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

In short, I am a 19 Year Old Male. I was diagnosed with Epilepsy in 2007. I am on the Keppra Medication on a dose of 2500mg per day. I have mainly suffered of late, Absence Seizures and Tonic Clonic Seizures.

My question is this,

My seizure frequency has been increasing recently, I had to leave my job because the seizures were endangering my work as an Au-Pair. The family I worked for over-worked me :( I am currently waiting for a review from my Neurologist to see if I will be allowed to work as an Au Pair in the future.
My Epilepsy seems to be getting worse, I am worried about what I can do :( There is already quite a short list of jobs I can do and I am interested in, what can I do?

Thanks

Jason, Essex

Hi Jason

It’s good that your neurologist is looking at your Keppra. Hopefully, once your medication is sorted out, you will have more control of your seizures.

As you will see from our website, all jobs, except the armed forces, are open to people with epilepsy and people with epilepsy are protected by the Disability Discrimination Act. This means you can’t be discriminated against, just because you have epilepsy. However, if you want to work with children or other people who could be considered vulnerable, then you would need to have seizure control.

You mention that your previous employers overworked you. It’s important that you try to avoid possible triggers, such as tiredness, lack of sleep and stress in the future. So, when you are looking for work, you might want to consider jobs with regular hours. A  Disability Employment Adviser at JobCentre Plus, may be able to help you with your job search.

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