Nearly all seizures end on their own, but you need a plan on what to do if your seizures don’t stop as expected. This section will help you coordinate what type of interventions can be done or given if you have a seizure that needs additional help – above and beyond ‘care and comfort’ seizure first aid. On your Seizure Plan, fill in the following information:

• Type of seizure or emergency: Describe the type of seizure or seizure emergency that may need additional help, for example seizure clusters, repeated seizures, or seizures that last more than a specific amount of time. Seizures that occur during high-risk times or under certain circumstances (such as when you are sick, during menses, or during medicine changes), would also be appropriate to list here. If you aren’t sure when seizures require more help, talk to your doctor or nurse for help completing this section.
• Description: Describe what happens in each type of situation you listed. Make the description understandable to others and as specific as possible. For example, a seizure cluster could be described as having a certain number of partial seizures in ‘x’ number of days. If you have a tendency to long seizures, make sure to describe how long a person should wait before giving or using the intervention.
• What to do: List the types of interventions or medicines that have been prescribed on an ‘as needed’ or rescue basis. For example, list if the VNS magnet should be used, or medicines such as Diastat, lorazepam, or diazepam given.

Continue to Knowing My Plan for ‘As Needed’ Treatments

Topic Editor: Steven C. Schachter, MD and Patricia O. Shafer, RN, MN.
Revised: Robert Fisher, MD and Patricia O. Shafer, RN, MN

April 2010