Hi guys! I am going into my sophomore year of high school and I was wondering if any of you had any tips for dealing with school and epilepsy. My family and I just moved to a different state, so I'll be starting at a new school. I am planning on taking some college classes through the school also. Any advice is appreciated!!! Thanks!
Coping with school and epilepsy
- Thread starter Emerald
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If stress/over-work is a seizure trigger for you, then you may want to be a little less ambitious with the college classes for this year. Starting a new school, meeting new people and getting used to a new routine can be stressful, so why not make this coming year fun by making a point to make new friends rather than getting too loaded down with school work? There is always your junior and senior years, not to mention Summer breaks, to take extra course work. And of course there is college to take college courses, too 
If you are concerned that regular school work is not challenging enough for you and that you might be bored, you could always take fun courses outside of school that occupy your time and allow you to meet people, like yoga, art courses, life-guard training, first aid courses, cooking classes, etc. You could even consider a part-time job - there is nothing like the feeling of earning your own money.
You must be a very bright young girl if you are able to take a full high school course load and also be considering college courses! By the time I got into grades 10-12, the school work and a weekend job didn't leave me time for much else.
If you are concerned that regular school work is not challenging enough for you and that you might be bored, you could always take fun courses outside of school that occupy your time and allow you to meet people, like yoga, art courses, life-guard training, first aid courses, cooking classes, etc. You could even consider a part-time job - there is nothing like the feeling of earning your own money.You must be a very bright young girl if you are able to take a full high school course load and also be considering college courses! By the time I got into grades 10-12, the school work and a weekend job didn't leave me time for much else.
Thanks for the advice! The school I was in last year had a eight period day and the school I am going to is a six period day. I have 11 credits already and you need 17 at my new school to be a senior. Meaning, I have a very good chance of graduating a year early if I want. I am something like 4 blocks away from a university, so I'll probably end up going there for at least a little while. So I need to decide if I want to graduate early, or do half days for two years. I haven't registered yet, so maybe none of this will be a problem. I'll just have to wait and see.
All these possibilities sound so exciting to me. I am hoping this new school has administrators who actually help actualize the possibilities instead of holding you back, which was the picture I got from one of your posts about your old school. Since stress is a typical trigger for seizures, you might consider ways of pacing yourself, such as Yoga or a meditation practice. You get the idea. And It really does sound like you are on the brink of a thrilling time!
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My new school is about 1/4 the size of my old one, but it has most of the same activities, plus some others. I live in a smallish town surrounded by farms, so the school has an equestrian club which I hope to get involved with. I might not be allowed to ride, but I could help care for the horses, manage club stuff, etc. one of the biggest reasons we moved was because of my e. We were in Austin Texas and the public transportation system there is awful. My parents wanted me to be more independent, so we moved. Now, I can walk almost everywhere, and if I needed to go into the city for whatever reason, the city has a great bus system. Basically, I can walk. I'm not allowed to bike or drive. I am old enough to get my permit, but for obvious reasons I can't! I don't mind that much though anymore. The school is also supposed to have a great library which I am estatic about. I am a total book worm! School starts in a little under a month, so I get to do lots of shopping soon! New school clothes, school supplies, making yummy things that I can eat for lunch, I like preparing for school almost as much as I like school!
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Stress I think is my number one seizure trigger for me.
I find that making friends is a big stress reliever for me. I was 27, I'm 38 now, when I was diagnosed with epilepsy. I had to move back home with my parents and barely see my friends any more. They all live in the city, about 45 minutes away, and there's no bus transportation where I live here in the country. The closest bus stop is about 10 miles away and I can't drive to get there. My friends are also married with children so it's really hard for them to travel to see me and even talk on the phone a good bit of the time.
When you have someone that you can talk to when you need to talk about things going on is a great thing. I found that my grandma was my best friend because I was able to talk to her almost anytime I needed to. When there was something going on with my husband and I then I could just call her and blow up about him. I could just talk to her in general about all the stupid things that were going on in my life. I can talk to my husband about things, he doesn't want to listen to the stupid stuff all the time, but there are those times that you need to have a girl to talk to about if you know what I mean.
