Drug therapy must be tried before surgery is considered. Scientific knowledge about epilepsy has banished the demons and ancient stigmas surrounding the disease. Modern drugs, diet or surgery have made possible normal lives, free from frequent seizures, for most people with epilepsy. When diagnosing epilepsy, physicians first try to rule out short-term causes of seizures that may be treated directly. Tests of the patient's blood, urine, or cerebrospinal fluid, which bathes the brain, may reveal uncontrolled diabetes, poisoning, a kidney disorder, or an infection.
Doctors use the electroencephalograph to help diagnose epilepsy.
This machine detects, via electrodes taped to the head, electrical charges that pass between the brain cells near the electrodes. If a person has a seizure during an EEG recording, the device may reveal special brain wave patterns that help the doctor decide whether a person has epilepsy and what type it is. Some forms of epilepsy are associated with specific EEG patterns that can be seen between seizures. An EEG recording session may last as little as 35 minutes or as long as 24 hours. Some clinics have small TV cameras set up in the EEG test area to film the person's actions during the test.