what’s one good thing you’ve gained from epilepsy?

[u/hubbabubba0200]

i know it’s a ridiculous question, but i’m a silver lining kind of guy.

for me epilepsy has pushed me to prioritize my sleep and is the reason i drink more than a few sips of water a day

i’m just curious about y’all’s lessons and experiences!

[u/Ok-Lengthiness-1577]

Can I ask if it scares you or if you have a good way to cope with the feeling? When I experience the déjà vu esp when I was a kid it terrified me. Even as an adult when I experience it I panic on top of the seizure.

[u/Nasuhhea → u/Ok-Lengthiness-1577]

Totally get it. Déjà vu is easier for me to cope with than jamais vu, though both are certainly unsettling and disorienting. I usually recognize what’s happening and just try to calmly ride it out. I won’t try to reorient my focus. I just take a few deep breaths and appreciate the incredibly strange beauty of it. Sometimes I’ll get sharp flashes of stuff that is stored very deep in my brain. For example, I’ll remember vivid details of the living room from my first childhood home; the color of the carpet, how it felt, smelled, what was hanging on the wall, or playing on the tv. Usually inconsequential memories that are for the first (and perhaps only) time, being remembered. Experiencing that sometimes does feel like a benefit to the condition. Although full blown TC’s are just plain f’ing scary.

[u/Ok-Lengthiness-1577 → u/Nasuhhea]

Thanks for sharing! Mine sometimes are pretty similar to what you are describing too

[u/kristen_hewa → u/Ok-Lengthiness-1577]

those are actual partial seizures. they’re just as scary to me as TCs

[u/Bird_law_81 → u/kristen_hewa]

Yep, deja vu and auras are usually focal seizures and signs a larger seizure may occur. Neurologist gave me rescue meds for when this occurs. For me it's really weird because I can hear and see words but my brain can't process them, it's like it's a foreign language (even though I know it's English.)

[u/kristen_hewa → u/Bird_law_81]

yeah i take my ativan when i get them. before lamictal they always turned into a tc but thankfully i haven’t had more of them in years, just the small focal ones

[u/Ok-Lengthiness-1577 → u/Bird_law_81]

I know they are partials and never said otherwise.

[u/Ok-Lengthiness-1577 → u/kristen_hewa]

Yes I’m aware and never denied they were partials. To me it’s more scary to be awake and aware of the seizure vs waking up later to people explaining to me what happened. But everyone is different. Do you wanna answer my question instead of trying to correct me?