Epilepsy Review

Your annual epilepsy review is a chance to speak to a health professional about your epilepsy and how it affects you.  Every year someone from your GP surgery will be in touch with you about your epilepsy.  It is important you go to the review even if you feel everything is fine with your epilepsy.  The reason for the review is to see if there is anything your GP practice can do to make your epilepsy care better.  It will help you find out about any changes or support that might help. 

It may not be your doctor who caries out your review.  It could be the practise nurse or pharmacist.  Some practices will invite you in for an appointment.  Others might offer reviews in different ways.  This means your review would be on the telephone or by sending you a postal questionnaire.  If you would prefer to see someone you can book an appointment at your surgery in the usual way. 

At the review you will asked some questions about different things to do with epilepsy.  The questions will probably include:

  • Seizures
  • Medication
  • Side effects
  • Safety
  • Driving
  • Employment

The person doing the review with you may also talk about women’s or men’s health issues.  These can affect your epilepsy.

A few months before you go to your review it is a good idea to keep a seizure diary.  You can also keep a diary of any side effects from your medicine.  These diaries are available from Epilepsy Scotland.  Call our Helpline on 0808 800 2200 and we will send you one out.  Keeping a diary can help show any seizure triggers or patterns and any side effects to the medicines you are taking.

Think about any questions you would like to ask at your review.  It is a good idea to write these down before you go.  This will help you plan what you want to say. 

Here are some ideas of questions you may want to ask:

  • What should I do if I forget my medication?
  • Will I always have to take my medication?
  • Is it okay to drink alcohol?
  • Is there anything else I can do to help my epilepsy?
  • if there is any further support in my area?
  • If your GP can see any patterns or triggers you should be aware of?

Many long term health conditions are reviewed each year.  Epilepsy is one of these.