I wanted to share another story with all of you that are reading this. By
the way if anyone has a story or experience feel free to talk about it
only if you're comfortable, I always like to meet and talk to people
that are in a similar situation. Well anyway, I wanted to talk about something that happened a little bit before New Years of this year.
A
few months ago before I landed my "big girl job" I had been working two
jobs to pay off all of my student loans and other bills that you
unfortunately have as a grown up. Since I graduated with my MBA I've
been working very hard and of course stressing out A LOT. Well for
about three months I was working literally 7 days a week and 5 of those
days I worked from 8:30 in the morning to about 9/10 at night. For
those of you who have epilepsy you understand how crucial it is to get
enough hours of sleep and take care of yourself. Well I pushed myself a
little too hard and back in December I passed out, in the bathtub, with
the water running.
Well as if it wasn't traumatizing
enough for my parents because we all thought I had another seizure we
had guests over our house. When I moved to Texas (which is another post
I will talk about because I was on my own) I decided to bring back a
puggle who was a rescue and you can tell she has seen a lot in her
lifetime. She is like my shadow and she follows me everywhere EVEN into
the bathroom when I take showers or baths. She had started barking to
get my parents attention to come upstairs. My dad had to break down the
door and both parents found me in the tub just laying there. I
remember a little bit of it I remember feeling like I was falling
asleep. Thankfully my parents decided to stick to the "dinky tub" with
the special grips on the bottom instead of the jacuzzi they originally
wanted because who knows what would have happened. It was bad enough
that the water was running with the tub clogged so I could have easily
drowned.
We decided to call my doctor as a precaution
because it didn't feel like a seizure, it felt as though I passed out
but it could've been a change to my epilepsy or a reaction to my
medication. The doctor asked me to come in and asked to do blood work
and a take home EEG. He said that from the sounds of it, it didn't
sound like I had a seizure it sounded like my body reacted the way a
normal human being would when it is overly tired and I just fainted.
Whether this is exactly what it was no one will ever know because no one
witnessed it and I didn't have an EEG to prove anything. Well needless
to say I was afraid that I was either going to have to increase my
dosage or switch to another medication since it has been 8 years with
the same dosage and medication.
The EEG and blood
work came back pretty normal. The blood work showed that my levels of
medication seemed low and that could raise a little concern that my body
is almost becoming immune to the drug. The EEG showed that the spikes
in my brain were the same as they were a few years ago and that I still
have the same diagnosis. The doctor said again that from the sounds of
it I fainted but he can't force me to increase my dosage because we
don't have any proof saying this was a seizure so he said at this point
it was up to me. I could chose between staying at the same dosage and
taking precautions like quitting my second job, not taking baths (at
least if I'm not supervised), and taking better care of my health, OR I
could increase my dosage or completely switch medications. I chose the
first option since I still live at home (yes I live at home at 25),
someone is almost always home and I have my dog who watches my every
move. My dog actually stands over the bathtub and watches me now to
make sure I'm awake. It's a little strange but I know she will alert
whoever is home that I'm not ok.
Pretty much I
learned that even after being seizure free since 2009, my condition is
still there, I still have epilepsy, I still have to take medicine, and
I'm not cured. I have accepted the fact that I will most likely be on
medication for the rest of my life and I have come to terms with this.
Every time something happens it may not be a seizure like this time, but
it showed me that I have to take care of myself regardless. I started
sleeping more, eating better, and exercising to stay healthy. I quit
smoking not just to be more healthy but because it was my friends last
wish from me when he passed away from cancer. Everything in this life
happens for a reason, people are put on this earth for a reason to
impact your life. I hope that I can reach out to at least one other
person and help them get through it and cope with this condition or help
a family or a parent.
If anyone ever has any questions or comments please don't hesitate to ask or speak up.
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