Diagnosis is hard to take

NatalieW

Hello all. I’m hoping that people here might be generous enough to give some advice. I am 27 and having had a few blackouts/seizures in the past, I have just been diagnosed with epilepsy. I’ve been told it is a very mild form and that hopefully medications (which I’ve just started) should control it.

I know that this is not the most serious thing out there. I know many people here would swap their own health problems for this. But I need some reassurance because I am falling apart.

1. I am terrified of having enough seizure – this is somewhat irrational because as I mentioned the medications could well control that, but I am scared that I might have (another) seizure in public

2. Other members in my family (an aunt who I have met only once or twice; and her mother) have epilepsy and it is fairly certain that if I had kids that I would pass it on to at least one of them (this has been confirmed by my doctor). I am gutted to think this could happen and don't think that I could do that to a child.

3. I feel that men won’t have any interest in me that now that I have the condition, and that I would pass it on their children. I think it’s worth pointing out that before this diagnosis, I was confident, would do well with guys and couldn’t wait to meet a guy and have a family when the time was right. I am terrified that this might not happen now.

Perhaps I have lost perspective, I don't know. But I would appreciate any feedback you have. Please be gentle, I couldn’t take any horrible comments right now. Thank you in advance.

estar

i know that epilepsy is a hard diagnosis to take, and is met with mis-apprehension and some public ignorance on the matter.

BUT

1. it isnt terminal and can be managed quite well if you make the recommended lifestyle alterations ie - eat well, no alcohol, proper sleep

2. this is not going to impact whether someone is going to love you or not
men dont look for a breeding machine. there are many other conditions latently walking around in the form of genes that a man might not know about in another woman. at least with you - its up front!

3. your reaction to this is going to be the difference between life falls apart or life is good. i know its hard. i know you have a big reason to feel sorry for yourself. but for yourself you must stay positive, you must see a bright moment in every day, you must see yourself in a positive way, you must live your life as an example to others. the benefits from living with your condition in this way is that you will become a source of positivity for others, and will draw positive things to yourself.

so set aside a defined period of mourning, as you will go through the stages, why me, why not him or her, how will i go on, hopefully then - acceptance.

there is a society that can support you, contact them, it will be useful to be in touch with other people who have gone before you.

this is not the end! at least now you can quantify what is wrong with you and deal with it!

defiance in the face of all adversity.

Kirnsy

im sorry to hear that but like you said yourself OP its not the end of the world.


and any man who 'loves you' / likes you until he learns you have epilepsy aint worth your time.

think of it as a filter. you CAN and WILL deal with this in time. good luck

star-pants

Hey there,

Epilepsy isn't something nice to have either though, so don't worry about 'complaining'.
I have a friend who was diagnosed with epilepsy (she already had chronic asthma and bad diabetes for years) but she refuses to let them hold her back - she's got a wonderful boyfriend and she's had a few setbacks yes, but that wasn't just down to her health. It can be controlled with medication - and if you stress too much you'll probably only make it worse hun.

A different friends' dad has had bad epilepsy most of his life - and that affected him badly, because he drank a lot and didn't stick to his meds. But even then he still had a wife and two children and can spend time with his grandkids.

The same friend actually dated a guy with bad epilepsy for almost a year - granted she found it a bit scary to deal with at times but that didn't stop her caring for him, they broke up for completely unrelated reasons.

I'm not belittling what you have at all - it is serious to a degree and it will cause issues from time to time (like driving but I'm not sure if you have to have a certain level of epilepsy for it to affect it) but if you do your best to take it in your stride, it won't hinder your life. It's frightening to think about having a seizure of course, it's a scary thing to happen - but a good 99% of the time someone will be there who will make sure you're ok. And as it's fairly mild hopefully they will be few and far between in occurance.

Of course at first it's hard to accept hun, and you will have to make a few adjustments, but just be strong and make sure to do everything you need to to keep the seizures at bay and you will be ok. No point worrying yourself over whether your children will have it - not until the time comes, you might not pass it on. And as for finding someone who'll love you, you've the same chance as anyone. Noones perfect, everyone has their own 'baggage' be it emotional/physical/etc... it makes you who you are

NatalieW

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply. You have no idea how reassuring it is to read what you've written; I was in a desperate, awful place this evening, not sure how I could go on, and already I feel quite a bit better. You're absolutely right starpants, I can get over this and become a positive person and yes "defiance in the the face of adversity!"

