Introduction: According to the World Health Organization, epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases affecting more than 50 million people of all ages worldwide. Despite the prevalence of epilepsy, public understanding of the disease is limited. Patients with epilepsy and their families face many challenges in relation to the disease, involving many limitations and the manifestation of various psychosocial problems. The social consequences of having a diagnosis and under-diagnosis of the disease contribute to the problem. Objective: To examine the evidence on the consequences of a diagnosis of epilepsy in adults, focusing on a spectrum of social and medical problems. Materials and Methods: References identified using Medline/PubMed and Google Scholar searches published in English between January 2011 and December 2021 (10 years), with search terms: epilepsy patient problems. Results: Epilepsy is a widespread and one of the most stigmatising neuropsychiatric disorders. It has a negative impact on all aspects of the patient's life: obtaining education and employment, level of social functioning and family formation, on the quality of life in general. The availability of quality medical and pharmaceutical care, as well as the social consequences of having a diagnosis, serve as an insurmountable barrier to BE. Free provision of antiepileptic drugs in the Russian Federation is implemented by the cheapest option - generics. Half of the total number of patients have to purchase the drugs at their own expense and are not included in the official statistics. Conclusions: Hypodiagnosis of epilepsy in Russia and lack of proper information on epidemiological characteristics of the disease cause significant shortcomings in the organization of medical care.