Symptoms of Epilepsy
While every person’s experience is different, seizures and epilepsy can include:
- Staring
- Jerking movements of the arms and legs
- Stiffening of the body
- Loss of consciousness
- Breathing problems, including stopping breathing
- Loss of bowel or bladder control
- Sudden falling for no apparent reason
Screening and Diagnosing Epilepsy
To diagnose epilepsy, we employ the most advanced neurodiagnostic tests, some of which can be done at home or at our convenient community-based centers.
Treating Epilepsy
Once we’ve determined the type of seizures you’re having and if it is epilepsy, the goal is to maximize your quality of life. To do that, we can use:
We have also created special programs to meet the individual needs of patients with epilepsy:
- First Seizure Clinic. You must have a referral for an appointment. After you experience the initial seizure, our specialists offer rapid, accurate diagnosis, usually within two weeks of referral.
- Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. At Hartford Hospital, we operate a specialized in-patient unit where we can record EEG during seizures to help make the most precise diagnosis. Stays last about a week so we can record continuous brain activity.