If you’re supporting and caring for an adult with epilepsy, it’s important to recognize that epilepsy can and does affect daily life in a variety of ways. While it’s difficult to assess exactly how epilepsy will affect each individual, some people with epilepsy have an increased risk of poor self-esteem and depression. It’s also hard for someone without epilepsy to understand how it feels to live with an ever-present fear of experiencing another seizure. That’s why your loved one needs your encouragement and understanding, and why you should encourage him or her to seek the best treatment possible.
When a loved one has epilepsy, especially if he or she is newly diagnosed, neurologist’s appointments, blood tests, seizure-tracking, and treatment become a central part of everyday life. Limitations on driving may make keeping a job and managing day-to-day responsibilities like picking up the kids from school and doing the grocery shopping difficult. And, seizures may introduce a need for home safety precautions that seem inconvenient.
You can help by being sensitive not only to your loved one’s medical needs, which may be significant, but also his or her need for companionship and normalcy. This can be as simple as letting your loved one know when you’re planning a trip to the grocery store so he or she can get the shopping done or arranging a night out with friends and coworkers your loved one hasn’t seen lately.
If you are caring for an older adult with epilepsy, there are some special considerations that seniors should keep in mind. For example, seizure medicines may affect seniors differently than younger people with epilepsy.
Seniors are also more likely to be taking multiple medications for a variety of health conditions. Keeping track of all the different medications and how they interact with each other can be a challenge. Certain medicines may mask the side effects of others, and it’s possible that the symptoms of one condition may go unnoticed due to the severity of other symptoms.
Certain medications, including some AEDs, can cause memory problems and affect concentration, and some older people experience changes or slight declines in their memory as a part of normal aging. This can make it easy to forget taking medicines.
Remind your loved one to:
- Use a daily pillbox to keep medicines conveniently available
- Make taking Keppra XR™ at the same time each day a part of his or her everyday routine
- Set the alarm on his or her watch and cellular phone to alert him or her when it’s time to take medicines
Once-daily Keppra XR™ can help make it easier to remember to take medicine every day so your loved one can control his or her epilepsy. Learn more about Keppra XR™.
Be sure your loved one’s doctor knows about his or her epilepsy and other medical conditions.
Be sure your loved one has medical information readily available in case he or she experiences a seizure when unaccompanied by a friend or family member. Consider getting your loved one a medic alert bracelet or encouraging him or her to carry the information in a wallet or pocketbook. With our Identification and Emergency Wallet Card (PDF 70 KB), your loved one can fill in all of the appropriate information, and carry it everywhere.
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