Thanks to all of you again. Bless you.

Natalie

star-pants

You're welcome Natalie - and you know there are always people there to support you when you feel low. It's natural to hit bumps when you find out things like this about your life - but your attitude will get you through it hun. You'll learn to deal with it and know how to cope and you'll be great!

*hugs*

tbh

what you are going through is part of the natural state of adjustment - I was exactly the same when I found out I had diabetes, but it passes. There's a long term illness forum if you need it - link is under my user name there. Good luck!











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Nevyn

My Dad has epilepsy, we grew up with it the 5 of us and none of us have epilepsy
and none of his 4 grand children have epilepsy.

It's a shock but it's treatable with meds and there are other things you can to
to limit you having an attack. Eating properly and regularly so that the meds
goes into your system, getting enough sleep as tiredness can play a factor,
once you figure out what your body needs you can go for years and never
have a seizure.

Having grown up with epilepsy just being part of the norm I don't bat an eyelid
when someone says that they have it. It is a condition of the brain but it is
not a 'mental' condition. I have lost track over the years when someone has
had a seizure and I spotted it before the fell over and minded them until they came around.

A seizure is scary for the person who has them as they loose control and often have
no memory what so ever what has happened to them and we are conditioned as adults
to be in control and loosing control in such a manner in public seems one of the worse
things we can do, but if you do all the right things to manage your condition it will rarely happen.

There is help and support out there, the brainwave trust has it's own community and you will able to talk to other people who have been where you are.
http://www.epilepsy.ie

You have to do decide how much impact this will have over you life.

Kevo

My friend has mild epilepsy. I do too but it's not definitively diagnosed. My friend takes pills for it and he hasn't had to change his life style at all. Just means he has to remember to take his pills every day. Other than that life is the exact same.

banshee_bones

One of my ex boyfriends had epilepsy. Had a seizure once in my memory but i wasnt there when it happened or was going out with him at the time.

It was obviously something he also felt self concious about too because he never really spoke about it until a good deal into our relationship. His friends made me aware of it, even though i already knew, but i have to say it didnt bother me one bit, he was seeing a doctor and taking his meds, even had the odd drink now and then and led a completely normal life.
I never used to think about it or worry about it, because it really was not an issue for me.

Carpaydiem

Hi OP, dont be so worried!

My girlfriend was diagnosed with Epilepsy last year. We were out having dinner, on Valentines night 2008, when she took a seizure and covered herself and the whole table in potato, and went completely out cold, then talked gibberish for a while.

I had NO idea what was happening, as she'd never had anything like that before.

It took a few months to get the diagnosis, but she was eventually diagnosed with a mild form of epilepsy.

Just like you, for a while she was scared to go out, go for dinner etc etc in case something else happened to her.

This is perfectly natural to feel paranoid about it, its something you didnt know you had, somehting you neer even thought about before, and in some sense, you might even feel embarrassed by it.

In time (hopefully not long) you'll get yourself back together, and stop worrying about what might happen.

There is no reason you cannot live a perfectly normal life with mild epilepsy.

My gf has been on medication since last year, and has not had anything like a seizure since. Personally, I feel she'll be taken off the pills, but I believe the standard these days is to keep people on them for 1-2 years, seizure free before taking people of them again.

Please, don't be worried about anything (I know, easier said than done!) but these things happen to people, and are actually fairly common. No man is going to turn you down because you have a mild form of epilepsy - at least I know I would never be that shallow. And anyone who has a problem with your condition, well, its THEIR problem, not yours.

You'll be fine, just try to go on as you did before, and get yourself out of the worried, paranoid state.

Best of luck to you

Danny2580

Hi there,

Just remembered I had meant to reply to this.

I'm epileptic, was diagnosed at 19 and am now 30. I've had four full on fits in that time, and quite a few of what I would term "warnings", (tiny mini-fits where I have a kind of concentration lapse / slight spasm for less than a second).

It's a very serious condition. However, it hardly interferes with my life at all, on any level. I suppose my condition is quite mild. Crucially, though, I know what my "triggers" are, and this is an essential part of dealing epilepsy in my opinion. Some people just have random fits, other people's fits are brought on by certain triggers, such as flashing lights or tiredness. Mine have all happened when I've had a hangover and am in a stressful situation (Hangover at the Airport, Hangover visiting my Grans, Hangover on my way to play a gig, Hangover on my Birthday). After the second occurance I kinda realised, and toned down the drinking thing, I only drink beer/stout now never anything stronger, and I drink less than I did. And NEVER on a work night or when I have an important engagement the next day. I've been fit free for 4 years now. I stopped taking medication after my second fit, kinda realised that by avoiding my triggers I could manage it. Didn't like the side effects of the meds either, made me a bit dopey. Some people might say I'm mad for even having a beer these days, but I like to think I know my limits and I don't go crazy, I've always enjoyed a pint and don't want my condition totally taking that away from me if possible.

