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Epilepsy and college..
Fri, 11/19/2004 - 10:47I'm going to college in a month. Although I am a commuter student, I'm scared of how I'm going to handle college. See, I was absent..a lot in high school when I was diagnosed with epilepsy. I had about 5 seizures over the course of my senior year and a lot of traumatic things happened to me which made me feel really down and hurt my grades a bit-for instance, not being able to drive.
I'm supposed to find out this week if i can finally drive again..oh how I love the New Jersey DMV...heh obviously sarcasm there. Anyway, I'm panicing about everything. I'm scared I'm gonna crack up when I get the work load which I know is going to be hell. I'm scared if I don't get my license back before september I wont be able to drive and my mom will have to drive me which will be really embarrassing and upset me a great deal. I've been waiting since September.
I've been in such a depression all summer..I haven't even left my room and I barely talk to my friends anymore or go out with them when they invite me places. The last thing I wanna do is go back to school..college no less where I won't know my way around, dont know about the teachers or how much work I'll have to deal with, and I don't know a soul there and see I'm a really shy person and every year since I was little I've cried on the first day of school. I know that's pathetic since I'm 18 now but it always happens.
I quit my job when I got epilepsy and lately I was trying to get another job but now my mom and dad dont want me to cuz we got my schedule for college and it's ridiculous..I wont have time for anything much less a job.
So basically I'm really losing it...I'm so scared and alone and upset and I just wanna run away and never come out of my room or something..I dont even wanna go to college..in fact my mom and I thought about not sending me for a year b/c of the epilepsy and the driving situation..God if any of you have been through this I beg you please respond!!!!!!!! I need support more than ever, God I just need something to hold on to..
Comments
RE: Epilepsy and college..
Submitted by jmmjmm1 on Sun, 2005-04-10 - 17:34
Galinda:
I hear so many of my own concerns in your posting. THE ONE AND ONLY THING YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER TO DO WHILE IN COLLEGE, MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, IS TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE IS GOING TO, NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY CLAIM TO CARE ABOUT YOU. If you can do this, you will be fine. I think I might say that to anyone going to college these days, not just to a young person with epilepsy. But I will be specific to the epilepsy. Go slow, if you must. Most folks do not do the 4 year degree in 4 years anymore-- and these people have normal brains, without epilepsy, so you might not want to take a full 20 semester hours, even though the curricula are designed that way for some rediculous reason. At my university, whether you toolk 12 or 20, you were still considered "full time" and qualified for financial aid, so who was the one putting a rush on things anyway??? Made more sense to me to take it slower and I finished in 5 years. Take your meds CORRECTLY, get PLENTY of rest (at least 8 hours-- even if you have to stop studying and that has to suffer a bit, you will work out a routine eventually), don't drink ANY alcohol, regardless of how it makes you feel when you experiment (and I know you will, because I did-- I think we all did on this site at one time or another), and eat properly (3 meals may not be the right way for you, 6 small nutritious meals might work better). About driving. I drove all during college. It never made me feel any more superiour than another student. But I noticed lots of students take their bikes to school, especially when they live on campus. In fact, I also heard there was a rule if you lived in a dorm you could not have a car or something, too. See if mom can attach a bike rack to her car and when she drops you off, take your bike with you, have her drop you a few blocks out. You can ride in and then you will appear as though you are one of the students who live "on campus" this way, and blend right in. You will be getting plenty of excercise, which is also good, your self esteem won't suffer as much, and you might even like it. AND ONE LAST THING. Disclose you have epilepsy to the school's disability student services office. You will receive special accomodations, which you should not be ashamed to accept. Some college profs will fail you for missing a certain number of classes, just for missing! Doesn't matter if you are making hundreds on their exams. You still missed 25 percent of the classes-- see 'ya next fall! If you have reported this, and can let your school know this AHEAD OF TIME, then you will save yourself alot of heartache.
