Advise for a newby :)

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victoriarussell1989

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Hi my name is Victoria and I am 25 years old, its been two months since my seizures began, I have been referred to a seizure clinic where I have had a EEG in which I am still awaiting the result. My MRI appointment is on the 23rd of this month.
My seizures happen mainly at night when I sleep but have occurred in the day when I am awake, I don't really sleep any more although I am so worn out. I am a health care assistant at a local hospital, caring for dementia patients I work 12 hour shifts, I haven't been able to work for 2 months now and I was hoping someone could tell me if working in this kind of job is eventually going to be ok to go back into? I feel so alone in all of this, its very difficult to explain to my family and friends when they haven't been through it themselves.

I hope to hear back from someone :)
 
victoriarussell1989

Yes Victoria all going well and you get good control maybe perfect control, you will be able to return to work. Just because you have epilepsy does not mean you cannot work there are a lot here that work in very good jobs. You might want to change your sleep pattern though.
 
Thank you for your reply, I think what's got me worried is my Doctor wont sign me back to work as of yet, which I can understand as the seizures are happening on a regular basis and I haven't yet got my diagnosis, which means I haven't been put of any kind of medication.
I love my job hugely, I have asked this question for the simple fact that the people I look after are in their 80's 90's or even older and the thought of having a seizure while helping them mobilise worries me more than anything. I would hate myself if I were to cause a patient to fall and do them selves serious damage. This is all very new to me.

Thank you :)
 
Hi victoriarussell1989, welcome!

I hope the seizure clinic will help you find the right treatment for your seizures. If you can get the seizures fully-controlled, that's obviously ideal and would make it easiest to work in different kinds of jobs.

Fatigue is the #1 seizure trigger, so 12-hour shifts may make you more vulnerable to seizures if the medication can't get them under control. If that's the case, finding a job that allows you better quality sleep would be a good idea.

Best,
Nakamova
 
Thank you so much for taking the time to message me back :)
I have spent the last two months thinking my life over and if there were any way I was going to be able to go back in to my job. My manager has referred me to occupational health where I am hoping I can some how do my job yet cut my shifts in half or even do something different in the hospital that isn't so demanding. Sleep is my biggest enemy right now, I cant describe how tired I am yet I just cant sleep.

Thanks :)
 
victoriarussell1989

As Nakamova said and with good reason there are a lot of other jobs as well. You are the one who will make the final decision about work and it will be the right one, when the time comes. Nakamova is also right about the seizure triggers, all this being said the final decision is yours and this cannot be made until you know all the facts. For now do not worry (easy for me to say) about work, worry about yourself.
 
Is there anything you can take to help you sleep a bit better at night? I take something called SuperSnooze. http://www.puritan.com/stressful-lifestyles-097/super-snooze-with-melatonin-010352
If there's nothing in it that's contraindicated for you, you might give it a shot. Getting a good night's sleep will go a long way to making you feel better about your options. Hang in there, I hope you can get some relief soon.
 
I see your from America, I live in the UK, we have things over here called kalms, night nurse and many other herbal remedies and I have tried the lot, even tried hot drinks like hot milk etc. obviously my doctor wont put me on any sleeping meds as it can cause more damage than good while having the seizures. I am sure i will figure out how to get this all under control as soon as my consultant can give me the proper diagnosis and correct meds :)
 
Hi victoria, welcome to CWE :)

Kalms and the other OTC sleep meds in the UK are pants. The sleepiest OTC meds available in the UK are probably anything containing the anti-histamine diphenhydramine hydrochloride - like the drowsy version of Benadryl or Nytol.

Unfortunately it can cause a lot of bad side effects with a wide range of other meds and conditions, so you need to be very careful with it, and I wouldn't experiment with it so soon after being diagnosed with E.

I usually chug about a third of a bottle and 3-4 big rum and cokes, but that's completely against recommended usage..

That's me though. I'm in no way advising you to try it.
 
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