Dear Debbie answers 1

Dear Debbie

Ive had peti mals since i was five nd have only ever had 1 grandmal around when i was 7 nd now 10 years later out of the blue i have a grand mal nd im scared and uncertain because i am so close to the end of my qualification in childcare and now my tutor is saying the possibilies of not passing and getting thrown out of my work placement and im just worried and that nothin is certain please help

kirstie xxx

Hi Kirstie

You don’t say whether you’re taking anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs). If you are, it may be that you’ve grown out of the dose that you were taking as a child. I would suggest you see your epilepsy specialist to have your drugs checked. If you’ve not been taking medication, you could also benefit from a review of your epilepsy with a specialist. This is particularly important now that you have work to consider.

I’m not sure why your tutor thinks you may not pass your childcare qualification. If you’ve been successful so far, they can’t fail you because you’ve had a seizure. This is because people with epilepsy are covered by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). It means that you can’t be discriminated against just because you have epilepsy.

Kirstie, it would be really good if you could call us on the Epilepsy Helpline freephone 0808 800 5050 or email us, as we have lots of information that might help you.

Dear Debbie

hi debbie my doughter has epilepsy do u know if she is intitled to disability allowance. thanks

Claire, Bristol

Hi Claire

If your daughter has more daily care needs than other children of her age, she may be entitled to disability living allowance.

If you would like to discuss this, please contact one of my colleagues on the Epilepsy Helpline freephone (0808 800 5050).

Debbie

Dear Debbie

i went to see a  doctor yesterday about my epilepsy. he said that i might have to have an operation on my brain, so before that i need to stay in hospital for three days to have some scans. im really scared about the operation because i keep thinking about the knife thats going to go in my head. my mum had and operation before on her face because she had a nose job and she keeps saying to me that 'if she can do it i can do it' but is not that easy for me. not only is she alot older than me but shes not didn't have part of her brain cut open.

mum keeps rubbing my face and telling me i'm a brave girl and stuff like that but i'm kind of mixed in feelings when that happen because at one moment i'm scared and the other i'm feeling brave. i don't want mum to think that i'm a big baby, what do i tell her? and are the operations really that bad?

thanks for your support,

georgia 

Hi Georgia

I’m not surprised you’re worried that you might need an operation on your brain – most people would be! Lots of people do have brain surgery to help get their seizures under control, so the surgeons will be very experienced. They will only do the surgery if they are as sure as can be that you will be better after the surgery than you are now. And, at the end of the day, you can say whether you want to have the surgery or not. 

It sounds as if you need some support to help you make your decision. If you know which hospital you will be going to for the tests, you could contact them before you go in, and ask them for information about the tests. They may even be able to tell you what the surgery is called, which will help you to do more research about it. Also, some hospitals can put you in contact with other people who have had the same tests and surgery, who can talk to you about it. There may even be a surgery nurse, who will be able to support you.

Epilepsy Action has an online forum for people aged 16 and over. There are over 4000 members, so it’s likely there’ll be people who have had surgery for their epilepsy.  If you are over 16, you could join the forum and ask other people to tell you about any of the tests they had before their surgery and how they felt afterwards.

If your epilepsy has been causing you lots of problems, and the tests show that surgery is possible for you, it could give you a better quality of life. Even if surgery isn’t possible, the tests could help your doctors find the best treatment for you.

It’s a big decision for you to make, so if you would like to speak to one of our epilepsy advisers, in confidence, you could contact the Epilepsy Helpline freephone 0808 800 5050. Alternatively, you could email them at helpline@epilepsy.org.uk. If you type ‘Debbie referral’ in the subject box, they will reply as soon as possible.

Hope this helps.

Debbie

Dear Debbie 

hey debbie
i have epilepsy and was just wondering can epilepsy cause people short term memory loss or learning difficulties ??

Daryl, Sion Mills

Hey Daryl

Some people with epilepsy have memory problems. They might be caused by epileptic activity in your brain or side effects from your anti-epileptic drugs. Check out the epilepsy and memory pages of the website.

Epilepsy might sometimes cause you problems with learning. For example, you might struggle to learn if you have lots of seizures and miss pieces of information. However, most people with epilepsy have the same range of abilities as anyone else.

Debbie

Dear Debbie 

Hi last night i went to bed at four in the morning. I have recently been so sleepy when i get home from school so i sleep for a few hours and then do my homework till early hours of the morning. I know this is a stupid routine and i will stop doing this. But last night i experienced something completely out of the ordinary. I went to bed at 4am and as i was drifting of to sleep i began to shake uncontrollably for at least one minute. I was so confused and after it stopped my whole body was still shaking slowly. I am very nervous about this incident and after having read much of the information on this website i feel it is mainly due to irregular sleeping patterns. But i am still very concerned. If i change my sleeping pattern in this likely to happen again? And is it advisable to see a doctor about it?
Thank you for you time.

Demi, Bolton

Hi Demi

As this is the first time you’ve experienced unusual shaking, it’s definitely a good idea to see your doctor. They’ll look into possible reasons why this happened. If your doctor suspects the shaking may have been due to epilepsy, they’ll refer you to see a neurologist at the hospital.

Some people with epilepsy do find that if they don’t have a regular sleep pattern, they’re more likely to have a seizure. However, unusual sleep patterns can affect different people in different ways. Experiencing shaking doesn’t necessarily mean that you do have epilepsy.

Hope that helps.

Debbie