Health

Thousands of Canadians may be living with undiagnosed epilepsy

by patgarcia | December 1, 2008 at 06:11 am

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Epilepsy is associated with violent seizures, 80 per cent of patients have more subtle ones that are often overlooked by doctors.

There are many types of epilepsy like having mild abscence seizures, sound and taste distortions, falling and wondering what made you fall, having blackouts during the exciting action segments of a movie film and many more.

Thousands of Canadians who have epilepsy may be living for years without a diagnosis because doctors unfamiliar with the symptoms believe patients have another illness.

While many associate epilepsy with severe seizures, about 80 per cent of patients suffer from mild seizures that are harder to spot, or notice strange smells or experience an odd taste in their mouths.

These signs can go unnoticed by doctors, many of whom are not adequately trained in the number of ways epilepsy can present itself, according to experts.

"Everyone knows about the epileptic seizures where you fall and shake and froth at the mouth and bite your tongue. That is easy," Dr. Peter Carlen, of the Krembil Neuroscience Centre at Toronto Western Hospital, told CTV News. "But in fact, the most common type of epileptic seizures are when you are not there, or you are a little bit confused."