- With Mayo Clinic neurologist
Jerry W. Swanson, M.D.
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Jerry W. Swanson, M.D.
Jerry W. Swanson, M.D.
Dr. Jerry Swanson is a board-certified neurologist at Mayo Clinic and is a professor of neurology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. He has a special interest in headache disorders and medical education.
Dr. Swanson, a Lacon, Ill., native, was appointed to the Mayo Clinic staff in 1982 and works in the Department of Neurology with about 90 other physicians. He formerly chaired the Headache Division in the Neurology Department at Mayo Clinic and works with headache subspecialists around the world. He has published and lectured widely on headache disorders. He also serves as Assistant Dean for Assessment in Mayo Medical School.
"In a manner similar to the printing press, Internet technology enables the unprecedented ability to communicate with the global community about health information," Dr. Swanson says. "There is no doubt that the knowledgeable individual contributes greatly to his or her own health care, and now we can share information much more widely."
"There is much information already available about health care on the Internet. Unfortunately, much of it is not founded on sound principles. It is exciting to be a part of the MayoClinic.com team and contribute to the creation of a reliable and timely health resource."
Dr. Swanson is the neurology editor for "Mayo Clinic Family Health Book" and has reviewed articles for "Mayo Clinic Health Letter" and "Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource." He is also editor-in-chief of the "Mayo Clinic on Headache" book, published in 2004. In 2008 the magazine "Women's Health" named him one of America's Top Doctors for Women.
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Question
Anti-seizure medications: Can I stop taking them?
I have adult-onset epilepsy. Will I eventually be able to stop taking anti-seizure medications?
Answer
from Jerry W. Swanson, M.D.
It's possible that you could eventually stop taking anti-seizure medications. But this depends on several factors, including your age, the type of epilepsy you have and how long you have remained seizure-free.
The major risk of discontinuing medication is recurrence of seizures. However, studies suggest that more than half of adults with epilepsy who have not had a seizure in two years could stop taking medication without having another seizure.
You have the best chance of successful withdrawal from anti-seizure medications if:
- You are younger than 30 years old
- Your seizures were promptly controlled with medication
- You have only one type of seizure disorder
- You have not had a seizure for two to five years
- You have a normal neurological exam
- You have a normal electroencephalogram (EEG)
Even if you meet all these criteria, there are no guarantees that you won't have another seizure after reducing or discontinuing your medication.
It's important to keep taking your anti-seizure medications as long as your doctor prescribes them. If you stop taking your medication suddenly, you have a greater risk of having new seizures or episodes of severe, prolonged or continuous seizures (status epilepticus).
A decision about whether to stop taking medications should only be made after a careful discussion with your neurologist, weighing the potential risk of seizure recurrence against that of continuing therapy.
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