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The Bottom Line

By Orrin Devinsky, MD; 393 pages. Subtitle: Patient and Family Guide.

Newly revised in its third edition, this information-packed guidebook is full of medical information about various types of seizures and syndromes, as well as lifestyle issues for infants through adults, including school advocacy, driving problems, employment rights, legal considerations, and insurance concerns. It's a lot to take in, and you may just want to skim through as needed, but if you have a child with epilepsy, you'll want to add this to your bookshelf.

About the Guide Rating



Pros

• Comprehensive resource on all aspects of epilepsy
• Describes wide variety of seizure types and syndromes
• Addresses issues in infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood
• Gives information on epilepsy medications, side effects, and interactions
• Writing is easy to read and quick-moving

Cons

• It's a big book full of information you may not need right now
• Works better as a reference than as a read-through book
• Information in later chapters is somewhat sketchier than earlier chapters
• Author has some firm opinions that may not correspond with yours

Description

• Part 1: Medical Aspects of Epilepsy
  1. An Overview of Epilepsy
  2. Classification and Features of Epileptic Seizures
• 3. Classification of Epileptic Syndromes
  4. Causes of Epilepsy
  5. The First Seizure
  6. Prognosis of Epilepsy
• Part II: Diagnosis and Treatment of Epilepsy
  7. Seizure-Provoking Factors
  8. The Health Care Team
  9. Making the Diagnosis
• 10. First Aid for Seizures
  11. Principles of Drug Therapy
  12. Drugs Used to Treat Epilepsy
  13. Surgical Therapy

• Part III: Epilepsy in Children
  14. Dietary Therapies
  15. Alternative Therapies
  16. Infancy
  17. Childhood
  
• 18. Adolescence
  19. Outgrowing Epilepsy
  20. Intellectual and Behavioral Development
  21. Telling Children and Others
  
• 22. Family Life, Social Life, Physical Activities
  23. Education
  Part IV: Epilepsy in Adults
  24. Mental Handicap and CP
  
• 25. Living With Epilepsy
  26. Contraception, Pregnancy, Menopause
  27. Parenting With Epilepsy
  28. Employment, Military Service
  
• 29. Epilepsy in the Elderly
  Part V: Legal and Financial Issues
  30. Legal Rights
  31. Insurance and Government Assistance
• Part VI: Resources for People With Epilepsy
  32. Mental Health of Adults With Epilepsy
  33. Resources
  34. Towards a Cure

Guide Review - Book Review: Epilepsy

What do you look for in a medical book? Just the information you need to know right now to make good decisions for your child? Or every possible piece of information you'll need for years to come?

From a cost-effective point of view, I guess, one reference with everything is the way to go. If your child is newly diagnosed, though, an onslaught of information, however well presented, can still be overwhelming. And if yours is one of the many kids who has one seizure and stops or outgrows the condition with childhood, there's more in a book like Epilepsy than you'll ever need to know.

Having just done it myself, I wouldn't necessarily recommend reading this lengthy Patient and Family Guide cover to cover, unless you're at that stage where you want to cram your brain full of every possible bit of information on your child's disability. It would be a pretty excellent reference to have at hand, though, when your doctor mentions a particular test or treatment, when a certain medication is on the table, when the names of seizure types are tossed about by doctors, or when you need to see about a driver's license for your teen.

The text isn't written for parents so much as for patients -- outside of the section on "Epilepsy in Children" -- but it's highly accessible and relatable, and certainly worth reading and understanding as it relates to your child's situation at any given time. There's a glossary that will undoubtedly come in handy when working with professionals, and a good listing of Internet resources on epilepsy and related disorders.

Particularly with a cover price of $16.95 on the softcover third edition -- which seems reasonable for such a big book -- it's worth clearing some space on your epilepsy bookshelf for.

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Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.