Myth 1: No one in the family has epilepsy, so it can’t be epilepsy.
Current research has suggested that genetic abnormalities are the cause of epilepsy in more than 40% of people with epilepsy. Six genes for common generalized epilepsy have been cloned, and 141 monogenic genetic disorders have seizures. Not only is primary epilepsy associated with abnormal gene expression, but the occurrence of symptomatic epilepsy has also been shown to have a genetic abnormality underlying it, and more than one thousand gene mutations have been associated with seizure susceptibility.
Many epilepsies are associated with genetics, but not all epilepsies are inherited. Epilepsy is inherited in a variety of ways, most of which are polygenic. There is dominant inheritance and there is recessive inheritance.
Myth 2: There are no seizures, so it is not epilepsy.
A convulsion is only one of the most common forms of seizures (60%-70% of seizures). There are many types of seizures with varying presentations (as described previously).
Myth 3: Brain imaging and EEG are normal, so it is not epilepsy.
Imaging responds to structural changes in the brain, and many epilepsies do not show structural brain abnormalities from imaging; EEG responds to functional changes in the brain, and many epilepsies have normal EEG in the interictal period.
The diagnosis of epilepsy mainly relies on medical history.
Misconception 4: Eagerness.
Many patients and families believe that epilepsy can be cured in the short term and are eager for success. The various advertisements posted at the end of the street to cure epilepsy cater to this psychology of patients and families, and many people are deceived by hearsay. Some patients and their families believe in biased prescriptions to cure big diseases, resulting in delays and heavy financial burdens for patients.
In fact, most of the epilepsy need 3-5 years of treatment before they can consider reducing or stopping the drug, and some patients even need to take the drug for life, the time is too short to stop the drug relapse rate is very high.
Myth 5: Superstitious Chinese medicine prescriptions.
Many patients and family members believe that Chinese medicine is effective in treating epilepsy with small adverse reactions and can be eradicated, while western medicine has large adverse reactions and can only control symptoms and cannot be eradicated, wrongly believing that Chinese medicine is better than western medicine for epilepsy.
It has not been proven that using a Chinese medicine alone can effectively control epilepsy. As for the advertising propaganda that Chinese medicine and prescriptions can cure epilepsy, it is nonsense. Experts have analyzed some Chinese medicine preparations that are often used today and found that 95 percent of them contain one to more western medicine ingredients. The long-term use of such complex Chinese medicines is an important cause of intractable epilepsy.
Myth 6: Neglecting maintenance therapy.
Once the epilepsy is better controlled, the mind does not pay attention to it and arbitrarily reduces and stops the medication, which is the main reason for treatment failure.
This is the main reason for treatment failure. Epilepsy is a chronic brain dysfunction disease that requires long-term maintenance treatment, so attention must be paid to long-term maintenance treatment, and the length of time to take medication should be according to medical advice.
Myth 7: Random combination of medications.
Many patients and family members believe that the more drugs they use, the better the treatment effect, resulting in repeated medication or unprincipled multi-drug combination.
There are conditions and arts for combined medication.
Myth 8: Random drug changes.
Many epilepsy patients in the initial stage of treatment, after taking medication for a period of time, once the efficacy is not satisfactory, they mistakenly believe that the drugs used are not effective, and thus frequently replace the drugs, which is also one of the important causes of intractable epilepsy.
In fact, the treatment of epilepsy patients should be individualized, as patients’ conditions and sensitivity to drugs vary and require a longer period of adjustment by the doctor to achieve the best results.
Myth 9: Lack of confidence in cure.
Due to the lack of effective means of curing epilepsy, the need for long-term maintenance treatment in many patients, and the unsatisfactory control of epilepsy, many patients and families lose confidence in the cure and control of epilepsy and discontinue their own medication, which is also a more common mistake.
In fact, 70% to 80% of patients can get more satisfactory results after standardized and individualized treatment, and some patients are expected to be cured.
Myth 10: Neglecting psychological interventions.
Epilepsy is a neuropsychiatric disease, psychological factors affect its occurrence and development, and the majority of epileptic patients experience recurrent seizures, there are varying degrees of psychological disorders.
However, in clinical treatment, many family members and even physicians tend to ignore the psychological problems of epileptic patients, so that the compliance with treatment is affected.
In summary, patients with epilepsy and their families should have the right mindset. Epilepsy, like chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia, requires long-term dietary control, lifestyle changes and long-term medication. Why can people accept long-term treatment for “hypertension”, “diabetes” and “hyperlipidemia” but not for epilepsy?