Women with epilepsy: their views about their treatment and care

This study reports the results of a questionnaire survey of female members of the British Epilepsy Association. The women were asked about their epilepsy and its management. A questionnaire was sent to 6000 BEA women members of whom 1855 (31%) replied. The majority of women (89%) stated they currently take older antiepileptic medications, either as monotherapy or in combination with others. Newer antiepileptic drugs were prescribed to 30% of women. The most frequently mentioned antiepileptic drug side-effects were tiredness and forgetfulness. Seventy percent of the sample considered that the lack of energy had at least a moderate impact on their life. Thirty-eight percent of women would have liked better seizure control whilst 32% agreed that they would prefer to change to a medication with fewer side-effects. However, 49% were reluctant to change their medication. Fifty-nine percent stated that they see their hospital specialist regularly whilst half the sample (49%) saw their GP regularly. Hospital specialists on the whole, played a more active role in the management of epilepsy than GPs. Many women (68%) felt that their GP's main task appeared to be to write prescriptions and 40% felt that they knew more about their epilepsy than their GP. However, the women generally perceived that their GP or hospital specialists were sympathetic to their condition and their concerns.