Dear Debbie answers 1

Recent questions: 

• Message for Dawn in Minster - Debbie
• Message for Kim in Teddington - Debbie
• I don't want to be someone I'm not - Sarah
• Can I have extra time in exams? Are EEGs Scary? Holz
• will I finish my qualification? Kirstie
• Do I need to tell people about my seizures? Katlyn
• Are the doctors right? Angelliner
• Do I have to tell lecturers about my epilepsy? Kim
• what are the side affects of Lamotragine? Krisite
• How do i get hold of medi jewellary? Rebecca
• I think i've got epilepsy - Caroline
• why have seizures returned? Charlotte
• Message for Wendy in South Yorkshire - Debbie
• can you die from a seizure? Tiffany
• Can someone have e if they have bad migraines? Alex
• too much alcohol, not enough sleep? Stephanie
• my bf doesn't know I have e - Lucy
• I can't live my life like I want to - Gemma
• can sleep szures cause brain damage? - Montana
• I am scared my brother might die of SUDEP - Dan
• I want to make new friends - Simone
• Question for Debbie?

  

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

Message to Wendy in South Yorkshire

I think you would find a personal reply to your questions really helpful. Please send your email to our epilepsy Helpline team and they can send you a fast response.

You can send your question to them at helpline@epilepsy.org.uk They will send you a reply ASAP if you type ‘Debbie Urgent’ in the subject box of the email.

Debbie

Dear Debbie

About 5 months ago my boyfriend had a seizure. He had a CAT scan and the doctor's couldn't find anything wrong.

Then 5 months after his first seizure he had another one. I think he should get an EEG and find out what's happening but the doctor's don't seem to be helping much and the waiting list is quite long.

Do you think these seizures (fits) might be to do with drinking too much alcohol and not getting enough sleep?

Both times he has had a fit they have been on a saturday morning at work after a heavy night drinking and he only had about 2-3hours sleep.

Please help?

Stephanie, London

Hi Stephanie

As I’m not a doctor I can’t say what caused your boyfriend’s seizures, but drinking a lot of alcohol and/or not getting enough sleep can make people more likely to have seizures. To find out what caused his seizures, your boyfriend would need to ask his GP (family doctor) to refer him to an epilepsy specialist, (if he hasn’t done so already).

There’s some information on this website about getting a diagnosis. The EEG (electroencephalogram) test can’t say if someone has epilepsy or not, but it can provide doctors with useful information. An epilepsy specialist would use test results and information like the fact your boyfriend had been drinking and only had a few hours sleep, to diagnose what caused his seizures.

Hope this helps

Debbie

Dear Debbie

I started college in September and had been seizure free for 3 years. Then last month I had a Grand Mal seizure and then a few days ago i had another Grand Mal.

My question is what has caused my seizures to suddenly start again? All my feelings of fear have suddenly returned. I just feel that when my life was seemingly going my way my epilepsy just comes round to bite me. I know it isn't the stress of starting college as college life is far less stressful than my high school and I have more friends now than I ever had before!

So what on earth could be causing them?
Thanks for your time

Charlotte, Liverpool

Hi Charlotte

I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had a couple of seizures again, after being seizure free for three years. It’s understandable that your old feelings about your epilepsy have come back as well.

There could be lots of reasons why you’ve had some seizures again, including a stressful event, getting less sleep than usual or even drinking alcohol. You can find more information about epilepsy and alcohol on our website.

Sometimes, changes to your medication, such as missing your usual doses, starting a new drug or taking a different version of your usual drug (see our information about generic prescribing) can also trigger seizures.

Your epilepsy specialist, if you have one, should be able to look at why your seizures might have started again. If you don’t have an epilepsy specialist, your GP (family doctor) will be able to refer you to one, if they haven’t done so already.

Although it’s important that your epilepsy specialist looks into why your seizures might have returned, sometimes doctors can’t find a reason why. It’s possible for a person’s seizure pattern – the type of seizures they have and how often - to change. If you take anti-epileptic medication, your epilepsy specialist should look at whether or not this needs adjusting to help get your seizures back under control.

I hope this helps.