Epilepsy and Women's Hormones
Women with epilepsy face different issues than men with epilepsy. For some women, the pattern of epileptic seizures is directly affected by the normal hormonal cycles they experience throughout their lives.
Two primary sex hormones flow through women's bodies. One is estrogen and the other is progesterone. Most of the time, your body has about the same amount of each.
Handling Bad Behavior in a Child With Epilepsy
Here's a common scenario for the parent of a child with epilepsy: You find that your son has left his shoes in the middle of the living room floor for the umpteenth time, or that he still hasn't cleaned his room three weeks after you asked him, or that the garbage truck came and went this morning but he never dragged the cans to the curb.So you decide it's time for a talk. But as you approach your son to lay down the law, you stop short. What if my yelling at him causes a seizure?This is a common...
Read the Handling Bad Behavior in a Child With Epilepsy article > >
What does that have to do with epilepsy? Doctors have learned that both of these hormones interact with brain cells. Estrogen is an "excitatory" hormone, which means that it makes brain cells give off more of an electrical discharge. Progesterone, on the other hand, is an "inhibitory" hormone, which means that it calms those cells down.
When the body is making more estrogen than progesterone, it can make the nervous system "excitable." In other words, you could be at greater risk for seizures. The hormones aren't actually causing the seizures, but they can influence when they happen.
Some women with epilepsy have more seizures when their hormones are changing. For example, some young women have their first seizures at puberty. Other women have more seizures around the time of their menstrual periods. This doesn't happen to all women, so doctors are still learning about how hormones and epilepsy interact.
Some women have a form of epilepsy called catamenial epilepsy. This refers to seizures that are affected by a woman's menstrual cycle. Doctors aren't completely sure how many women with epilepsy have this, but they think it's about 10% to 12%.
The exact cause of these seizures is unknown. However, some women have most of their seizures when there is a lot of estrogen in their body, such as during ovulation. Other women have seizures when progesterone levels tend to drop, such as right before or during their period.
If you have seizures that start around the last half of your menstrual cycle and continue through the second half of your cycle, then you might have another type of catamenial epilepsy. This is when a woman has menstrual cycles that do not release an egg. These are called "anovulatory" cycles.
Two primary sex hormones flow through women's bodies. One is estrogen and the other is progesterone. Most of the time, your body has about the same amount of each.
Recommended Related to Epilepsy
Handling Bad Behavior in a Child With Epilepsy
Here's a common scenario for the parent of a child with epilepsy: You find that your son has left his shoes in the middle of the living room floor for the umpteenth time, or that he still hasn't cleaned his room three weeks after you asked him, or that the garbage truck came and went this morning but he never dragged the cans to the curb.So you decide it's time for a talk. But as you approach your son to lay down the law, you stop short. What if my yelling at him causes a seizure?This is a common...
Read the Handling Bad Behavior in a Child With Epilepsy article > >
What does that have to do with epilepsy? Doctors have learned that both of these hormones interact with brain cells. Estrogen is an "excitatory" hormone, which means that it makes brain cells give off more of an electrical discharge. Progesterone, on the other hand, is an "inhibitory" hormone, which means that it calms those cells down.
When the body is making more estrogen than progesterone, it can make the nervous system "excitable." In other words, you could be at greater risk for seizures. The hormones aren't actually causing the seizures, but they can influence when they happen.
Some women with epilepsy have more seizures when their hormones are changing. For example, some young women have their first seizures at puberty. Other women have more seizures around the time of their menstrual periods. This doesn't happen to all women, so doctors are still learning about how hormones and epilepsy interact.
Epilepsy and Your Menstrual Period
Some women have a form of epilepsy called catamenial epilepsy. This refers to seizures that are affected by a woman's menstrual cycle. Doctors aren't completely sure how many women with epilepsy have this, but they think it's about 10% to 12%.
The exact cause of these seizures is unknown. However, some women have most of their seizures when there is a lot of estrogen in their body, such as during ovulation. Other women have seizures when progesterone levels tend to drop, such as right before or during their period.
If you have seizures that start around the last half of your menstrual cycle and continue through the second half of your cycle, then you might have another type of catamenial epilepsy. This is when a woman has menstrual cycles that do not release an egg. These are called "anovulatory" cycles.