If there's a guy you like at school, if you have a boy friend and are having problems, a girl you hate, a problem going on with a teacher and many other things you can talk to your friends about it. You really don't want to go home and tell your mom "Guess who kissed me last night at so-and-so's party!"
Surprisingly I could do things like that with my grandma and I never thought I would! There were those things that I really didn't want to talk to my grandma about but I had my friends do to it with, I would just have to wait a few days to do it.
My grandma passed away a few years ago and I had so many seizures after she did that I lost count. I needed someone to talk to right then and there but my husband was at work and wasn't able to come home and I couldn't get ahold of any of my friends. I started going through the people in my cell and the only person who answered their phone was my husband's best friend who I'm pretty good friends with too. He stayed on the phone with me for over a half and hour and let me bawl and cray and pour my heart out to him about my grandma, he didn't get off until I felt ok. When I told my husband about this he couldn't believe that his friend did that because he's not the type of person that wants to talk to about these things. My husband was so glad that he did.
I don't have that person to talk to when I need to now. Sometimes I can talk to my mom or dad about things but there are things that you really don't want to tell your parents. Like I said I can still talk to my friends but I just have to wait to do it.
I try to make new friends as often as I can but it's hard to. I can't drive so someone always comes with me when I go somewhere to do things because I've almost always got someone standing beside me when I'm talking to someone I meet. When I do find someone it's the greatest thing in the world.
I find that making friends is a big stress reliever for me. I was 27, I'm 38 now, when I was diagnosed with epilepsy. I had to move back home with my parents and barely see my friends any more. They all live in the city, about 45 minutes away, and there's no bus transportation where I live here in the country. The closest bus stop is about 10 miles away and I can't drive to get there. My friends are also married with children so it's really hard for them to travel to see me and even talk on the phone a good bit of the time.
When you have someone that you can talk to when you need to talk about things going on is a great thing. I found that my grandma was my best friend because I was able to talk to her almost anytime I needed to. When there was something going on with my husband and I then I could just call her and blow up about him. I could just talk to her in general about all the stupid things that were going on in my life. I can talk to my husband about things, he doesn't want to listen to the stupid stuff all the time, but there are those times that you need to have a girl to talk to about if you know what I mean.
If there's a guy you like at school, if you have a boy friend and are having problems, a girl you hate, a problem going on with a teacher and many other things you can talk to your friends about it. You really don't want to go home and tell your mom "Guess who kissed me last night at so-and-so's party!"
Surprisingly I could do things like that with my grandma and I never thought I would! There were those things that I really didn't want to talk to my grandma about but I had my friends do to it with, I would just have to wait a few days to do it.
My grandma passed away a few years ago and I had so many seizures after she did that I lost count. I needed someone to talk to right then and there but my husband was at work and wasn't able to come home and I couldn't get ahold of any of my friends. I started going through the people in my cell and the only person who answered their phone was my husband's best friend who I'm pretty good friends with too. He stayed on the phone with me for over a half and hour and let me bawl and cray and pour my heart out to him about my grandma, he didn't get off until I felt ok. When I told my husband about this he couldn't believe that his friend did that because he's not the type of person that wants to talk to about these things. My husband was so glad that he did.
I don't have that person to talk to when I need to now. Sometimes I can talk to my mom or dad about things but there are things that you really don't want to tell your parents. Like I said I can still talk to my friends but I just have to wait to do it.
I try to make new friends as often as I can but it's hard to. I can't drive so someone always comes with me when I go somewhere to do things because I've almost always got someone standing beside me when I'm talking to someone I meet. When I do find someone it's the greatest thing in the world.
Thank you for the advice! I really appreciate it. It's always awkward talking to my grandparents and other relatives because they have no idea what it's like to have e. I love them dearly, but if I bring my e up, it's nonstop "are you ok?" My parents have a pretty good idea, but I get an awful lot of comfort out of this forum. It's nice to hear from people going through something similar! Teens don't really talk openly about stuff like this, so it's nice to be able to come here and talk it out.
