epilepsy.......not maddness (My Experience of Epilepsy)

Member Name: sparky111

Product:	My Experience of Epilepsy
Date:	13/10/08 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: n/a

Disadvantages: not able to drive, and not in control

i started experiencing the symptoms of epilepsy in my early teens, i would be talking to someone then just go blank as though i was daydreaming, i knew i had had one after it had happened but didnt know they were coming.

my mother took me to the doctors and when asked if anyone in my family had it, my mother replied " her nan was mad " and the doctor replied its NOT a sign of maddness, but it just goes to show how some people saw epilepsy, the doctor then passed me on to a specialist at addenbrooks hospital, where i had some tests done to see what my brain activity was like, i laid back on the bed and had wires ( sorry dont know the correct term for them, hope you understand what i mean! ) attached to my head, then was told to close my eyes while lights were flashed, then open them , then blink, as i was a teenager i found it quite scary.

after a few weeks i went back to the doctor for my results, which came back as having epilepsy, all be it a mild form, petite mall its formally known as.
i was put on medication to try and control them, but still had quite a few.

i had a lot of stresses in my childhood and had a very bad relationship with my mother and step-father and this in turn made my " turns " a lot worse as in my case stress and anxiety bought them on more, i had one very bad one when i had a sleep over round my friends house, i was about 15 and slept in the bedroom with her, i went to close the door in the dark and bumped my head on the wardrobe, next morning my friend told me i was convulsing on the floor for about 30 mins and her parents didnt know what to do, in the end when i had calmed down they put me to bed and i slept for the rest of the night unaware of anything, my friend also told me her parents didnt want me to stay over anymore because of it.
i dont blame them, they were obviously unnerved by it and didnt understand.

when i was old enough to go clubbing with my friends and experimenting with alcohol i tended then to have a lot more, especially in the morning they would come thick and fast, and i would be left feeling very tired after, so i soon learnt i couldnt keep up with friends and kept to the same drink and in moderation, which actually didnt bother me as much as i thought it would.

i then seemed to grow out of it in my early twenties, just had a few episodes whilst i was pregnant, still very mild ones.

ive learnt now to just live with it, i cant change it but hopefully i will one day grow out of it as some people do, there are only two things i wish for one is that i hope my daughter doesnt get it as its heredity and the other is to be able to learn to drive as its a real dream of mine, but if not then it wasnt meant to be.

Summary: not as hard to live with as you think.