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. Copyright 1999 BEA Trading Ltd.