures themselves." Some have chose brain surgery to control localized seizures. (This is not an option for seizures that effect the entire brain.) But it is the most drastic form of treatment that could be made. The decision to medicate or not is a difficult choice that parents face, one that is recognized empathetically and compassionately by all of us who care. Comprehensive Epilepsy Centers is a hospital system that specialize in treating epilepsy in 50 hospitals in the US.

It is said that the ketogenic diet has worked well for many children in controlling seizures. Much of the information here is from an article in appearing in the New York Times February 20, 2007 Science section.
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Television, movies, video games & epilepsy
   It is probable that many who have epilepsy, especially children or little girls, could benefit from doing without or greatly limiting television. Some authorities that have commented on this subject have suggested that one should not deprive oneself or unnecessarily change one’s lifestyle with respects to television. However, it might be stated, that for anyone with neurological problems, it might be one step that can be helpful. At least to try for a trial period doing without television and video games, movies, with a  child, for six months, might be a helpful way of seeing if he or she benefits in the area of seizures.

It is estimated that 5% of epilieptics have photosensitive epilepsy, although some estimate thefigure at 14%. It is a true disorder that is most common in children and more common with little girls. However, other authorities seem to indicate that there are combined types of epilepsy that are effected by the stimuli of TV and video games, in combination with other types of epilepsy. One authority put the figure at 26% of all epileptics being effected by TE. And that in combined types the percentage is 76%. 

   So there is a wide statistical span depending on which authority one quotes, as to television’s role in epilepsy. That being the case, it might be one area that can help many with epilepsy, especially children and little girls, who might be more sensitive to such stimuli.