We put your questions on sex and epilepsy to a sexuality expert, Dr. Stephen Holzapfel, Director of the Sexual Medicine Counselling Unit at Women's College Hospital, and Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto. Sexuality is an important part of all of our lives. Being sexual has many meanings, including the release of physical tension, an expression of emotional intimacy for a couple, and occasionally to make a baby. How each of us expresses our sexuality is unique and depends on many factors including gender, age, sexual orientation, cultural background, life experiences and medical factors.
Epilepsy can have effects on sex, and sex has effects on epilepsy.
Many people with well controlled epilepsy have a comfortable, satisfying sex life. Having a supportive partner who provides emotional closeness, as well as sexual intimacy, is perhaps the greatest asset in helping people with epilepsy feel positive about themselves, which in turn improves seizure control. Sex can release stress, and help relax people, thereby reducing seizure frequency. People living with epilepsy frequently encounter sexual difficulties. These can be due to the epilepsy itself, the medications used to treat the illness, or due to reactions of partners and others to the diagnosis of epilepsy.