There are many options to treat epilepsy. Most patients respond to either the first or second prescribed medication to control seizures. By the third medication, the chances of controlling seizures is somewhat less likely (though still very doable!) As a result, we consider other options such as epilepsy surgery, neuro stimulation devices such as the vagus nerve stimulator or dietary therapies such as the ketogenic diet.

Please talk to your physician about your treatment options during your next appointment. You can also consult some of the resources on this webpage to get more information about these treatment options. You may call the clinic nursing line (613 798 5555 ext. 18102).

Driving restrictions are often placed on people who have uncontrolled seizures. This is because uncontrolled seizures are unpredictable, come on suddenly, and affect a person’s ability to drive safely. During a seizure, people can not compensate for the effect it has on their body.

Driving restrictions may be lifted only after a reasonable time has passed since your last seizure to make sure you don’t have any more. If you have recently started taking medication for seizures, you must also wait a reasonable amount of time to make sure the medication is working to stop your seizures.

In Ontario, physicians are legally required to report to the Ministry of Transportation patients over the age of 16 who have any impairment of awareness that may impact their ability to drive safely, such as a seizure. This kind of report is usually done after a patient has a seizure and goes to an emergency department.

Once the report is made, The Ministry of Transportation will send you a letter. This letter will likely state that your license has been suspended and that a medical update from a physician is required. The Ministry of Transportation usually requires that your seizures be controlled completely for three to 12 months before considering medical updates from physicians.

Important note: The Ministry of Transportation makes all decisions related to suspending or reinstating your driver’s licence, not the physician.

This is the process we follow to apply to have a driver’s license reinstated:

1. The patient fills out their section of the Epilepsy and Seizure Form, and sends it to our office.
2. Once we receive this form from the patient, our office completes its section of the form within the next two weeks.
3. Our office emails the completed form to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.
4. Upon receiving this request for license reinstatement, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation needs between two and six weeks to render a decision.
5. After this period, the patient will receive a letter in the mail from the Ministry of Transportation indicating whether their license has been reinstated or if more information is required. Should more information be required, please contact our office.

Important note: We can not speed up this process or ask the Ministry for extensions.

Patients can contact the Ministry of Transportation to ask if it has received the completed form.

For more information, please read the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s fact sheet.

If you feel your medications aren’t working, always ask yourself these questions:

1. Am I taking them regularly or am I forgetting to take them on occasion?
2. Do I take them at regular times? (for example 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.)
3. Have I experienced any recent triggers, such as
   1. not enough sleep
   2. occasionally drinking too much alcohol
   3. recent illness (cold or flu)
   4. not filling the same formulation of my medication at the pharmacy? (ask your pharmacist)

The nursing staff or neurologists will ask you the same questions. Your answers help us understand if your medications really aren’t working or if there are other factors triggering recurrent seizures.

If you feel you are very good at taking your medications as prescribed and cannot identify other triggers, you may need a change in what medications you take or how you take them.

If you feel this can’t wait until your next scheduled appointment, please call our clinic nursing staff and leave a message. They will return your call and discuss the next available options with your neurologist. Then they will talk to you about the next steps to take in treating your epilepsy.

Please contact the surgical centre directly. The administrative assistants can help you find the contact information. If you are unable to get through, please let the admins know and we will make every effort to find out where you are on the waiting list.

Waiting times for assessments in surgical centres in the province range from four to seven months right now, and vary due to the pandemic.

There is good evidence behind use of cannabidiol (CBD) in patients with certain types of epilepsy. The data are driven by three randomized control trials (at the time of this write-up) that have shown efficacy of 35 to 50 percent for reducing generalized tonic-clonic seizures or drop attacks in both Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndrome populations (essentially patients with very severe epilepsies.)

Essentially cannabidiol appears to be no better or worse than any of the medications we currently use, and they should be used as a complementary agent and add-on therapy. Highly-purified cannabidiol in a very concentrated formulation is difficult to find, but not necessarily required (formulations containing THC may have a beneficial side effect profile for example). Please note that Epidioloex is not yet approved in Canada.

Please talk to your doctor before changing or adding medications.

For prescription renewals and updates, contact your pharmacy. Ask the pharmacist to fax a request for a medication refill or update to 613-761-5360 OR 613-761-4752

Please note: We need at least one week’s notice to respond to prescription renewal requests.

1. Please call the epilepsy clinic. We will try to arrange a follow-up, and
2. Please also call your family doctor and ask them to make a new referral. This will help avoid delays.