Epilepsy – Herbal Preparations and Other Supplements

Transcript

Many patients ask me whether supplements or herbal preparations or medications that are used for other neurologic problems can be effective in controlling seizures. And the answer to this, unfortunately, is no. There are no herbal preparations available now that can help control or stop seizures. And similarly, there are no nutritional supplements that are effective in treating epilepsy. However, we have an ever increasing number of FDA approved medications for treatment of epilepsy. And this has provided us with an increased armamentarium of medications to choose from. So whether the person is a man or a woman, a boy or a girl, young or old, is on other medications for other reasons, has other medical conditions that need to be considered, we can pretty much always find a medication or a couple medications that are both effective to treat the epilepsy and safe in terms of their side effects and any interactions they may have with other medications the person is taking.