Tonic clonic seizures = forced medical leave from school

[LindsAsaurus]

For about a week or two after a seizure I have major issues with memory and putting together complete thoughts when talking or writing. I am in grad school for psychology and recently failed a final because I had a seizure the night before. I had a 3.8 prior to this. I have also made other mistakes, such as responding to a phishing email which caused major issues in the research lab I work in. My advisor and the head of my program basically forced me to take a semester off. I have noticed a significant decline in my short term memory and random things that I have learned in school have been lost...even though I was once very familiar with these. Has anyone experienced similar effects? This medical leave is very upsetting and I don't know if it is fair for me to use my epilepsy as an excuse?

 

[Endless]

I find it a bit odd that they asked you to take time off. I would think they would have referred you to your university's resources for help before they did that. Especially since they are the psychology department.

There may be alternatives to time off, or to prevent more time off. Talk to your university's advising department about an accomodation plan that helps you stay and succeed in school given your disability (seizures). It may include things like the option to take a test a day later, use notes or open book, avoid classes or tests before 10am, substitute papers for tests, etc.

Short term memory issues are common in people with seizures. It's also a side effect of many of the AEDs.

http://www.epilepsy.com/EPILEPSY/MEMORY_PROBLEMS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postictal_state


What medication are you taking? Most of them can cause memory issues, and some of them are more infamous than others.

 

[Eli]

As an adult with epilepsy I returned to college to earn an Associates degree, just finished my BSBA and am still considering my MBA. I lost a grant/work study position due to my seizures and allowed several teachers to: push me out of their classrooms and into online courses, fail me because I was unable to drive several hours to the campus to take a final (I found out later that I should've been given the option to use a proctor given my medical condition), degrade me in front of other students and overall be rude. I also was a near perfect 4.0 student.

Then I registered with the Students Disabilities Department at the University and I didn't have another problem. I always made my instructors aware of my medical condition so on the flip side I had several instructors that were very accomodating.

What I did...I registered with the Students Disabilities Department, they asked for a doctors diagnosis/documentation. Make yourself aware of the schools policy. Let your instructors know that you have a disability, that it is documented with the university (I found this statement to be very beneficial) and that they are free to verify it with that department.

When I had a major seizure (and I average over 7 a week of varying degrees) I let the instructor know and they always worked with me. Keep in touch and work closely with your schools disability depart and don't look at your epilepsy as an excuse. In the beginning I felt like I would be viewed as being weak and making excuses but after all the bs I realized, hey I'm paying for this education and don't deserve this.

Having epilepsy and taking mind altering medications makes learning and memory retention extremely difficult, I applaud you!

 

[elizzza811]

I'm still having problems with basic math - simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. I've gotten a little better with these since starting seizure meds, but still, it's not the same, and at one time I was an A student in calculus. And even seizure meds having helped with my spelling - I constantly find myself looking up the spelling of words that once came naturally to me.