November is Epilepsy Awareness Month. Epilepsy Foundation and its affiliates including those of Neurology related including Asperger’s, Austism, Angelman’s Syndrome, Stroke / T.I.A. (Transient Ischemic Attack), and so much more - can attack the brain and trigger seizures.

Seizures? Is it all what you think? Learn more about it during this entire month of Awareness, and be sure to visit the other Myspace Members as well - Ignorance is not always bliss!

Do you know what to do when someone has a seizure? There are over 30+ types of seizures, and many of them you do not even recognize that one had even had it! There’s nearly 3 million Americans, and over 5 million Worldwide who have Epilepsy also known as Seizure Disorders, from Infants to Elderly.

There are famous people out there who have Epilepsy - Can you spot them? There are professional sports players out there who have Epilepsy? Do you know who they are? There are famous artists, singers, writers, composers, alive and deceased.

Epilepsy - is it what you think it is?

Come and learn and be enlightened, for the chances are in a City or Metro area, you may very well have 2 to 3 neighbors right nearby you that have Epilepsy and you just never knew it!

Your own Physician who treats you could have Epilepsy, the Police Officer who patrols your area could have Epilepsy that has been controlled, the very "favorite" Manager at your favorite Store that you love to chat with, could very well be a person with Epilepsy and you never knew it! Are you surprised?

There’s a lot to know and a lot to learn, don’t be afraid - take a step and increase your knowledge and be empowered and cast away all the old myths, old wives fables, and things that have come forth from the dark ages and step into the light.

Have a wonderful November!

Absolutely right Sharon... I can’t tell you how many people have joined the CWE forum with a new diagnosis of epilepsy only to discover that they had been experiencing absence seizures, simple partial seizures or temporal lobe seizures for years that went undiagnosed simply because they didn’t know they were seizures.

If these people had been diagnosed early, they might have had a chance to prevent the seizures from progressing. Epilepsy is one of those black sheep disorders - no one talks about it.

Black sheep disorder is an excellent way of putting it. Either they don’t believe you, they think you’re just crazy or faking it for attention, or they just flat out pretend there’s not a problem. Most people don’t realize there’s so many different kinds of seizures either and it’s almost pointless educating people that aren’t affected by it because they don’t even care to know.

I agree. We certainly need to make our voices heard; not just in November, but all year long.

my name is daisy,
i have had epilespy since i was 4 and yes i totally understand what your saying. i have petit mal seizures they are very mild and i just need to sit some where and it will last up to 30 seconds to a 1 minute., i leave my eyes open while i have a seizure they get a little wide but it is nothing to be afraid of, if i would close them i would see things that aren’t real, and when its over i can go and continue doing what i was doing before the seizure occured. i am just like everyone else i just have a seizure disorder. it is not conitagious or anything i just have to take medicine in the morning and at night to have them controlled hopefully they will be more under controlled to where i can drive one day. i hope this has educated you a little bit on epilespy and to not be afraid of someone who has it. 1 myth i hear alot and don’t do it what so ever is put something in someone’s mouth, you don’t have to do that for me. that is something my neurologist have always told me.thank you for your time and listening.

Daisy

If everyone with a seizure disorder would just ’fess up, there would be more understanding and more interest. So many people hide the fact that they are one of us. Thanks for mentioning this on Braintalk, Bernard. (I’m Lindy) If we don’t all stick together and show the world that there is nothing wrong with us - that we are just as capable of leading full productive lives as anyone else.

Hello from Seattle I have had Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy for 15 years, it is pretty well under control with medication....I do not know any one else with epilepsy so sometimes I feel like the odd one out, just a few weeks ago I was telling a seemingly educated person that I have epilepsy and she didnt even know what it was....she had absolutely no clue what it meant. So yes, I do agree with you all we need to educate the public. And this includes all the people out there who are famous and have the bucks...we do massive research on Parkinson’s, so lets get this ball rolling. Oh and by the way, I just graduated from Nursing school, so if I can do it, so can you!!!!

Hi! My little one who is about 11 months old has epilepsy. He had his first seizure when he was only 24 hours old and we just found out that he is having partial and myclonic seizures among some other types also. His neuro thinks he most likely has a rare epilepsy syndrome. I feel as if I’m always explaining epilepsy and would love for the world to become more educated - as well as meeting others who can educate me as well!!!!