I might be slated for saying all that, but that's how I deal with my own individual condition. That's the important bit, everyone with Epilepsy kind of has a unique condition and you need to figure out how best to deal with yours. Keep records of everything that happens when you have a fit, possible triggers, have you been tested for photosensitivity etc?

At times, more so a few years back, I've been scared of having fits after getting "warnings". That's the worst part of it. But you get on with things.

Socially, I'd be very open about it, I'm a pretty open person anyway. It doesn't affect my relationships, my career, anything like that. I tend not to tell employers, but I've been fit free for four years now so as far as I know I don't have to mention it.

I spent quite a lot of time thinking on how best to deal with epilepsy, and I'm happy with the way I have dealt with it. It has worked for me, for my individual condition, my advice would be to spend a good deal of time thinking on how to deal with yours, researching it etc. Educate yourself on the issue. There are far worse conditions to have. PM me if you've any other questions or anything! Good luck and all the best

embee

I was diagnosed with epilepsy when I was 12 or 13, but on reflection was having absence attacks, severe migraines and visual disturbances from around the age of 9 onwards. Was put on meds (Epilim) and seizures were under control. Mostly I'd have them during my sleep (not always though, but they tended to occur in the evening or at night), I fell out of the bed a few times and cracked my head fairly sharply off the bedframe or beside table, until my parents removed the bed from my room. Slept on a mattress on the floor for my whole teenage years. Would wake up the next morning with a big lump in my tongue from biting down on it and a severe headache and aversion to lights. I had photosensitive epilepsy - discos were pretty much a no-no (I went to them but I'd be terrified of having a fit so I went to a lot less of them than me peers), flashing images on television etc. It got me a down a lot in my teenage years, I was petrified of it happening at school or in public, though it was really only ever at home (or a couple of times in relatives houses) that it happened. I bit my tongue every single time, that was the worst of the whole situation! So, so sore the next day and for days after it

My epilepsy was managed fine with medications and avoiding "triggers" as much as I could (not always possible to avoid the glare of the sun off a car windscreen etc). I used to get "warning signs" that one was imminent.... a sort of flashing, pulsating light that I'd see in my upper field of vision... usually that was my queue to lie down on the floor, away from anything potentially hazardous and just wait for it to come. That sensation of flashing light would last maybe 30 seconds... then (according to my family, I don't remember) I'd start talking complete gibberish, then I'd have a seizure, lasting anything from 10 seconds up to a couple of minutes. I would fall into a deep sleep afterwards for an hour, maybe 2. Don't ever remember having one, just the weird flashy light (had sort of purple and greenish colours to it, very strange but unmistakeably a seizure imminent!) beforehand and I'd wake, usually an hour later or more, with a big lump in the tongue, a pounding headache and aversion to light.

I'm 28 now and have been free of seizures completely since I was 20. They just stopped coming. I'm off the medication since I was 21. EEG's are all normal. I drive a car. It is possible to grow out of some forms of epilepsy. Also, bear in mind that not all forms of epilepsy are genetic. I have a 3 year old daughter and I'd be on relatively high alert watching her for signs, but none so far. If she did turn out to be epileptic, I would just deal with it. Most forms are highly treatable and controlled well with meds.

I feel for you though, it isn't a nice condition and there is a lot of stress over the unpredictability of it. If you manage your meds and learn to recognise (and avoid) any possible triggers then it just becomes part of your life, you learn to deal with it. There is a certain amount of stigma attached to it but that's just down to peoples ignorance on the subject.

Best of luck - your life belongs to you, not your epilepsy

Joey the lips

NatalieW wrote: »

Hello all. I’m hoping that people here might be generous enough to give some advice. I am 27 and having had a few blackouts/seizures in the past, I have just been diagnosed with epilepsy. I’ve been told it is a very mild form and that hopefully medications (which I’ve just started) should control it. Firstly the shock of being diagnosed has you unsure of many things and a lot of things in your future are unsure to you. Live for now. Do not focus to much on tomorrow but obv plan for it in your actions my child had severe elpiepsy from the day he was born. We thought we were going to loose him. We have been through many types of meds but we finally got a combination that works. I dont really want to comment on the combination as it may not work for you but just be aware that some meds make you very drowsy so tell your team this if it does not pass after a couple of months.