To let you in on my situation a little. I have a BS in Biology, decided I wanted to go to medical school. I worked hard in high school and got scholarships to fully pay for college. I worked hard in college, too. And then there was the job situation! Guess you could say I JUST WORKED HARD. ALWAYS HAVE. I worked at least 2, but sometimes 4 jobs to live on my own while going to college because I wanted my independence and hated living with my parents, but your parents might be the coolest on earth and you may get along with them great. (If they allow you to live with them? Do it!) I was driving while in college, paying my father rent-- to live by rules I could not accept anyway, so I moved out to pay someone rent to live on my own terms-- and I was happy. While I was working 4 jobs, my grades began to suffer and I found myself timed to take the entrance exam to med school-- I thought it was work that was making my grades suffer-- turns out it was my seizures-- that was the turning point for me-- I bombed the entrance exam and knew the only way to do better was to try again-- but the Caribbean schools did not require it to get in, so I went there-- I lived on a tiny Dutch island for 2 years and that is where I found memory loss, concentration difficulty, and we even found out my seizure disorder had been misdiagnosed. I had been on the wrong meds for 10 years-- yes, I had E, but the wrong syndrome-- the type of meds I had been placed on had only exacerbated the condition and I was then illiterate!
SO I QUIT SCHOOL! And now, at the age of 26, I work in retail! PART TIME! I ride my bike and the bus the work. The last big job I got with my degree let me go two weeks ago telling me I was not a good fit for the job, three weeks after I returned to work from being hospitalized for a week. I set up a program for patients in a state hospital who wished to quit smoking, and now they let me go once it is up and running. I am in no good shape, trust me! To tell you the truth, I am not sure I know what to do next. But I do encourage you to follow the advice I have given you to the best you can. Especially about the rest and the medications-- and always ask questions of your doctor, no matter how silly you think they are!
Take care and good luck in college-- You will be great at what ever you decide to pursue! Remember, you have epilepsy, but it does not have you! Don't let it rule you and your day! Go out and celebrate summer with your friends and celebrate life-- you are so young and there is so much to learn!
Jamie
"How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but someone." Coco Chanel
Galinda:
I hear so many of my own concerns in your posting. THE ONE AND ONLY THING YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER TO DO WHILE IN COLLEGE, MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, IS TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE IS GOING TO, NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY CLAIM TO CARE ABOUT YOU. If you can do this, you will be fine. I think I might say that to anyone going to college these days, not just to a young person with epilepsy. But I will be specific to the epilepsy. Go slow, if you must. Most folks do not do the 4 year degree in 4 years anymore-- and these people have normal brains, without epilepsy, so you might not want to take a full 20 semester hours, even though the curricula are designed that way for some rediculous reason. At my university, whether you toolk 12 or 20, you were still considered "full time" and qualified for financial aid, so who was the one putting a rush on things anyway??? Made more sense to me to take it slower and I finished in 5 years. Take your meds CORRECTLY, get PLENTY of rest (at least 8 hours-- even if you have to stop studying and that has to suffer a bit, you will work out a routine eventually), don't drink ANY alcohol, regardless of how it makes you feel when you experiment (and I know you will, because I did-- I think we all did on this site at one time or another), and eat properly (3 meals may not be the right way for you, 6 small nutritious meals might work better). About driving. I drove all during college. It never made me feel any more superiour than another student. But I noticed lots of students take their bikes to school, especially when they live on campus. In fact, I also heard there was a rule if you lived in a dorm you could not have a car or something, too. See if mom can attach a bike rack to her car and when she drops you off, take your bike with you, have her drop you a few blocks out. You can ride in and then you will appear as though you are one of the students who live "on campus" this way, and blend right in. You will be getting plenty of excercise, which is also good, your self esteem won't suffer as much, and you might even like it. AND ONE LAST THING. Disclose you have epilepsy to the school's disability student services office. You will receive special accomodations, which you should not be ashamed to accept. Some college profs will fail you for missing a certain number of classes, just for missing! Doesn't matter if you are making hundreds on their exams. You still missed 25 percent of the classes-- see 'ya next fall! If you have reported this, and can let your school know this AHEAD OF TIME, then you will save yourself alot of heartache.
