Association of epilepsy and headache from the patient perspective

Headache occurs more frequently in patients with epilepsy as compared to the general population. Current studies in patients with epilepsy and migraine show that this increased frequency is independent of the seizure type, etiology or age at onset. People with epilepsy are 2.4 times more likely to be diagnosed with migraine. In our study, we evaluated patients' attitudes toward comorbidity of epilepsy and all headache types. Study results showed a significant number of patients to have experienced headaches after being diagnosed with epilepsy, and some of them assumed it was a side effect of their antiepileptic drug. Based on these data, we propose a more detailed assessment of the history of epilepsy including questions on headache, and offer the epilepsy patient a newer antiepileptic drug. In this way, we can significantly decrease the comorbidity of these two neurologic disorders and improve the quality of life in epilepsy patients.