Epileptologist

Epileptologist: consultations and examinations

Epileptologist - a reliable companion for the diseased

Epilepsy is a disease with various myths and prejudices attached, but it can be treated, significantly improving a person’s condition and quality of life.

What hides behind the myths?

Epilepsy is a disease of the nervous system characterised by spontaneous attacks, including seizures, as well as impaired consciousness and involuntary movements. It is characterised by episodic brain dysfunctions: biochemical processes in some parts of the brain result in excessive agitation, which leads to an attack during the electrical discharge.

Epilepsy can affect anyone with a predisposition to this disease. It is most common in children and people after the age of 65, but the disease can occur at any age. It can be caused by both congenital and acquired brain disease. Risk factors include brain damage, including trauma, and stroke, as well as infection and lifestyle.

Highly qualified epileptologist in Riga, Brīvības gatve 410  – GK Neiroklīnika

Consultation with an epileptologist

Because there are many types of epilepsy – more than forty – only a doctor will be able to tell which medication is best for you. The epileptologist will also take the patient’s age, sex, and other diseases into account. In the case of epilepsy, it is very important to not only choose the right medication, but also to determine its dose, and the patient vitally needs to follow the doctor’s instructions and medication regimen very precisely. When the treatment is effective, the seizures usually stop or there is a significant reduction in their frequency, allowing the person to lead a normal life.

The goal of doctor-patient collaboration is to prevent seizures. This can be achieved by selecting the most effective drugs, changing their dose and combining them, as well as using non-drug-related methods, including a special diet and vagus nerve stimulation, but it should be noted that none of the additional methods can replace the pills.

The epileptologist will set a precise diagnosis and prescribe an appropriate treatment. Mutual conversation is very important because only a specialist can diagnose the type of seizures, their frequency, and factors that most often provoke an attack. Your doctor will also perform a neurological examination. Additional examinations will also be required, the most important of which is electroencephalography. However, your doctor may also order a CT scan of your head, magnetic resonance imaging, or other additional laboratory tests.

Highly qualified epileptologist consults and examines at GK Neiroklīnika.

In the shadow of prejudice

An epileptologist can help

Epilepsy is a disease that is relatively commonly described in fiction books. An attack seen in a movie or real life is not likely to release the tension but can create even more prejudices and fears instead. Approximately 50 million people worldwide suffer from epilepsy, and it is also one of the most common neurological diseases in Latvia. However, there is a lot of prejudice in society, people are unable to accept the disease and ignore the fact that it can affect anyone. It is often linked to mental problems, even though epilepsy is not a mental illness.

People with epilepsy are more likely to have:

  • depression;
  • suicidal thoughts;
  • social isolation.

The attitude of others is not supportive but more often increases the stigma, thus promoting the patient’s social isolation, although communication is vital for such a person. Those around you can see the seizure and tell the doctor about it in detail, which is important in making an accurate diagnosis. If a person lives alone there is no such possibility.

Task of the epileptologist

The goal of the treatment is to stop the seizures or reduce their frequency to a few seizures per year. This will significantly reduce the risks associated with epilepsy. Many forms of the disease can be treated without depriving the person of a full life – education and the work one has dreamt of, hobbies, and a happy family life.

In our clinic, the patient will be accurately diagnosed using the latest examination methods and conversations with both the affected person and the relatives. The most appropriate therapy will then be selected and follow-up appointments will be scheduled to monitor the process and, if necessary, change the treatment tactics.

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Datu pārzinis ir GK Neiroklīnika. Datu apstrāde notiek saskaņā ar Privātuma politiku