Sam was 22 years old and pleased with life. He’d had tonic clonic, grand mal seizures since he was 15, but these were well controlled. He had just got a job he really enjoyed as a management trainee in a local supermarket, and (even more important for Sam) had left home and for the first time was living in a flat on his own. Then things started to go wrong. His seizure frequency started to increase: five mornings during his first couple of months at work he had a seizure soon after he arrived at the supermarket. His mother said she had known this would happen. She said that Sam should come to live at home again. ‘No way’, was Sam’s reply.
When Sam came to see me I asked him about the job. Was he finding it more difficult than he’d expected? Were his employers sympathetic? But it soon seemed clear that it wasn’t stress that was causing the increase in seizures — Sam was very happy at work, found the job easy, liked the people he worked with and hadn’t met with anything but support and encouragement even when he had seizures.
‘Well then,’ I said, ‘tell me about your day.’
‘That’s easy,’ Sam replied.
He got up around 7-55, was out of the house by 8.15 to catch the 8.30 train and was at work by 8.55. After work he’d come home, have supper, listen to some music and do some studying, and be in bed by midnight. I asked him if he thought that was a sensible routine, and he said yes, very. He knew it was important for him to get enough sleep, and that way he got his eight hours; he’d even tried getting up at 8.15 but found he missed his train more often than not, so stuck to 7.55.
It was obvious that on that timetable something had to go, and I had a strong suspicion I knew what it was.
“What about breakfast?’ I asked Sam. He looked very defensive. He didn’t feel like eating first thing in the morning and one of the problems about living at home had been his mother’s determination to force a good breakfast down him every morning. Now he was on his own he’d rather have 20 minutes extra in bed, thank you very much.
However, Sam agreed to try the treatment I recommended, and I’m pleased to report that it worked like a dream. Sam’s the only patient I’ve been able to cure simply by prescribing a bowl of cornflakes and two pieces of toast and marmalade taken after waking, before work, every morning.
Many people report that they have seizures when they are hungry. It is not really clear why this happens. Certainly a very low blood sugar level can cause a seizure, as sometimes happens when someone who has diabetes has not eaten properly or takes too much insulin, but blood sugar seldom falls this low in someone who does not suffer from diabetes, even when they are hungry. However, even if we do not properly understand why, it still seems that having a good breakfast and eating regular meals during the day help many people keep the frequency of their seizures low.
It is easy to become dependent when you have epilepsy, and let other people try to control your life. Things do not have to be like that. But if you want to take control of your own life, you must take control of the factors which affect your seizures.
First, you need a good doctor: someone who is up to date and will put you on to the best drugs, and will listen to what you have to say. When you have found him or her, see them often, have frequent blood tests, and follow their advice.
Second, try to harmonize your life, so that you eliminate, or at least modify, those factors which tend to precipitate your seizures.
Eating sensibly is a beginning. Tiredness is another factor which is known very often to increase the frequency of seizures, and it too is more or less under your control. Do not get overtired or have too many late nights.
There is plenty of evidence that stress can precipitate seizures. But stress can be a subtle and complex problem. Some people give themselves seizures by winding themselves up to a high stress level and then relaxing again. For others stress or even intense excitement may in itself cause seizures. Some people tend to have seizures when they become very stressed and then relax again. You have to find out what sort of person you are, and what particular pattern of stress and relaxation affects you. Only then can you see how to modify your life style and change the pattern.
Fourteen-year-old Simon loved making models. He would sit for two hours or more at a time, oblivious to everything around him, concentrating only on each tiny plastic part as he carefully manoeuvred it into its correct place.
When he had finished he would fling himself into an armchair, lean back and say, ‘Phew!’ That was when he was most likely to have a seizure. He had another seizure-prone time too, during one of his favourite times of day — that pleasant half hour on a weekend morning when he would wake and lie there lazily, knowing he didn’t have to get up and go to school.
Simon’s doctor pointed out to him that his seizures seemed much less frequent when he was alert and aroused. He suggested that instead of relaxing straight away when he’d finished his model building, Simon should put the model away, and then go for a walk round the house for five or ten minutes before sitting down. When he tried this, Simon found that he did indeed have fewer seizures. His doctor also suggested that he should arouse himself a bit more quickly on weekend mornings—get up and do something rather than lie in bed. This wasn’t a popular suggestion, but it did stop Simon s early morning weekend seizures.