I know that this is not the most serious thing out there. I know many people here would swap their own health problems for this. But I need some reassurance because I am falling apart. Again you are in shock you are sitting on a fuse and you dont know when it will go off and prob is to I think when it go's off you have no control and this has you unsure. Give the medicine a chance and no matter what do not stop taking the meds unless advised by your team. My son has been free of fits for a long time

1. I am terrified of having enough seizure – this is somewhat irrational because as I mentioned the medications could well control that, but I am scared that I might have (another) seizure in public. The public thing is terrifying for everyone. I think you can buy a little neck band that has an epil badge on it. This lets everyone know what you have. If you are out in public with a certain circle tell them how to handle you. Tell them not to panic! Not to put anything in your mouth! and not to restrain you! if they want they can put their hands about 6" each side of your head just to shield you and a coat over you to keep you warm. But most importantly not to panic. You will come out of it.

2. Other members in my family (an aunt who I have met only once or twice; and her mother) have epilepsy and it is fairly certain that if I had kids that I would pass it on to at least one of them (this has been confirmed by my doctor). I am gutted to think this could happen and don't think that I could do that to a child. Despite the theory there is not concrete evidence that its passed on. I personally think its a far greater thing to give the gift of life and stop focusing on the life aspect or you will get panic attacks as well.

3. I feel that men won’t have any interest in me that now that I have the condition, and that I would pass it on their children. I think it’s worth pointing out that before this diagnosis, I was confident, would do well with guys and couldn’t wait to meet a guy and have a family when the time was right. I am terrified that this might not happen now. If they dont they are shallow. You will have to be watched more when your preg but dont focus on that. People generally have a caring nature for those they love and this would not influence.

Perhaps I have lost perspective, I don't know. But I would appreciate any feedback you have. Please be gentle, I couldn’t take any horrible comments right now. Thank you in advance. I hope I have said nothing horriable. Please do not worry and be careful about what you read, there is hundreds of different forms of the illness and different varients within these. The medicine works and it works far greater on people whole get the disease later.

Lastly. This I think has rocked your confidence. Dont be afraid to ask your medical team to rec a councillor. You have to deal with something that seems life threatening to you but it is a fact that epil that is gotten at your stage is easier controled. So please take time and relax.

There will be some restrictions on your life at the moment, like Driving etc dont take this as an attack on your independence


Nat all of this comes to you from a parents perspective and dont be afraid to ask any questions you like. It was hard for us to look at this but we moved on and the meds have our child perfect. So will you

Bye for now!

bubblewrap

Hi Natalie,

I am in the same situation as you, I am nearly 27, was diagnosed when I was 25 (they too said it was a mild form but it is still scary). My first seizure was at a Christmas party at work and they all basically took the pee saying I was just drunk (I thought I was too) then a month later I had one whilst at work - a full blown seizure, it was horrible. The sickness and tiredness afterwards is exhausting, I was in agony for a week - I had bumped my head and had a big egg on it and my muscles were killing (the jerks are meant to be the equivalent of running a marathon apparently!)

I am still terrified now, think I might get some counselling. I am scared of driving on my own, scared of shopping on my own, I hate it.

I also hate the fact that when the time comes to have children, my medication can affect the foetus' development and can cause increased seizures etc.

Sorry I have probably made you feel worse but it was just to let you know I am the same.

I was also scared of telling my boyfriend, he kept asking why I had been banned from driving, at first I said speeding but then I admitted it and he didn't even bat an eyelid, he was a bit puzzled as to why I didn't mention it because it is important he knows in case I had a seizure.

I know how horrible it is but there are people who can't work because they have several a day so we need to put it into perspective - still not nice though.

Take care xxx

ps. Mine is photosensitive which is even worse as I can't even go to pubs/clubs with flashing lights, I get so nervous.

wolfpawnat

Hey Natalie,

My father, sister and 12 year old brother all have epilepsy (I am the only child not to get it), I know how it is as a family member to have it in the home.