Emerald, as someone who has had e since college and ended up being a college professor, it warms my heart to see a young person with e so determined to live life on her own terms.
One bit of advice I would give to teenage me if I could time travel back would be to watch my diet. The four basic food groups of college life seem to be beer, pizza, chocolate, and coffee. Young healthy bodies can generally get away with this but those of us with lower seizure thresholds need to be more careful.
The other thing would be stress management. That includes making yourself get enough sleep and getting exercise, whatever kind you like, on a regular basis. If you can and feel like working in some meditation or yoga, that would help too.
You seem like you have your head on straight (even if it does have seizures). I think you will do fine. You take as many courses as you feel you can handle. Just be sure that if your health starts to be compromised, that you are not too stubborn to re-evaluate.
One bit of advice I would give to teenage me if I could time travel back would be to watch my diet. The four basic food groups of college life seem to be beer, pizza, chocolate, and coffee. Young healthy bodies can generally get away with this but those of us with lower seizure thresholds need to be more careful.
The other thing would be stress management. That includes making yourself get enough sleep and getting exercise, whatever kind you like, on a regular basis. If you can and feel like working in some meditation or yoga, that would help too.
You seem like you have your head on straight (even if it does have seizures). I think you will do fine. You take as many courses as you feel you can handle. Just be sure that if your health starts to be compromised, that you are not too stubborn to re-evaluate.
Thanks alohabird! I appreciate the advice. I register in a couple days, so I'll wait and see! The nice thing though is that this school only has a 6 period day while my other had 8. That will give me more time to study for each. I also won't have to worry about a and b days which I could never keep straight. I think the best part is that school starts at 8:20 and ends at 2:30ish. Which will be nice! That way I won't be falling asleep while I'm studying. Also I'll be able to be in bed on time. Last year I was always an hour past and it showed the next day.
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Be sure and tell your teachers about your epilepsy. I had epilepsy all the way through school and let them know what happens in your seizures, I had one the first day at a new school and I had told a girl about my E. I was in 10th grade and she went and got the teacher and we have been friends over 35 years.
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I just want to give you a quick FYI about meeting new people - STAY OFF YOUR CELL!
I was out this evening with my dad when he was giving blood. Since I have seizures I'm unable to. As I was sitting at the table that people wait at after they've given blood before they go home I tried to talk to gentleman there. The guy, who was probably in his mid 20's, was too busy messing around on his cell to talk to me. I'd try to strike up a conversation, which would last a sentence or two, then he had to get back on his phone.
Don't sit there checking your e-mails, texts or getting on the web while you are talking to someone. No one is going to want to talk to anyone who has their nose in their cell phone and not put it down because they will feel it's more important than them!
I was out this evening with my dad when he was giving blood. Since I have seizures I'm unable to. As I was sitting at the table that people wait at after they've given blood before they go home I tried to talk to gentleman there. The guy, who was probably in his mid 20's, was too busy messing around on his cell to talk to me. I'd try to strike up a conversation, which would last a sentence or two, then he had to get back on his phone.
Don't sit there checking your e-mails, texts or getting on the web while you are talking to someone. No one is going to want to talk to anyone who has their nose in their cell phone and not put it down because they will feel it's more important than them!
Emerald, It is such a kick to be thinking about how it would be to be 15 years old and starting off at a new school, so I began to wonder what the equestrian club would be like and how the heck you could fit in, which might be hard even if you did not have epilepsy.After all, those girls may have grown up riding horses before they walked! [Sounds like you are living in ranch country!] Anyway, it occurred to me that the equestrian club might need a club photographer or a club record keeper. Maybe you could find a place for yourself coming at it sideways! However you do or don't do it, it is going to be a trip!
I'll keep you all posted! On a side note, I went shopping with my mom and the town we live in now is next to the city where I was born and lived for a while. So we drove downtown, and drove right past the hospital where I was born! It's also where I'll be treated at, so it was a bit of an eye opener and caused me to realize I'm back home.
Awesome! Good to have someone "official" on your side.