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Personal essay on epilepsy
Themes emerging out of lived exeperiences of people with epilepsy
Personal essay on epilepsy
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How Seizures affect Brain Activity
A seizure is a short occurrence of symptoms that is caused by a burst of abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Customarily, a seizure lasts from a few seconds to a few minutes. There are different types of seizures not just one. Depending on which part and how much of the brain is affected by the electrical disturbance will determine which type of seizure will occur. Experts divide seizures into five generalized seizures, these include: partial seizures, epileptic/non-epileptic seizures, status epilepticus, gelastic seizures and dacrystic seizures.
Partial seizures occur when a strong surge of electrical activity affects only a specific area of one cerebral hemisphere. This kind of seizure is subdivided into two categories: Simple Partial Seizures and Complex Seizures. In a simple partial seizure, the effected person will still be conscious and his/her awareness will be retained. In a Complex Partial Seizure however, the subjects’ consciousness is impaired and in some cases maybe even lost. Even though Partial Seizures are mild, they may progress to a much more severe seizure. More people suffer from partial seizures than any other kind. Literally any kind of sensory, movement or emotional action can be altered, including intricate optical hallucinations. Typically in a Simple Partial Seizure, the episode of sudden jerking, sensory phenomena, and transient lethargy would only last half to a full minute. In a Complex Partial, the episode may last up to two full minutes and no less than one. Also in a Complex Partial, the affected may be unaware of setting (surrounding environment), amnesia and confusion may occur and may begin to wander about. Although Partial Seizures affect different emoti...
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...y medication used to treat people with epilepsy. One of the studies I went over portrayed that over 10% of patients attending clinics for Epilepsy encounter themselves having suicidal thoughts within the first two weeks. Mild-to-threatening behavior, loss in cognitive skills, amnesia, loss of control, felling fatigued, depression, anxiety, and irrevocably suicidal thoughts are (but not limited to) the affects of Epilepsy on the brain. I personally do not know anyone that suffers from Epilepsy and I am truly grateful for that because after doing all this research I had a life changing epiphany. There is an abundance of people who do not deserve to suffer from epilepsy and there is not ever enough help going on for them. I will definitely be seeing how I can help our fellow brothers and sisters and be a true benefactor for the all, for is this not the ultimate goal?
Many people with epilepsy usually have more than one type of seizure and may have other symptoms of neurological problems as well. The cause of epilepsy varies by age of the person, but the majority of the time the cause is unknown. Common causes of seizures by age in Elizabeth Otte’s case would be congenital conditions (Down’s syndrome; Angelman's syndrome; tuberous sclerosis and neurofibromatosis), genetics, head trauma, and progressive brain disease which is rare (Schechter & Shafer, Ltd., 2013, p.1). The diagnosis of epilepsy is based on medical history of the patients including family history of seizures. They ask several of questions to figure of what type of seizures the patients could possibly be suffering from. Doctors then preform test such as EEG, take blood, and study images of your brain. Epilepsy is treated by a neurologist specialist that may or may not subscribe medication depending on the severity and frequency of the seizures. Also treatment can be a change in the patients’ diet or
Although writing a prescription may be an easy way to put a bandaid on a problem, people tend to forget that medication can’t be responsible for curing our nation. Slowly we are becoming a country where pills are handed out like candy, causing a severe series of negative effects and downfalls. Ray Bradbury, the author of the award winning novel Fahrenheit 451, is definitely in agreement. In 1951, when the novel was written, Bradbury was able to make the prediction that the innocent use of medication would soon turn into an extreme drug epidemic, and unfortunately he wasn’t wrong. The overuse of drugs in the United States, such as mental illness medication
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects the brain causing people to have seizures. A seizure is a big disruption of electrical communication between neurons, leading to the temporary release of excessive energy in a synchronized form Epilepsy is very unpredictable. Having a seizure disorder doesn't mean that you can only have one type of seizure. People can have many different types of seizures; it can vary on the person. In some cases depending on the type of seizures someone may have they can grow out of them. (“Epilepsy Foundation." What Is Epilepsy? N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2014.)