*55\193\2*
LIVING WITH EPILEPSY: TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR LIFESam was 22 years old and pleased with life. He’d had tonic clonic, grand mal seizures since he was 15, but these were well controlled. He had just got a job he really enjoyed as a management trainee in a local supermarket, and (even more important for Sam) had left home and for the first time was living in a flat on his own. Then things started to go wrong. His seizure frequency started to increase: five mornings during his first couple of months at work he had a seizure soon after he arrived at the supermarket. His mother said she had known this would happen. She said that Sam should come to live at home again. ‘No way’, was Sam’s reply.When Sam came to see me I asked him about the job. Was he finding it more difficult than he’d expected? Were his employers sympathetic? But it soon seemed clear that it wasn’t stress that was causing the increase in seizures — Sam was very happy at work, found the job easy, liked the people he worked with and hadn’t met with anything but support and encouragement even when he had seizures.’Well then,’ I said, ‘tell me about your day.”That’s easy,’ Sam replied.He got up around 7-55, was out of the house by 8.15 to catch the 8.30 train and was at work by 8.55. After work he’d come home, have supper, listen to some music and do some studying, and be in bed by midnight. I asked him if he thought that was a sensible routine, and he said yes, very. He knew it was important for him to get enough sleep, and that way he got his eight hours; he’d even tried getting up at 8.15 but found he missed his train more often than not, so stuck to 7.55.It was obvious that on that timetable something had to go, and I had a strong suspicion I knew what it was.”What about breakfast?’ I asked Sam. He looked very defensive. He didn’t feel like eating first thing in the morning and one of the problems about living at home had been his mother’s determination to force a good breakfast down him every morning. Now he was on his own he’d rather have 20 minutes extra in bed, thank you very much.However, Sam agreed to try the treatment I recommended, and I’m pleased to report that it worked like a dream. Sam’s the only patient I’ve been able to cure simply by prescribing a bowl of cornflakes and two pieces of toast and marmalade taken after waking, before work, every morning.Many people report that they have seizures when they are hungry. It is not really clear why this happens. Certainly a very low blood sugar level can cause a seizure, as sometimes happens when someone who has diabetes has not eaten properly or takes too much insulin, but blood sugar seldom falls this low in someone who does not suffer from diabetes, even when they are hungry. However, even if we do not properly understand why, it still seems that having a good breakfast and eating regular meals during the day help many people keep the frequency of their seizures low.It is easy to become dependent when you have epilepsy, and let other people try to control your life. Things do not have to be like that. But if you want to take control of your own life, you must take control of the factors which affect your seizures.First, you need a good doctor: someone who is up to date and will put you on to the best drugs, and will listen to what you have to say. When you have found him or her, see them often, have frequent blood tests, and follow their advice.Second, try to harmonize your life, so that you eliminate, or at least modify, those factors which tend to precipitate your seizures.Eating sensibly is a beginning. Tiredness is another factor which is known very often to increase the frequency of seizures, and it too is more or less under your control. Do not get overtired or have too many late nights.There is plenty of evidence that stress can precipitate seizures. But stress can be a subtle and complex problem. Some people give themselves seizures by winding themselves up to a high stress level and then relaxing again. For others stress or even intense excitement may in itself cause seizures. Some people tend to have seizures when they become very stressed and then relax again. You have to find out what sort of person you are, and what particular pattern of stress and relaxation affects you. Only then can you see how to modify your life style and change the pattern.Fourteen-year-old Simon loved making models. He would sit for two hours or more at a time, oblivious to everything around him, concentrating only on each tiny plastic part as he carefully manoeuvred it into its correct place.When he had finished he would fling himself into an armchair, lean back and say, ‘Phew!’ That was when he was most likely to have a seizure. He had another seizure-prone time too, during one of his favourite times of day — that pleasant half hour on a weekend morning when he would wake and lie there lazily, knowing he didn’t have to get up and go to school.Simon’s doctor pointed out to him that his seizures seemed much less frequent when he was alert and aroused. He suggested that instead of relaxing straight away when he’d finished his model building, Simon should put the model away, and then go for a walk round the house for five or ten minutes before sitting down. When he tried this, Simon found that he did indeed have fewer seizures. His doctor also suggested that he should arouse himself a bit more quickly on weekend mornings—get up and do something rather than lie in bed. This wasn’t a popular suggestion, but it did stop Simon s early morning weekend seizures.*55\193\2*
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