1. Wait Until You've Experienced at Least Two Seizures
One tonic-clonic seizure does not mean the condition will continue, so your physician may hesitate to medicate you after your first episode. You should, however, seek medical treatment if you've never had a seizure in the past. Your neurologist may wish to conduct a series of CT scans, MRIs, blood work and other tests to rule out medical conditions that may have caused your episode, whether or not it was an isolated incident.
2. Find the Correct Antiepileptic Drug Formulation and Dosage
One of the toughest parts of submitting to seizure treatment is remaining patient while your doctor tries to find the most effective antiepileptic medication (AED) and experiments with dosing. She may try a variety of first- and second-generation AEDs before finding one that alleviates or improves your seizures, and it may take a combination of two or more if you've tried monotherapy without success. Some of the most common AEDs are carbamazepine (Tegretol), felbamate (Felbatol), levetiracetam (Keppra) and lamotrigine (Lamictal).
AEDs usually cause a few mild side effects, such as fatigue, weight gain and fogginess. Some of these may subside over time, but you should be careful when driving or operating machinery until you've determined how you'll feel on the meds. It is important to take your AEDs as directed to avoid breakthrough seizures or severe side effects from incorrect dosages.
3. Try a Vagus Nerve Stimulator Implant
Some people have treatment-resistant epilepsy that doesn't react to traditional AED treatments. If you have not been successful with anticonvulsants, your physician may want to discuss the implantation of a vagus nerve stimulator (VNS). Tonic-clonic seizures occur when there is a malfunction in the brain's electrical system, and a VNS is designed to regulate these signals and keep them within normal parameters. Placed just under the skin in the upper chest, the VNS is attached to two small wires that are fed through the neck and into the left vagus nerve in the neck. Gentle stimulation is applied from the battery-operated device, forcing your brain to avoid electrical irregularities. For some patients, this technology is just what they need to reduce--or even stop--their seizure activity, and the procedure is considered quite safe.
4. Adhere to a Ketogenic Diet
Treatment-resistant, tonic-clonic patients may also improve their seizure conditions with the implementation of a ketogenic diet. Created in the 1920s for children with epilepsy, the diet provides over 80 percent of its calories from fat, some of the calories from protein and a small remainder from carbohydrates. Once you're on the diet, your body begins to burn fat stores for energy rather than carbohydrates, emulating a starvation effect. Though it is not known how this helps seizure activity, the ketonic state created by this food plan seems to help many seizure patients, and some are even able to stop taking their AEDs while on the diet. Unfortunately, the ketogenic diet is extremely restrictive and difficult to adhere to, so its compliance rate is low in many patients.
5. Wear a Medical Bracelet
One of the most important things you can do if you have tonic-clonic seizures is wear a medical bracelet that details your condition, your current medications and any allergies or other important health information. This portable information source is helpful for friends, family and emergency personnel called to the scene if you have a severe seizure or lose consciousness during the episode and are unable to explain your medical condition.