My brother is growing so fast (as all 12 yr old boys do) that his tegretol levels are being adjusted constantly because he outgrws his dosages and has more seizures. At first we couldn't let him go to scouts without one of us there to administer his seizure meds and this ruined his life, no sports or anything. But we adjusted and so did he and now he is happy out with hurling, soccer and scouts.

My sister took her first seizures when only I was home with her and she nearly gave me a heart attack with it! But after learning what it was and learing to look after a seizure patient, it was not as bad. Although she did have to miss most of her junior cert year because of it!

It is hard I'm sure at first but once your body gets used to the medicine and you get a bit more confident then you will feel like you did before and it won't seem so difficult. I can only say this as a person with it in my family, I cannot speak as a suffer of this illness.

Good luck and try to be positive
Natalie:)

ToyotaCorolla

My wife and I had to rush our little 9 week old baby to hospital a couple of weeks back as she started having seizures out of the blue we spent 10 days in with her as they tried to diagnose what was happening , she is being treated with tegrotol to control them. They have diagnosed the seizures as "unconfirmed seizures" cause "unknown".

They have mentioned that it could be a metabolic issue causing it and from readin an awful lot on epilepsy over the past few weeks you hear so many different views thats it hard to get your head around what the future holds. In general i have to say the public percedption of epilepsy is very backward.

Thankfully the seizures at the moment are under control

Best of luck OP

NatalieW

OP here. I've read over everyone's replies quite a few times and I'm still so grateful that people would take the time to tell me their stories and reassure me. I feel a bit stupid for taking this news so badly given that there are worse things out there, but you have all made it a lot easier.

The last few days were quite tough but as one of the earlier posters mentioned, it's okay to spend a few days mourning (if that's not too dramatic a term) and then trying to get your head around it and be positive; thanks Danny for the advice on taking time to figure out how to deal with this. That's what I'm going to do. I am still quite panicky that I will have another seizure but I am trying my best to be sensible, and remembering that since I am on meds I could well be seizure-free which would be fantastic!

The main fear that will take me a bit longer to deal with is whether to have kids and the potential effect the meds would have on a baby if I did want to become pregnant; I'm aware of the issues around this having read up the right sources and talked to the right people, it is a frightening prospect but hopefully with the right advice and good care, I will eventually figure out what to do . But what really helped me is what Joey the Lips said about how giving the gift of life was the most important thing.

Bubblewrap, I hope things get better for you too; at the very least I think advice from the other posters might help you, me and anyone else dealing with the same thing. I have copied and pasted these posts onto a page and whenever I get down, I am going to look at them and feel better! And Toyota Corolla, I hope your little girl gets better and better; I will say a prayer for her tonight bit it sounds like things are already going in the right direction.

Thanks everyone for your help.

Natalie

embee

Hi Natalie,

Glad to hear you're feeling more positive. I meant to say in my earlier post....

A sister of a close friend of mine who is epileptic has a healthy 2.5 yr old and is due her second baby in May. Herself and her care team have worked through both pregnancies to ensure the health of both Mum and baby and she is doing really well.

HTH

Eyespy

Hi Natalie,

I'm epileptic too and have had it for about 19 years. My sister has it too but thankfully we both only have mild conditions. Both my sister and I were diagnosed as children but she had what was known as petit mal or absences while I had the grand mal type. My sister responded well to medication (liquid epilium) and was gradually weaned off. She ended up being seizure free for about 12 years but circumstances unfortunately saw her being re-diagnosed with epilepsy about 3 years ago. She now has localised seizures which affect her arms and legs. However, the strange thing is in both our cases that we very seldom seem to have seizures in public. I usually have mine in my sleep and my sister has hers when she is at home.

Everyone is different. Like one of the other posters here, I have photosensitive epilepsy which means I can't go to nightclubs or the cinema. Driving is tough when the road is wet and the sun casts a glare on it, the sun shining through leaves can be a pain in the ars* and lights on council lorries and emergency vehicles are all potential problems but sunglasses do help as does taking meds and having your blood regularly tested to ensure that you have enough in your system for your weight. I'm in my final year of college so my weight yo-yos all the time now I'm probably eating more than Mary Harney. I also have triggers I know are guaranteed to send me into a seizure so I avoid those like the plague eg essential oils. Certain ones blow my head straight off! My sisters involve certain types of spices so having meals out can be tricky. She had some egg mayo the other night and was about half wa through when she started seizing. Bloody paprika :eek: So keep a diary just so you can keep everything in mind after having a seizure. If you've only been diagnosed you probably won't know yours yet but you really need to know your triggers to prevent them.

