Doctors know that if the first few medicines fail to stop a person's seizures, the chances are not so good that a different medicine will be completely successful. Then it may be time to consider some other type of treatment.

In addition to medicines, other treatments include the ketogenic diet, vagus nerve stimulation, brain surgery, and investigational treatments. Whether one of these is likely to succeed depends on factors like the person's age and the type of seizures, similar to the way a medicine is selected. They are not always successful, but some people do become seizure-free after several medicines have failed. These treatments are usually prescribed and carried out only by specialists.

People with epilepsy who have not yet found a successful treatment may read or hear news stories about devices and medicines that are supposed to be better. They wonder whether their doctor should prescribe them instead. It's almost certainly true that better treatments will be available in the future, but it takes years of careful testing to make sure that new things are really safe and effective before a lot of patients start using them.

The first step is to discuss this with your doctor, to understand the status of new treatments and clinical studies. Ask your doctor.

Topic Editor: Steven C. Schachter, M.D.
Last Reviewed:12/15/06