EPILEPSY

Epilepsy is a neurological condition that causes unprovoked, recurring seizures, which are sudden disturbances in the electrical activity of your brain that affect your movements and behavior.

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While epilepsy can result from traumatic brain injury, in many cases it doesn’t have an identifiable cause. And if you have epilepsy, you can have several different kinds of seizures. Some of the common types include:

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• Absence seizures, which cause loss of awareness of one's surroundings and subtle movements

• Tonic seizures, which cause muscle stiffening

• Atonic seizures, which cause loss of muscle control and falling

• Clonic seizures, which cause repetitive jerking movements

• Myoclonic seizures, which cause brief twitches of the arms or legs

• Tonic-clonic seizures, which are the most dramatic type of seizure, causing body stiffening, jerking, and loss of consciousness

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While epilepsy can interfere with your quality of life, effective treatment can reduce or eliminate your seizures.

Depending on the types of seizure you experience and the severity of your condition, conventional treatments include anti-seizure medication and neurostimulation––including vagus stimulation, responsive stimulation, and deep brain stimulation. Physicians also recommend dietary therapy and lifestyle modifications to limit your exposure to seizure triggers. 

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Strains of cannabis with high levels of cannabidiol are anecdotally proving to be an effective epilepsy treatment for adults and children. Studies also show that medical cannabis reduces seizures that affect motor skills and muscular control. Some patients even experienced the elimination of seizures during a clinical trial. Medical cannabis has also helped patients who had not found successful treatment with conventional approaches.

It is also proving to be an effective treatment for children with autism disorders who experience seizures. (Coastal Wellness Centers is the only medical marijuana clinic in Florida to offer treatment for children.)

If you want to learn more about medical cannabis for epilepsy, call Coastal Wellness Centers or make an appointment online to find out if this treatment is appropriate for you or your child.