The only other thing I can offer is that there are a certain number of factors that seem to cause seizures. Stress, lack of sleep, putting on or losing weight and having your period all seem to have some effect on the liklihood of having one.

Please don't despair because of your diagnosis. It's quite a big life change as one of the posters above mentioned you will probably have to cut out drink and if you have the photosensitive type you'll probably have to cut out a lot more for a while. But you will adjust and once you know your individual triggers and you get sorted on the meds that suit you, hopefully you'll be grand. In many cases like my sister and I (mild type), the meds do all the work. This was pretty long and rambly and I'm sorry about that but I am wrecked tired. If you have any questions at all or just want to talk feel free to pm me. Best of luck with everything.

Eyespy

ToyotaCorolla wrote: »

My wife and I had to rush our little 9 week old baby to hospital a couple of weeks back as she started having seizures out of the blue we spent 10 days in with her as they tried to diagnose what was happening , she is being treated with tegrotol to control them. They have diagnosed the seizures as "unconfirmed seizures" cause "unknown".

They have mentioned that it could be a metabolic issue causing it and from readin an awful lot on epilepsy over the past few weeks you hear so many different views thats it hard to get your head around what the future holds. In general i have to say the public percedption of epilepsy is very backward.

Thankfully the seizures at the moment are under control

Best of luck OP

I really hope everything works out ok for your baby TC. Is she having one offs or do the seizures occur one after the other? Does she have many in the day? It's possible if they are one offs that they might be infebrile (sp?) convulsions and she may just grow out of them. My neighbours daughter had these quite violently as a baby but grew out of them when she was about 3. I hope that this helps a bit. The only thing with epilepsy is that it does take time to diagnose properly and give meds accordingly but hopefully if your daughter does have it, this will be enough to control it. I can only imagine how frightening it must be to you and your wife though. It's awful to seen anyone in a seizure but especially so when it's a baby. If you contact brainwave they may be able to tell you about local meetings where you can talk to people who have epilepsy about day to day life but most importantly to parents going through the same as yourselves. The very best wishes to you, your wife and baby.

Eyespy

bubblewrap wrote: »

Hi Natalie,

I am in the same situation as you, I am nearly 27, was diagnosed when I was 25 (they too said it was a mild form but it is still scary). My first seizure was at a Christmas party at work and they all basically took the pee saying I was just drunk (I thought I was too) then a month later I had one whilst at work - a full blown seizure, it was horrible. The sickness and tiredness afterwards is exhausting, I was in agony for a week - I had bumped my head and had a big egg on it and my muscles were killing (the jerks are meant to be the equivalent of running a marathon apparently!)

I am still terrified now, think I might get some counselling. I am scared of driving on my own, scared of shopping on my own, I hate it.

I also hate the fact that when the time comes to have children, my medication can affect the foetus' development and can cause increased seizures etc.

Sorry I have probably made you feel worse but it was just to let you know I am the same.

I was also scared of telling my boyfriend, he kept asking why I had been banned from driving, at first I said speeding but then I admitted it and he didn't even bat an eyelid, he was a bit puzzled as to why I didn't mention it because it is important he knows in case I had a seizure.

I know how horrible it is but there are people who can't work because they have several a day so we need to put it into perspective - still not nice though.

Take care xxx

ps. Mine is photosensitive which is even worse as I can't even go to pubs/clubs with flashing lights, I get so nervous.

Hi Bubblewrap,

I have photosensitive epilespy too. It does make life awkward but it shouldn't make life impossible for you. Don't be afraid to do day to day things, the fear is counterproductive and could possibly induce one. Speak to your doctors about driving, if your epilepsy is under control you should be fine. Both my sister and I drive with no problems. Sunglasses or anti-glare shades are fantastic and help enormously. Counselling is also a good idea but also think about getting in touch with brainwave, I think Thaedydal gave the link in her post. They're fantastic and the meetings are very beneficial. If you ever want to talk, pm me.

ToyotaCorolla

Thanks Natatlie and Eyespy for your kind words.

We have heard of cases of infantile seizures that pass in time as the baby gets older. The worst thing is the unknown and the uncertainty that we dont know when a seizure might occur as they have mentined the dosage she is on now may not be enough as she grows bigger week to week. The hospital have been very good with information and support even arranging with the DSFA to get a long term illness card setup for her medication.