In honor of International Epilepsy Awareness Day, also known as “Purple Day,” on Thursday, March 26, I wanted to raise awareness about the challenges of having and managing epilepsy while in college. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by the recurrence of seizures. According to epilepsy.com, 65 million people worldwide are affected by epilepsy. Epilepsy does not affect everyone in the same way. Above all, every affected individual should follow their doctor’s directions; but these are just some tips that I found helpful as an epileptic student living on campus.
 

1. Identify and pay attention to your triggers

There are several different common triggers for epileptic seizures, many of which can be especially difficult to manage in a college setting. Common seizure triggers include lack of sleep, alcohol usage, and stress. It is sometimes difficult to identify your triggers, so keeping a seizure diary and logging the type of seizure you had and when the seizure happened may be a good way to notice if any factors are common to the onset of your seizures. A neurologist may also be able to help you identify your triggers based on this information. The second part to managing your triggers after identifying them is to actually pay attention to them. If sleep-deprivation is a seizure trigger for you, you should probably try to schedule your life so that you don’t have to pull frequent all-nighters. If alcohol triggers your seizures, try to avoid it! These may seem like simple fixes; however, they can sometimes be difficult to implement into your lifestyle. Be patient with yourself, and be confident that you can make the changes that you need to.
 

2. Take your medications

Many people with epilepsy use medication to manage their seizures. Not taking your medication is also a common seizure trigger, so take your medications! If you find it difficult to remember your medications, set daily alarms on your phone, and organize your medications in a weekly pill sorter. Another important piece of medication management is understanding the side-effects and drug interactions of the medications you take. It’s likely that the doctor who prescribed your medication described several side effects and checked for interactions with other medications you already take, but it is helpful to continue to actively think about this. Some seizure drugs interact in very serious and sometimes fatal ways with alcohol, and others may decrease the effectiveness of hormonal birth control pills. It’s also important to pay attention to how your medication is making you feel; many epilepsy medications cause undesirable side effects such as nausea, irritability, drowsiness and rash. If you find that your epilepsy medication is impacting you in a way that impacts your daily functionality, speak to your neurologist to find out if there are alternative medications that you can try.
 

3. Set up a support system

Having a support system is essential to managing your epilepsy. Informing your friends, partner, or roommate(s) can be very helpful in dealing with your epilepsy, and leaning on your family, if you are able to, is also useful. Tell the people you are frequently around what your seizures look like, and educate them on up-to-date seizure first aid. If you live on campus, and especially if your epilepsy presents itself when you’re falling asleep or waking up, it may be a good idea to inform your RA about your condition. Likely, if you once lived at home and don’t anymore, you will need to come up with a new plan for what should happen when or if you have a seizure. If you don’t want to leave the responsibility of making sure you didn’t get hurt during your seizure, or making sure you come out of the seizure entirely with your roommate(s) or RA, the Empatica Embrace Watch may be a useful tool for you. The watch is able to detect generalized tonic clonic seizures, and is paired to an app on your phone. In the app, you may designate one or several “caregivers,” depending on which plan you have, who will be immediately notified if the watch detects seizure activity. The Embrace2 Watch is $249 plus a monthly subscription fee (monthly subscription fees start at $9.90 a month and increase as more caregivers and seizure tracking features are added), and includes a 30 day free trial. You can find more information on the Embrace2 here: https://www.empatica.com/embrace2/
 

      4. Get yourself a medical bracelet

Yes, a medical bracelet often carries the connotation of an elderly, sick person, however, a medical bracelet can be very useful, and actually relatively stylish as well. With epilepsy, a medical bracelet can save you thousands of dollars on ambulance rides, as ambulance rides are usually unnecessary after the individual has had their first seizure, as long as the seizure is not life-threatening, and the individual does not have problems following the seizure. According to americanmedical-id.com, “more than 95 percent of respondents look for a medical ID during emergencies,” meaning that with a medical bracelet, you can often avoid a trip to the emergency room. There are a lot of options for stylish or discrete medical bracelets. I got mine on Etsy, and I have actually received several compliments from people thinking it was actual, non-medical jewelry. Several shops on Etsy make and sell medical ID bracelets, some starting at just $11.98.
 

      5. Be resilient

Sometimes, you may feel like you’re doing everything right. You might avoid your triggers, take your medication, live a healthy lifestyle, and still have an epileptic episode. Though this may feel like a defeat, realize that there are almost always accommodations you can make to lessen your chance of a seizure, and to try to get your epilepsy condition under control. Speak with your support network, and give yourself credit for your strength. Epilepsy is not an easy condition to live with, and your resilience is truly commendable.