Epilepsy Needs Proper Representation in the Entertainment IndustryRepresentation of epilepsy in movies, television, and media has been a complicated and misunderstood situation, fraught with misrepresentation. In the entertainment industry, individuals with epilepsy are often depicted as having...Reactions0reactionsComments4 comments
"When Life Give You Lemons": Finding the Sweet Spots as a CaregiverYou likely have heard the statement, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." As a parent and caregiver to someone living with epilepsy, along with many other medical challenges, we...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Finding My Self-esteem as a Young Woman With EpilepsyBeing a woman is multi-faceted and complicated. Especially when it comes to absurd and ancient gender standards pervasive in our everyday lives. Imagine that. For women with epilepsy, our experience...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Adventures With Epilepsy: Hitting the Water ParkMy last visit to a water park was about 9 years ago, when I was 17. Unfortunately, I developed a seizure and severe body aches when swimming there. So I...Reactions0reactionsComments6 comments
Tips for an Overwhelmed CaregiverMy son, Matthew, was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 6. It took a few months, but we finally achieved seizure freedom with felbamate and the modified Atkins diet...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
My 5-Point Strategy to Winning the Epilepsy War"All we have to fear is fear itself," spoken by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, America's commander-in-chief during World War II. Wise words to follow when neurologists diagnose someone with epilepsy. Their...Reactions0reactionsComments3 comments
Supporting Others With Epilepsy as a Peer MentorIn a recent article, I spoke mainly about the benefits of support groups, and I touched on how I'm now my state's Peer Mentor Ambassador. While the official peer mentor...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Unwanted (and Uninformed) Comments About Your EpilepsyDid a person ever say something insulting, irritating, or ignore what you were saying when it comes to your epilepsy? It has happened to me with a professor in college...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Preparing for Neurosurgery for EpilepsyNeurosurgery may be a doctor's recommendation after trying multiple medications but seizures are still happening often, particularly if it's more than once per day. A lot of progress has been...Reactions0reactionsComments2 comments
An Interview With My Boyfriend and How He Copes With My EpilepsyDating with epilepsy can really be hard to maneuver at times. For some people, it can be a dealbreaker, and that's okay. However, if you meet the right person and...Reactions0reactionsComments2 comments
Self-Care is Seizure PreventionSelf-care is incredibly important for people living with epilepsy, so I want everyone to have as many ideas as possible. Every couple of years I like to make sure that...Reactions0reactionsComments3 comments
Staying Seizure-Free as a Pregnant Mom with a ToddlerAs we all know, becoming and remaining seizure-free is an extremely high priority in all epileptics' lives. Due to this, I am diligent in following my neurologist's requests for bloodwork...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Before, During, and After: What My Seizures Feel LikeAre you the parent or caregiver of a person who has epilepsy? Do you wish to understand what it's like to experience epilepsy? Before that, let me introduce myself. I...Reactions0reactionsComments9 comments
Epilepsy, Fear, Jealousy, and AcceptanceThere is no such thing as a "normal" human being. And there are many different types of seizures and circumstances people are in. Seizures can happen once a day, once...Reactions0reactionsComments1 comments
The Return of My Absence Seizures as an AdultAs a child, I started having seizures. I would have an absence seizure first, then a tonic-clonic seizure afterward. Now, as an adult, I have absence seizures often without the tonic-clonic...Reactions0reactionsComments4 comments
Does Deep Brain Stimulation Treat Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome?Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is a severe type of epilepsy. Seizures usually start before 4 years old. People with LGS have many types of seizures, including tonic seizures, in which muscles...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Can Dravet Syndrome Affect Facial Features?Dravet syndrome is a rare form of epilepsy that starts in infancy. It is also called severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI). Seizures can be life-threatening and hard to treat...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Hearing "You Don’t Look Sick" When Living With EpilepsyIt goes like this when you live with an illness like epilepsy: you will deal with, and you spend too much time trying to teach individuals who don't understand your...Reactions0reactionsComments14 comments
Seizure Triggers in Dravet SyndromeDravet syndrome is a form of childhood epilepsy that begins in infancy. Older names for Dravet syndrome include polymorphic seizures, polymorphic epilepsy in infancy, or severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Getting Better Sleep With EpilepsyI would argue that getting plenty of sleep is perhaps the single greatest of all things you can do to control your epilepsy. My greatest improvement in the reduction of...Reactions0reactionsComments2 comments