Hey!
I am 19 years old and for a year now I have had to battle with seizures. It’s not an easy thing to do. Sometimes I know when I am going to have a seizure, and sometimes I don’t, I will just fall and start having seizures. When I first started having seizures I would have about 20 a week. I hate having to go through this and to have my family watch me go through this. Besides dealing with this I have Asthma and have to do breathing treatments so I can breathe. My life is not easy, but I would not trade it for anything. My seizures are getting under control, but I still have them but not as much. I know I can’t do certain things, but i really don’t care.....in time I will be just fine! Please realize that this isn’t an easy thing to go through or for people to watch you go through!

I have dealt with Epilepsy for over 20 years now as a mother and grandmother. My oldest daughter was diagnosed at the age of 6 and at the age of 24 died from SUDEP. We have since adopted my granddaughter who also has been diagnosed with Epilepsy. Since my daughter’s death, I have learned so much about Epilepsy that I never knew. I have joined the board of directors for our local foundation and also chair our advisory committee. It has become a goal of mine to educate everyone I meet about Epilepsy. I would like to see Epilepsy as well known as Heart Disease, Breast Cancer, etc. This disorder has been around since biblical times and still people know very little about it. This disorder is the 3rd top Neurological disorder to affect people. It is so important to bring this disorder out of the shadows and take away the stigma that is attached to it so people won’t be ashamed to tell people they have Epilepsy. We need funding to help research this disorder so someday people can be seizure free without the medications and the side effects of these medications. The number of people in the United States alone that are affected with seizures is growing. Our soldiers who are returning with brain injuries are at a very high risk of developing seizures. We need to educate our law enforcement to recognize seizures so they are not tazering people during a seizure. We need to make sure our school educators are seizure trained so they know what to do if someone has a seizure during school.

Please help us to make Epilepsy "Not Another Moment Lost to Seizures". Contact your local foundation, the National Foundation and your legislatures to help us.

I have epilepsy and I’m afraid to admit it when I’m going in for an interview. The ignorance out there can keep us from getting jobs that we can do. I can’t tell you how many times I didn’t get hired because someone with the same qualifications was fighting for it but they didn’t have "a problem". We need to spread the word and let people know that we are not a problem. Speak up and let the world know.

Hi. During my infant/toddler years, I unfortuantely had many seizures during that time. However, they eventually subsided and my doctor informed my parents that it wouldnt affect me later on in life. But at age 16, I had my first grandmal seizure and two weeks following i had my second one. For five years, I was under very good control, until one day I woke up with a terrible headache that lasted for over an entire year. So i went to my neurologist who in return decided to add medications and change medications for an entire year. I felt like his guineau pig. During that year I had also experienced double vision almost every day because the changing of meds was so frequent. My friends and family became my eyes, as there were days i was unable to walk up a flight of stairs or even drive. After one year of headaches, double vision, changing of meds, a partial seizure, It had taken a huge toll on me emotionally. So after doing some much needed research, I realized that all my problems was a result of one medication he had put me on. Once I was off of that, my life was slowly turning around. It has now been three years and unfortunately i’ve had a few more bumps in the road but i have to say i have never been the same since that year. I was forever changed. For the first five years of being diagnosed with epilepsy, I truly thought it wasnt that big of a deal because my medication controlled it, so what could happen. But when three years ago happened, it made me realize that it is a big deal and it’s something i want to know more about. So many people dont know what epilepsy is and I wish that would change because it does affect so many people. However, I know I am truly lucky that I do have medications that control my seizures. I just deal with the side affects of all those medications and partial seizures on occasions. For those of you, who meds cant control their epilepsy, my prayers are always with you :)

Mother of an epileptic daughter. Tough start of the school year, found out that topamax made her seizures more dramatic than she is used to and her classmates ever saw. She was diagnosed with absence seizures at age 6 and most likely had them before then. I did not receive a manual with her when she was born and epilepsy is not glorified in any way in the media, there are more tampon, pms and viagra commercials and magazine articles than needed. Since she is a "difficult case"; as per her neurologist- after several attempts using AED’s we will now try a modified atkins diet before trying phenobarbitol and dilantin. Wish her luck.