Life with Grand Mal Seizures

The mention of seizure disorders and epilepsy makes people think of other people randomly falling and laying on the ground, flopping around like a fish. While this is partially true, it isn't totally true. First, there is more than one type of seizure. The kind that most people think of is Grand Mal, and is what I will be talking about here. It is possible for a person to have more than one kind of seizure. Still, there is more to life with seizures than just falling down at any time and doing a fish flop.

Seizures are your body's reaction to an electrical problem in the brain. Seizures can cause a fair amount of damage, from memory loss to brain damage. While some patients joke about the memory loss (hope I lost a couple bad ones!), there is no way to humor your way past the possibility that you could lose motor control or higher intelligence. Between the humiliation of having strangers watching them flop around like fish and the fear of turning into a vegetable, patients can be quite pro-active in their medical care.

There is different anti-epileptic medications and various combinations of counteractive drugs that can be taken for the control of seizures and the various known or suspected causes of such seizures. Most of these medicines, such as Dilantin or Phenytoin, has to be taken three to four times a day to maintain a pre-prescribed level. This requires routine lab work to ensure the level does not become too high or too low. Drinking alcohol is a strong no-no, as well as Tylenol and Vitamin D! Also, while taking this medicines, a person should wear an I.D. bracelet stating that they are taking this medicine because it is highly interactive with other medications.

In people with severe cases, it is highly recommended to have a swimming partner and to use common sense while doing everyday chores. Some states don't allow those with seizure disorders to drive without a doctor's permission and after months or even years of seizure free activity. This is because the chances of being harmed from the seizure is lower than that of being harmed during the seizure. Broken bones or death is not exaggerations or figments of wild imaginations. It is a brutally honest part of life that can be hopefully avoided through contact with close friends and common sense. Most people try not to worry about it too much. Yet, there is a great side to it. You have the perfect reason for 'needing' a shopping partner, a restaurant buddy and any other occasion helper.

People that has controlled or light cases of seizures can drive, swim and work as normal. There is always support groups, both locally and online, that can help to alleviate any worries and offer advice.

It is the pediatric patients that tends to break the most hearts. Even though the child may not understand the situation, the parents and family does. It is not uncommon for parents to seek group help or therapy to help deal with the stress of having an epileptic child. Another problem is that other parents sometimes don't want their child near a child that could go into a seizure. Every parent wants the best for their child, so who can say that they are wrong for avoiding the stressful situation of their child witnessing another high risk seizure child in convulsions? Parenting is always a difficult job.

So there is life with seizure disorders, it just might be a little (or a lot!) different than life without it.