Help, I'm scared

[Mainda]

I'm new here. Had my first Grand Mal siesure a few weeks ago. I'm suffering from deep depression at the moment and not quite sure how to handle it. I travel a lot for my work and the panic and anxiety I feel to go anywhere is killing me.

Any advise from anyone?

[Tdevilliers]

Hi Mainda - I have lived with epilepsy for 45 years and also went through a very low point in my life. I turned this around and set up a support group for people with epilepsy and got involved with Epilepsy SA and in doing so I turned all of those negative energies i experienced into positives. Talking to other understanding people is a great help - you quickly realise that you are not the only one - at least one percent of the worlds population have this condition so 1 out of every 100 people you see in a crowd will likely have epilepsy of some kind. I overcame all of the barriers in my life and live a very fulfilled active life.

You need to keep a diary on your seizure frequencies, what happened in the past 24 - 48 hours prior to your seizure, i.e. key contributing factors could be stress, lack of sleep, alcohol/wine, different stimulants i.e. in foods, coffee, etc. If you can identify a pattern, you may be able to learn to manage your condition better. Use the diary when you speak to your neurologist.

Don't let depression take hold, you need to be in control of your condition and not the other way around. Life is too short - do the things you want to do and believe that everything will be fine.

Anxiety, panic, depression create subconscious stress and stress makes one more susceptible to having seizures. I also experienced this and i made an effort to not think about my condition and get on with my life.

Fortunately, my Neurologist found the right recipe of meds for me in about 1994 and my seizures dropped significantly. I still have approx one per annum, when i let my guard down. I am a keen mountain biker and cyclist and in December, I entertained a few friends at home and had a bit too much wine to drink and not enough water to re hydrate. The next morning we were on a Club cycle ride and I had a seizure, falling and hitting my forehead on a stone and fracturing two ribs. Due to trauma damage of the skin, a plastic surgeon did wonders in pulling all together again - so now I wear plasters until the scars have gone. It did not stop me getting up and two weeks later I was back cycling again. I now make a concerted effort to drink plenty of water a day.

Another tip from my neurologist was that if i have had a few drinks, i need to take an extra pill before going to bed to boost my blood levels. So we live and learn.

Hope I have been of help

Just keep telling yourself that all will be okay - that is what i always think when faced with any difficulties in life - it will make a difference to how you feel about yourself.

Tim de Villiers

0829250404

[Mainda in reply to Tdevilliers]

Thank you so much. Im trying hard to think differently and get around this. Your words mean so much to me. I will do all you say and i hope that i don't have another one.

M

[Tdevilliers]

Its a please - take control of your condition even if it means making minor adjustments to lifestyle and all will be okay.

[Tdevilliers in reply to Tdevilliers]

sorry, I meant Its a pleasure