How does your epilepsy affect your job....

[Carpentergirl]

Not sure if this has been discussed or not..but I was was curious and would like to hear from everyone what everyone does for a living....how their seizure disorders/epilepsy..and medications affects their jobs and occupations on a daily basis. Have you had to change your occupations because of this, or quit your jobs altogether? Is it so hard for you to focus? Is it because of the thought process delay...fatique...or just seizures in general? If you can't work how do you sustain your income...I myself have a hard time taking too many directions at a time from my father on the job.I have been working construction with him for almost 20 years..and I have even forgotten how to do some of the trade...been diagnosed for about 12 years now...thought process is slow...can't absorb new knowledge very well....and forget things and become overwhelmed all the time...I could easily take a nap every afternoon if I could...but that is due to medication...lol....anyway....just curious to hear how everyone copes with their occupations daily...

 

[Garbo]

I'm sorry that you have those issues. They are never fun to deal with.

When I worked for the State, I napped during my breaks. Thankfully my boss was really easy-going and let me, but even with a nap I was still exhausted. I found the worst jobs were my undergrad jobs when I worked various retail positions-- bosses were not understanding, customers were downright mean, and I was given no leeway if I had a seizure. I had one job where my boss didn't believe me (even when I brought in my EEG) and she tried put me in positions so I would get hurt. I had to quit that job because she once put me on a ladder and then wouldn't let me get off the ladder. It was so terrifying.

As I mentioned in another post, I'm very fortunate with what I do now (grad school and I teach) although I certainly deal with ignorant people, but for the most part I like everyone, especially my committee members. My schedule permits that I can go home and sleep or I nap quite a bit in my office if I can't go home. Brain fogginess comes with the territory, just as you mentioned, which is such a pain so I compensate by a. not talking, b. asking questions, or c. writing things down. I often look really dumb when my brain freezes up, but oh well! Ha!

 

[Nakamova]

I'm lucky to have my seizures controlled right now, so I'm able to handle the work okay. I'm self-employed (as a graphic designer) which means I can be flexible with my hours. After I developed epilepsy I eventually moved to a location that had resources within walking distance. I then moved my office into my home. That way I won't need to drive if my license is ever revoked. Since I have no commute I can sleep "late", also a bonus since the med tends to knock me out.

Here are a few threads that might be of interest:
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/good-jobs-people-epilepsy-490/
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/what-career-fields-those-e-19241/
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/job-career-what-do-you-do-22987/
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/employment-24349/
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/anyone-job-disability-12959/
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f27/epilepsy-your-work-education-situation-7600/
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f21/epilepsy-employment-534/

 

[George__]

Jobless

 

[Mr.21T]

I work as a sports writer for my local paper, and a sales rep for pretty reputable insurance company.


I was an athlete in high school and college, but I always used journalism as a back up plan if e ever made sports an impossibility. It did, but my local paper hired me as an intern in college, and I've been working steadily as a freelancer for them and other papers for about five years.

I'm just getting into insurance because I've graduated college recently with a lot of debt and a generally worthless major (Sorry journalism folk). I don't have a passion for it, but it's a family trade and could possibly be a comfortable position once I put some time into it.

The issue with both these jobs is they both require me to drive....and it doesn't bode well for me if my seizures were to get worse with age (which is likely). Thinking of switching hustles and getting into the IT game as a freelancer. That + a cozy journalism job would be just what the doctor ordered. I just learned how to limit photo sensitivity from the computer and I have been kicking tail on my desk work as a result.

I hear computer programmers get paid well.

 

[Mr.21T]

Nakamova blessed us, ya'll....thank you!

 

[SlimBlue]

I hear computer programmers get paid well.

It's pretty average unless you're quite top-level, or in a niche area.

Stress is through the roof though :/

 

[AlohaBird]

I switched from sales/marketing gigs to teaching because a lot of the work is at home on your own clock like grading papers. Also a lot lower stress environment.
Now I'm retired so I have the ultimate low stress job.

 

[lindsayschu2]

I have a corporate job, doing communications for execs at a large company. The downside is stress goes through the roof pretty frequently, and occasionally, that can increase nocturnal seizures (as does a 'monthly event')--nocturnal seizures make me exhausted and it can be tough during the day sometimes. The upside is, I've gone through a long road over the past 2 years trying to get things under control and changing meds and dealing with side effect issues, but I've bulldozed my way through it, kept my head above water and kept my job working out without any performance decline. My boss and others understand my situation and lets me work from home on days when I need it, and I can take a lunch nap. My seizures became unstable after a car accident, and it probably helps them be understanding since I walked around with a bruised, misshapen head and black eye for a couple of months, but I really think they would be accommodating anyway. I'm more stable now and just have to deal with that once or twice a month--something I have learned to live with. I do look forward to retiring some day . .. and just living a stress free life, but I'll have to wait many years for that

 

[George__]

I hear computer programmers get paid well.

Go for it!

 

[Carpentergirl]

Thank you so much for everyone's responses so far...it's so nice to hear from ppl on the career aspect of it all and hear how the stress affects everyone.

 

[Angelita14]

I had to very reluctantly leave quite a well paid job due to partials I just couldn't concentrate. I'm Hoping at some point in the future to get another job when I'm better. Being jobless is not nice!

 

[Zolt]

I have a decent job, in the tech field. Before going on Gabapentin, my seizures would happen at all time of the day, but now they mostly happen in the mornings. With Gabapentin i'm able to schedule my seizures to happen in the mornings in the safety of my home, so i just call into work and tell them i need the day off. If you want to know more on how i schedule the seizures, see my profile page, i explain it there.

iano: op:

 

[skyfire322]

I'm a financial advisor for a credit union contact center. It's a pretty stressful gig to begin with, and having epilepsy makes it that much worse. Being sent to the ER every time gets quite annoying to say the least.

On the side, I'm a freelance writer and musician. I can work from home, set my own hours, and although the pay isn't great and I don't get benefits it's so much more relaxing.