From Our Magazine

Have you ever played that icebreaker game in which you reveal your most embarrassing moment? If you’re a person with epilepsy, there’s a good chance your moment involved a time when you had a seizure. 

What are the drug's brand and non-brand (generic) names?

What is the active ingredient?

Is a generic version available? If so, can I take one?

How and when should I take it?

How much do I take?

Brandy Parker-­McFadden is the executive director and founder of “My Epilepsy Story,” a nonprofit for women and children living with epilepsy. The mother of three, who lives with epilepsy and advocates for patient perspective, is also an ambassador for the Patient-Centered Outcomes in Research Institute (PCORI), where she is on the executive committee of a study. She’s one of the first patients to be active in a study and also serve on the study’s board.

Dr. Paul Garcia, an epileptologist and professor at the University of California, San Francisco, says he often hears one question from his patients: What are the long-term effects of seizures? Unfortunately, that question doesn’t have a simple answer.