Epilepsy Lingo & Not So Clear Communication

Depending on who you're speaking to in regards to epilepsy different phrases in terms are brought into the conversation. When the established medic has modified professional labels and definitions, it makes epilepsy sound very complicated to someone new to epilepsy.

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I personally have been fighting drug resistant epilepsy with absence, complex partial, and grand-mal seizures popping up along the way. Based on that I take note on what might have triggered that particular seizure I then know to take caution around the concluded trigger that keeps things basic for me.

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Epilepsy has a lot of aka's nowadays. It seems easier to understand to both a new warrior, and anyone else affected in layman's than a epileptologist carrying on with jargon; this of course makes any discussion with the doctor difficult at times.

• Drug resistant: when a person is unable to become and stay seizure free after two adequate anti epileptic drug trials.

• Absence: Staring spells, petit mal

• Complex partial: Focal impaired awareness

• Triggers: (Reflex Epilepsy) stress, lights (photosensitive) noise (musicogenic) heat, missed dose, fatigue, menstrual cycle (catamenial)

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Now that is a basic summary of my epilepsy; as you can see from a doctor's perspective it could have easily been a bunch of tongue twisters about a million and one aspects of epilepsy when I myself would just call them my triggers towards the complex partial, absence, or grand mal that just took place.