When someone has epilepsy, this normal pattern may be interrupted by thousands to millions of electrical impulses that occur at the same time and are more intense than usual, producing abnormal brain electrical activity and resulting in a seizure. These bursts of electrical impulses can affect body movements, sensations or consciousness. If there is any family history of epilepsy, that is also considered. Generalized seizures cause loss or alteration of consciousness, involve the entire brain, and affect the whole body. Generalized seizures include grand mal seizures, where the person falls down unconscious as the body stiffens or jerks, and petit mal or absence seizures, where there is momentary alteration of consciousness without abnormal movements.
Partial seizures occur when abnormal electrical activity only involves one area of the brain.
Many times the side effects determine the drugs. The stimulation has the effect of preventing seizures in some people. People generally must continue to take medications as well. Surgery as an option for treating epilepsy is used only in rare instances. Diagnosed with epilepsy at age 3, her life was a haze of multiple drugs and seizures before she decided to opt for surgery.