An update at last!

Since my last post (which was a while ago), a lot has changed in my life. I graduated university in July with a degree in English, my boyfriend and I split up in October and I moved to Edinburgh full-time in January.

Living in a new city by myself has brought all kinds of challenges my way. First of all, I can’t cook and my diet still largely consists of pasta and cheese and scrambled egg and/or beans on toast. The first time I cleaned the bathroom I had to phone The Mother to get her to clarify just exactly what Mr Muscle meant when he said “do not use drain cleaner on standing water”. And don’t even get me started on filling out a Census form by myself! The largest challenge however, has come in facing seizures by myself.

Doctors recommend that everyone enjoy alcohol in moderation, but people on medication even more so. With the medication I take, alcohol tends to stop it functioning properly, thus increasing my risk of seizures. This was the reason on the morning of 13th February I had my first tonic-clonic seizure in two and a half years.

I woke up lying at a very odd angle on my bed with one of my flatmates sitting on my bed beside me. I groaned, realising what had happened and hastily wiped the puddle of bloody drool off my bedspread. Seizures are not attractive things, especially not in front of your two good-looking flatmates whom you’ve only lived with for a month. Sigh. Thankfully they are very nice guys, and seemed utterly unfazed by my seizure, shrugging as I expressed my gratitude.

The seizure gave me a massive fright however. Not only had I become complacent about having epilepsy, but for the first time I had to deal with having a seizure away from home – and The Mother. The days after the seizure were painful and my tongue, as usual, was bruised and swollen. The shock of the seizure lasted a week and I cried numerous times out of pain and self-pity.

The time has come for me to consider increasing my dosage of Epilim. I have been very hesitant to do this in the past due to the horrible side effects I have experienced with it. I have to weigh up what would be worse: having a seizure alone or fighting the massive urge to eat constantly. I am finding it a very hard decision to make.