In 2010, Keeley released a review that says if patient’s have a terminal illness, up to 88% will ex...
There are millions of questions that are begging to be answered, and I have the drive to find the answers to them. There could be a vaccine for cancer just waiting to be found in the world, and I could be the one to find it. Paraplegics could be able to walk again, and I could be a part of their recovery. Not only would I be influencing the world, but I would also be influencing distinct human lives. My experience with volunteering in schools and crisis centers has taught me about the value of lives. I’ve come to deeply appreciate the fact that every person experiences the world as vividly as I do, meaning that they share the same feelings, from love, anger, sadness, down to pointless and sporadic thoughts and emotions. This makes me further respect the work of those who work in the medical field, as they make impacts larger than I can imagine. I know that if I were in the place of someone whose life depended on the innovations in science and technology, my existence would be highly influenced by any doctor who even simply hopes to make advancements in
Before ECT begins, patients are given a short-acting anaesthetic and a nerve-blocking agent, paralysing the muscles of the body to prevent them from contracting during the treatment and causing fractures. Oxygen is also given to patients to compensate for their inability to breathe. Then they receive either unilateral ECT or bilateral ECT. In unilateral ECT, an electrode is placed above the temple of the non-dominant side of the brain, and a second in the middle of the forehead. Alternatively in bilateral ECT, one electrode is placed above each temple. After this, a small amount of electrical current (approximately 0.6 amps) is passed through the brain, lasting about half a second. This produces a seizure that lasts up to one minute which affects the entire brain. ECT is usually give...
Epilepsy, also known as “seizure disorder,” or “seizure attack,” is the fourth most common neurological disorder known to mankind, affecting an estimated 2.3 million adults and 467,711 children in the United States. Unfortunately this disorder is becoming far more common and widespread worldwide. This staggering number of cases of people suffering from Epilepsy also involves an average growth rate of 150,000 new cases each year in the United States alone. Generally, many of the people who develop who are a part of the new are mainly either young children or older adults. Your brain communicates through chemical and electrical signals that are all specialized for specific tasks. However, through the process of communication, chemical messengers, also known as neurotransmitters can suddenly fail, resulting in what is known as a seizure attack. Epilepsy occurs when a few too many brain cells become excited, or activated simultaneously, so that the brain cannot function properly and to it’s highest potential. Epilepsy is characterized when there is an abnormal imbalance in the chemical activity of the brain, leading to a disruption in the electrical activity of the brain. This disruption specifically occurs in the central nervous system (CNS), which is the part of the nervous system that contains the brain and spinal cord. This causes an interruption in communication between presynaptic neurons and postsynaptic neurons; between the axon of one neuron, the message sender and the dendrite of another neuron, the message recipient. Consequently, the effects that epileptic seizures may induce may range anywhere from mild to severe, life-threatening ramifications and complications. There are many different types of seizures associa...
Epilepsy is characterized by uncontrolled excessive activity of either a part of, or all of the central nervous system. A person who is predisposed to epilepsy has attacks when the basal level of excitability of the nervous system rises above a certain critical threshold. As long as the degree of excitability is held below this threshold, no attack occurs. Basically, epilepsy can be classified into three major types: grand mal, petit mal, and focal or partial epilepsy.
