How Can Epileptic Patients Improve Their Quality of Life?

Researchers have noted a variety of factors impacting the quality of life for those living with epilepsy, such as anxiety, depression, perceived stigma, and physical limitations as well as medication adherence.

Get Enough Sleep

People living with epilepsy should make a commitment to getting enough rest, including adhering to their sleep routine and recording anything that may impact it such as caffeine intake, diet, or any anti-seizure medications that could interfere with it.

This will enable them to discover ways to enhance their sleep and better manage their symptoms. If they're experiencing trouble sleeping, they should speak with either their neurologist or GP regarding what steps can be taken to help.

Studies have revealed that almost one in two individuals with epilepsy experience a poor health-related quality of life. Reasons include fear of seizures, the impact of stigmatization, lifestyle restrictions, and physical challenges as well as medication adherence issues. Age, education levels, and co-morbid factors such as anxiety or depression also factor into poor quality of life for some people with epilepsy Khameera Gaozaban Jadwar Ood Saleeb.

Exercise

Once held to be true, physical activity could cause seizures in those living with epilepsy; now, however, research suggests otherwise and shows regular exercise to be an excellent way of improving quality of life and decreasing risks associated with poor seizure control. Furthermore, exercise has been found to promote cognition while simultaneously decreasing self-reported symptoms of depression, fatigue, and anxiety.

People with well-controlled seizures* should be able to engage in most aerobic exercises, including running, cycling, swimming, and walking. Due to certain rare epilepsies that cause seizures due to overheating (Dravet syndrome), exercise should take place in a cool environment while staying hydrated and monitoring heart rates closely for signs of exertion or heat stroke.

People living with epilepsy should avoid activities that could trigger seizures and utilize safety equipment like walkers and canes for assistance while practicing living independently. Furthermore, they should have an emergency plan prepared in case of seizure: perhaps programming their cell phone with GPS with emergency numbers and key contacts.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Eating healthily is essential for those living with epilepsy, just as with any condition. A balanced diet can reduce seizures as well as associated health complications like obesity and depression.

A healthy diet includes plenty of vegetables and fruits, whole grains, protein, and healthy fats. People living with epilepsy should avoid foods high in sugar or refined carbs as these may cause sudden spikes in blood sugar that could trigger seizures. Also important is limited consumption of saturated and trans fats as these increase cholesterol levels and raise heart disease risks.

People living with epilepsy should limit their consumption of alcohol as excessive drinking increases the chances of seizures. Furthermore, they should avoid foods containing caffeine which stimulates their central nervous system and increases risk.

Manage Stress

Stressful situations may trigger seizures in some individuals and play a part in epilepsy development in others, so taking measures to alleviate their stress will improve the quality of life for those living with epilepsy.

Yoga, Tai Chi, Pilates, cat naps, and breathing exercises are all effective stress management techniques that can reduce levels of anxiety. One study even showed that patients using relaxation techniques in addition to antiepileptic medication experienced better sleep and less anxiety.

Other measures for relieving stress may include staying connected with friends and family, engaging in enjoyable activities, seeking professional help if needed, remaining active to increase energy and mood boost, avoiding trauma-inducing events as much as possible, installing alarms or medical alert bracelets to protect from wandering during seizures, reporting any recurrences promptly to your physician and keeping a journal to identify patterns that could indicate when seizure recurrences may be likely, keeping an active journal, etc.

Manage Your Medications

Many individuals with epilepsy are able to manage their seizures with anti-seizure medications; however, these medicines can sometimes have side effects that compromise the quality of life, including changes in weight dizziness, or fatigue.

Epilepsy sufferers can improve their health-related quality of life by being open and honest with their physicians about how medication is affecting them. Always take their medicine as prescribed without altering its dose unless directed otherwise by a healthcare provider Herbal Medicine.

As patients seek to manage and avoid triggers of their seizures, such as smoking, drinking too much alcohol, or experiencing fevers, it is also vitally important that they learn how to effectively manage and monitor their seizures by wearing medical alert bracelets and keeping diaries of when and why a seizure occurred - plus what type of seizure it was (eg smoking, alcohol abuse, etc). To reduce seizure risk further, they could install sliding or half doors in bathrooms to enable showering as opposed to bathing (which poses more of a risk).

Talk to Your Doctor

Living with epilepsy can be emotionally draining. Not only are seizures dangerous and pose the potential risk of injury, but you must also worry about what people think of your condition, which could lead to anxiety, depression, and self-medication with alcohol or illegal drugs - something that only compounds your seizures further.

Enhance your quality of life by speaking to your physician about what is affecting you and receiving the highest-quality treatment for your condition. Make sure to keep track of all symptoms so that they can be discussed at regular reviews with your physician.

Consider wearing a medical alert bracelet, getting enough restful sleep, exercising regularly, eating healthily, and managing stress effectively as additional strategies for controlling epilepsy. Discuss any medications you are taking as some can interfere with anti-seizure medication's efficacy.