Here is my story so far:
Dx a year ago with complex partials. Have been on 3 meds so far but have never been sz free for longer than 9 days. (That was only once. 7 days another time.) Typically I have 1-3 complex partials per day. Sometimes more, randomly--yesterday was 5, just for example.
I was working part time as an editor when dx'd. Struggled with it a couple months, took a 2-month leave, came back and tried again. I just couldn't do it. Cognitive problems, major exhaustion, you guys know how it is. I left the job in April.
I'm very, very lucky to have a spouse who helped me cover my financial obligations. We agreed I would try to go back to school via a flexible/distance program, in the hope that my szs would be under control soon. This was a mistake; I did it out of longing for a career, and depression over what was happening to me. My szs have stayed as bad as ever and I cannot focus enough to do consistent schoolwork. The stress was making my szs much worse, too. So I have now pretty much washed out of school, though I will continue trying to do a class here and there if I can.
Meanwhile, my Social Security disability just got approved (!!!) on the first try. I am amazed and grateful. Here is why I think it got approved:
1. My dx was based on positive EEG along with symptoms. I have read that SS is less inclined to approve szs with normal EEG, even though they are just as horrible.
2. Supportive docs.
3. Documented use of 3 meds at mid-to-high end of safe ranges. Doc did not do blood work on this, though. I guess SS decided to believe that I was really taking the pills (I was!).
4. Very detailed report of sz experiences from me and my hubby.
5. I have other conditions--diabetes, depression, gastro stuff--that may have also been considered. I requested that SS consider my medical situation as a whole. I don't know how important this was, though.
Receiving SS means so much for me. It's not a lot of money, but it reduces my dependence on my husband and greatly lowers his stress. Reading other people's stories about the struggle to get disability, I almost feel guilty. I wish that we could all receive what it obviously a needed and deserved benefit.