Laura

[hckmnla]

I have been diagnosed with Epilepsy recently. Since then I have been fired by two companies. Is anyone else having these problems. My family says I should just not talk about it to employers, but to me it like lying. What do you think??

[epileric]

Welcome Laura, It's good to have you here. What kind of seizures were you diagnosed with & what kind of medications (or other treatments) are you on?

I have to agree with your family that if nobody asks then you're not lying by not telling them. The problem is that the vast majority of employers would rather not hire someone with seizures. Once you're hired it is illegal to fire you because of them but it can be easy to find other reasons to fire you.

I was born with mine & time & time again I've had troubles only when people find out about my seizures. There was a previous thread where we discussed who we tell & don't tell but I can't find it right now.

Meanwhile, make yourself at home & check the site out, maybe you'll find the thread before I do.

[epileric]

Who in the public do you tell?

[Nakamova]

Hi Laura, welcome to CWE!

It can be a tough to decide whether to tell the people you work with about your epilepsy. If your seizures are uncontrolled, or affect your work, then sometimes there's no choice. Unfortunately there's a lot of ignorance still about epilepsy, so when you tell someone, the response can be disappointing, hurtful, or downright discriminatory.

When I was first diagnosed with epilepsy, I wasn't sure how to proceed, who to tell, what to expect in terms of health, doctors, treatment, friends, family. CWE is a great place to get help in sorting things out. The members here have seen it all, and have plenty of great support and advice to offer.

Best,
Nakamova