Control of seizures is the primary goal of drug therapy for epilepsy to improve the patient’s quality of life. Basic maintenance of a normal life without diminishing quality of life is a secondary goal, i.e., not achieving complete seizure control, but keeping adverse drug reactions within tolerable limits and minimizing seizure frequency. All patients with epilepsy require long-term medication, and certain adverse effects cannot be avoided with current antiepileptic drugs. If a non-epileptic patient is misdiagnosed as having epilepsy and treated with antiepileptic drugs, the patient will suffer from possible adverse drug reactions; it will also place an unnecessary financial burden on the patient; and because of the lack of efficacy, the physician may be misled into making a diagnosis of refractory epilepsy and taking damaging treatment measures. Therefore, epilepsy needs to be carefully differentiated from other non-epileptic seizure disorders, and only after the diagnosis of epilepsy is clear can antiepileptic drug therapy be started. Adequate communication with the patient about the need for regular medication and the long-term nature and possible adverse effects of the medication is a prerequisite for successful treatment. About 50% of patients who do not respond to medication are not following their doctor’s orders.