All about Nonepileptic Seizures

Nonepileptic Seizures are epileptic-like seizures that are involuntary and not under the control of the person having them. It has been estimated that as many as half a million people or more have NES. Between 75% to 85% are women and many have a history of sexual or physical abuse in childhood.

Nonepileptic Seizures are as debilitating as epileptic seizures. They are very difficult to diagnose and are often mistaken for true epilepsy. This causes many to go incorrectly diagnosed for many years before the correct diagnosis is made. This causes many sufferers to take anti-epileptic medications that are ineffective, unnecessary and costly.

We are The Nonepileptic Seizure Organization and our website is at www.nonepilepticseizures.org.  We are dedicated to helping those with Nonepileptic Seizures and their families. It is our hope that this web site can serve as a starting point for those with NES to be able to find the help and information they need. We will also work to build the only national database of physicians and psychiatrists/psychologists with NES treatment experience. Our blog can be found at http://nonepilepticseizures.blogspot.com. 

Our website contains information about NES and the best treatment options available. The information currently on the Internet about NES is scattered and in many cases highly technical and seldom gives resources for treatment. We want to make sure people suffering from NES have a place to begin to learn about NES and where to go to find help.

Because Nonepileptic Seizures are "psychologically" based, psychiatrists and psychologists are best equipped to treat them. It is very important to find someone with specific NES treatment experience. Also, as is often the case, if there are coexisting problems such as PTSD, depression and anxiety, they need to be well versed in those conditions as well.

In our own personal search we have found that there are very few professionals who know about or have experience in treating Nonepileptic Seizures. We feel that there is a great need for a national database of experienced therapists and we are attempting to create one. The first entries are here on our National Database of NES Treatment Providers.

Another option for finding treatment is to call the American Psychological Association at 1-800-964-2000 whereyou can obtain a referral to a psychologist in your area. The operator will use your zip code to locate and connect you with the referral service of the state psychological association. Make sure to ask for those psychologists who have experience in treating Nonepileptic Seizures.

You may also call your local or regional Epilepsy Center. Some provide treatment for NES or if not may have local treatment providers that they can recommend. To find a local Epilepsy Center you can visit the National Association of Epilepsy Centers web site.

We hope that this site will be a valuable resource.

Disclaimer: As people without medical training ourselves we are not able to and will not in any way give medical advice here on this website or by any other means. Patients must always talk with their physician about anything they read on our website or anywhere else on the web.