Do you know how much money we spend searching and testing medicine every year? We spend 5.4 billion dollars on testing and researching this kind of medicine. That is a lot of money. Some people think it is unnecessary to spend this much money on researching medicine about medicated students. Some people even think it’s unnecessary to give
Not everyone who has a seizure has epilepsy. Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent, unprovoked seizures. Unprovoked means that there is no immediate cause for the seizure, such as a fever, an infection of the brain, or head trauma. Nearly 10 percent of people will have a seizure during their lifetime; most of these are provoked seizures during an acute illness or condition. These people may never have epilepsy. There are two types of seizures people can have. One is partial seizure or focal they begin in one part of the brain. They cause varied symptoms auras which is a funny feeling in your stomach, staring, chewing, lip smacking, shaking, or stiffness in parts of the body. Generalized seizures are when the entire brain is effected. This causes loss consciousness. One type is grand mal is when the body stiffens and jerks. Another type is petit mal, which is momentary loss of consciousness without abnormal body movement. Some factors of this are infections of the brain this includes meningitis, encephalitis, and brain abscess. Strokes are also a risk of epilepsy. Also alcohol can cause seizures for heavy drinkers when they stop drinking abruptly (withdrawal seizures) and also have a good chance of epilepsy. Epilepsy can also cause brain tumors usually they are slow growing and don't affect them for years. Some other factors that cause epilepsy is age the risk of seizures is higher in young children. Also gender epilepsy is higher in males than in females. The most common treatment for epilepsy is the daily use of anticonvulsant or antiepilectic drugs to prevent seizures. These medications act on brain signals to limit hyperexcitability. While medications do not cure epilepsy, they allow many people to live normal, active lives. Other treatments are vagus nerve stimulation this treatment involves electronic stimulation of the brain using an implanted device like a pacemaker. Another is epilepsy surgery this is when a part of the brain that is causing the seizures is removed so that it prevents it from spreading to anther part of the brain.
Later, the doctors told me I had epilepsy, specifically the type known as grand mal. Immediately, the doctors put me on some medications to prevent the seizures. They also gave my parents a bunch of packets of information about epilepsy. When I got older, some of those packets informed me that 20-25 million people have suffered from an epileptic seizure. Many people grow out of childhood epilepsy or they take medicine to control it. However, there is still a risk of having a seizure even if you take medication. Over the past few years, I have become increasingly aware of the chance of a seizure at any time.
Epilepsy is a condition characterized by recurrent seizures which are unprovoked by any immediately identifiable cause (Hopkins & Shorvon, 1995). It is also known as a seizure disorder. A wide range of links and risk factors are associated with the condition, but most of the time the cause is unknown. Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting approximately two and half million people in the US and about 50 million worldwide. Though seizures can occur at any age, epilepsy is most commonly seen in children and the elderly. Most respond well to treatment and can control their seizures, but for some it is a chronic illness. A clinical diagnosis is the first step to finding a potential cure for the disorder.
This paper is going to discuss the condition Epilepsy. Epilepsy is defined as a disorder of the brain characterized by the recurrence of unprovoked seizures (Shorvon, 2009). Epilepsy starts in your brain, the brain is like a computer, it is made up of a mass of cells, called neurons, which connect to each other in very complicated ways (Routh, 2004). Electrical messages are constantly being passed from one neuron to another down nerves to the muscles in the body (Mair, 2004). If a person has epilepsy, these cells sometimes send a sudden, unexpected burst of electrical impulses, which causes a seizure (Routh, 2004). When the seizure finishes the brain behaves normally again. For some people with epilepsy these seizures happen every day. For others they may happen only once or twice a year (Routh, 2004). There are over 40 different types of seizure and each person is slightly different, but there are a few common types (Routh, 2004). Generalized seizures which affect the whole brain and partial seizures which affect a small part of the brain (Miller, 2013). The most common types of ge...
...epersonalized. Although not every patient is easy to deal with and doctors are under colossal pressure, by inspiring students with a possible future in the medical field to get involved with type of community service early we can ameliorate the distressing situation. Coming into contact with, speaking to, and intimately understanding these incredible individuals can dramatically alter one’s perspective and ensure treatment with self respect and dignity. I strongly believe in this notion of early involvement. My changed view coupled with my future medical training in college will allow me to be a figure to emulate and hopefully inspire others to follow this path. By embarking on this monumental journey mankind has the opportunity to shape history and enrich the lives of others while personally experiencing the most rewarding of all endeavors: helping someone in need.
Central Idea: Prescription drugs can cause serious mental and physical health problems if they are taken incorrectly or abused.