Background: I always knew that being a person with a neurological disorder such as epilepsy could make day to day living a challenge, what I didn't know until I became a Epilepsy Clinical Coordinator was just how much more complex the “day to day” can be for Women With Epilepsy (W.W.E). Women not only face the common risk of external seizure triggers such as stress, illness or sleep deprivation; they also have to navigate a trigger that they naturally have no control over… their menstrual cycle. For some W.W.E. there can be cyclical worsening of their seizure frequency or intensity that is directly associated with increases in estrogen and/or decreases in progesterone, this is called Catamenial Epilepsy.
Design Methods: Literature review though SHA library search phrase included: Catamenial Epilepsy. I'm also incorporating personal experiences working as a clinical coordinator of a seizure/epilepsy outpatient department.
Results: According to Maguire & Nevit (2018), approximately a third of W.W.E. have 1 (or more) different catamenial pattern/s, which are: • C1: Day -3(25) to day 3 • C2: Day 10-15 • C3: Anovulatory (no ovulation) Treatment options: • Benzodiazepines • Acetazolamide • Progesterone supplements • Gonadotropin-releasing Hormone
Conclusions: Women with epilepsy are a complex patient population to serve, what makes these women so unique is that they will continue to have fluctuations in hormones throughout a lifetime. Catamenial epilepsy refers to the cyclical worsening of seizure frequency or intensity in relation to a menstrual cycle. A third of WWE fall into 1 or more of the 3 different catamenial patterns which requires patient specific treatment plans.
