I have mainly suffered with absence seizures for as long as I can remember. The only thing is I never remember when the seizure actually happens. I always remember what I was doing before the seizure. Telling teachers at college for me was kind of scary as I felt like I was reliving the seizures. My behaviour changed as I grew up. I was more private and silent about it as I was trying to deal with the after effects of my seizures. I was more tired, irritable and just quiet.
Making new friends was quite difficult for me, but over time it's become easier. Telling new people about my epilepsy was quite hard at first, but as I kept opening up, it became much easier. My advice would to just be very honest about it from the start so that the new friends around you aren’t scared when you have a seizure. Telling teachers at college became easier for me as they offered support and I had a medical support plan put in place for me. I just had to have chats with a few members of support staff just to basically go over any important details or they would ask if I had been feeling unwell or something. Managing my seizures in college was quite easy to be honest. I just now make sure that I have my medication in the morning and evening. That can sometimes be difficult as I think that I've forgotten to take it…but I haven’t. I have luckily not seized since being in college. My memory issues are still quite hard to process. I have to write a lot of things down, maybe ask a few more question in college lessons, have extra support or have a more simple explanation on what I have to do complete or continue with. College has continued to support me throughout my courses and I'm very grateful for that.
I'm much happier now that I can talk about my experiences with having absence seizures. I just hope that I'm helping others by speaking up. 💜
Epilepsy is a special part of me and for someone out there, it will be a good part of themselves too.
