Information for people newly diagnosed with epilepsy

If you or one of your loved ones has been recently diagnosed with epilepsy, you may be worried and quite rightly have some questions. The first thing you should know is not to panic, most people who are diagnosed with epilepsy are able to carry on leading the life they lead beforehand, but often with a few modifications depending on the type of epilepsy.

What is epilepsy?

You have most likely had this explained by a medical professional at the point of diagnosis, but just to reiterate… epilepsy is a disorder that affects the brain and causes seizures, the degree and frequency of which can range from person to person. It can start at any age and affects approximately 602,000 people in the UK alone.

There are many different types of epilepsy, which can range from being short term to lifelong. The cause of epilepsy can’t always be determined, however, some common causes include:

• Head injuries
• Strokes
• Brain infections (e.g. meningitis)
• Complications that occur during birth, such as lack of oxygen

Treatments for epilepsy

As previously mentioned, there are many different types of epilepsy, which is why there are also many different types of treatments. If you have newly diagnosed then you may well be in the process of figuring out which treatment is best for you with your specialist, who will suggest the most appropriate treatment. The important thing to remember is that 7 out of 10 people with epilepsy are able to control their epilepsy with treatment.

There are side effects with many epilepsy treatments, and finding the right one for you can be a process that takes time, but hopefully, you will soon find the treatment that is successful for you.

How epilepsy might affect your lifestyle

Everyone is different when it comes to lifestyle changes, although most will have to make some adjustments. Most of these changes are in the pursuit of safety as seizures can put you at risk of causing harm to yourself or potentially to others. For example, it would be advisable to take showers instead of bathing to minimise any risk should you have a seizure. The majority of epilepsy-related deaths are caused by accidents that occur as a result of the seizure, not the seizure itself.

Epilepsy should not affect your career, with the exception of the armed forces all jobs are open to people with epilepsy and it’s up to your employer to make any reasonable adjustments to ensure you and others are safe at work. As a person with epilepsy, you are covered under UK equality laws. Of course, if your job presents definite risk considering your epilepsy, for example, working at heights then it’s unlikely you will be able to continue to do so without presenting a serious risk to yourself.

You may have to temporarily or sometimes permanently stop driving until your epilepsy has been assessed, find more details on this in our blog post – “Can I drive with epilepsy?” – Get the facts…

National Epilepsy Training can help…

Adjusting to life with epilepsy can be difficult, National Epilepsy Training are able to help those diagnosed and their families to adapt and prepare in order to live the life you wish to lead. Find out how our range of services can make a difference, call us on 01706 373075 or email admin@nationalepilepsytraining.co.uk.