Other teens with epilepsy please reply

pustejovsky · Newbie Joined: 15 Mar 2005 Posts: 15

Hi. I suffer form epilepsy. I am only 16 years old. I hate seizures. They always occur suddenly. Last time I had a seizure I have injured my head. I am taking my meds regularly. The only benefit I have from my condition is my position in school. When I feel like I don`t want to learn, sometimes I say I had a seizure back home and they leave me alone. Anyway, I feel lost and confused. Girls are avoiding me. I just wanted to say something about my problem. Other teens please reply…

brittney · Silver Member Joined: 29 Jul 2002 Posts: 218

Hi. I am 17 years old. My girlfriend is an epileptic. I don`t mind that. She has seizures and it looks really bad. Every time I feel like she is going to die. During the last seizure she wetted herself. It was really embarrassing for her. It was all fine with me. She`s just sick, not stupid or something. I have learned all about epilepsy. Now I know what to do when somebody in your surrounding has a seizure. I know what meds she is taking and all about side effects of her meds. I don`t think other boys and girls are avoiding her. I know I`m not. After all, it could`ve been me in such position.

Guest · Guest

I know your post was a long time ago, but I thought I'd reply anyway.

I am 21 and was diagnosed with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy when I was 14. It is pretty well controlled now with 700mg Lamictal & 0.5mg Klonopin every day, but I still have some problems with myoclonic jerks in my arms if my sleep cycle gets too messed up.

When I was first diagnosed, I told a lot of people about it...maybe I just enjoyed the attention. Then I went through a phase where I was very embarrassed about it and didn't want anyone to know about it. Once I had a full blown seizure at a friend's new years sleepover party, and once I had one while I was driving and ran my car into a telephone pole. I remember times in high school when I used the seizures to get out of taking a test or something, but it's something that you will grow out of eventually.

I never felt like people avoided me because of my epilepsy, and I think if anyone is doing that to you it is because they don't know much about it. Seizures suck. There is no doubt about that. People cannot understand what it is like to completely lose control of your body and your consciousness without any notice until it actually happens to them. People might be scared because they don't know what's going on, so my advice is to explain it to them. Tell them "I have a neurological disorder that sometimes makes me fall on the ground without any warning. It doesn't hurt, and it isn't contagious, it's just really scary." The only way for people to come close to understanding how you feel and accepting your problem is if you tell them the truth about what is happening in your brain and how you feel about it. It works for me.

I've been dating the same guy for the past year, and he's had to deal with me shaking (especially if I sleep at his house and have problems in the morning) and he is very understanding about it.

The best advice I can give you--which I learned the hard way--is to be completely 100% honest with your doctor about everything. He can adjust your medication and give you advice that will control the problem. The only time I ever have problems is when I ignore the guidelines he gives me...especially with a sleep cycle.

Good luck. I promise you, from experience, that the epilepsy will be something that you will learn to live with, and that as long as you are honest with your doctor your condition will improve and you won't have social issues with it either. I hope you feel better soon...and that I didn't bore you with this long novel reply. I probably just want someone who knows what this feels like to read what I have to say...so thanks. Feel free to do the same to me: pixiedani@gmail.com.

Other teens with epilepsy please reply

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