To let you in on my situation a little. I have a BS in Biology, decided I wanted to go to medical school. I worked hard in high school and got scholarships to fully pay for college. I worked hard in college, too. And then there was the job situation! Guess you could say I JUST WORKED HARD. ALWAYS HAVE. I worked at least 2, but sometimes 4 jobs to live on my own while going to college because I wanted my independence and hated living with my parents, but your parents might be the coolest on earth and you may get along with them great. (If they allow you to live with them? Do it!) I was driving while in college, paying my father rent-- to live by rules I could not accept anyway, so I moved out to pay someone rent to live on my own terms-- and I was happy. While I was working 4 jobs, my grades began to suffer and I found myself timed to take the entrance exam to med school-- I thought it was work that was making my grades suffer-- turns out it was my seizures-- that was the turning point for me-- I bombed the entrance exam and knew the only way to do better was to try again-- but the Caribbean schools did not require it to get in, so I went there-- I lived on a tiny Dutch island for 2 years and that is where I found memory loss, concentration difficulty, and we even found out my seizure disorder had been misdiagnosed. I had been on the wrong meds for 10 years-- yes, I had E, but the wrong syndrome-- the type of meds I had been placed on had only exacerbated the condition and I was then illiterate!
SO I QUIT SCHOOL! And now, at the age of 26, I work in retail! PART TIME! I ride my bike and the bus the work. The last big job I got with my degree let me go two weeks ago telling me I was not a good fit for the job, three weeks after I returned to work from being hospitalized for a week. I set up a program for patients in a state hospital who wished to quit smoking, and now they let me go once it is up and running. I am in no good shape, trust me! To tell you the truth, I am not sure I know what to do next. But I do encourage you to follow the advice I have given you to the best you can. Especially about the rest and the medications-- and always ask questions of your doctor, no matter how silly you think they are!
Take care and good luck in college-- You will be great at what ever you decide to pursue! Remember, you have epilepsy, but it does not have you! Don't let it rule you and your day! Go out and celebrate summer with your friends and celebrate life-- you are so young and there is so much to learn!
Jamie
"How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but someone." Coco Chanel
RE: Epilepsy and college..
Submitted by sweet_deeter1 on Sun, 2005-04-10 - 22:33
Hello,
I missed alot of high school when I was that age. I went to college right out of high school and took alot of classes. It was overwhelming. I ended up dropping out. I went back in a few years and my epilepsy had gotten worse by then I still took alot of classes and was overwhelmed. I again had to drop out. I had too many seizures.
My suggestion to you would be to start out slow and see how many classes you can handle. I don't know if stress causes your seizures or using your brain alot causes seizures. I just had to figure that all out by myself. I had to figure out what I could and could not handle so I didn't overwhelm myself. I am going back to college this fall. I am going to just take one class. I am going to need extra help that I have never needed before but epilepsy has effected alot of areas of my life. Memory, comprehension, etc. all that good stuff. But I want to succeed and if I need extra help, I need help, no matter how smart I am. Hope this helps. Candita
Hello,
I missed alot of high school when I was that age. I went to college right out of high school and took alot of classes. It was overwhelming. I ended up dropping out. I went back in a few years and my epilepsy had gotten worse by then I still took alot of classes and was overwhelmed. I again had to drop out. I had too many seizures.
My suggestion to you would be to start out slow and see how many classes you can handle. I don't know if stress causes your seizures or using your brain alot causes seizures. I just had to figure that all out by myself. I had to figure out what I could and could not handle so I didn't overwhelm myself. I am going back to college this fall. I am going to just take one class. I am going to need extra help that I have never needed before but epilepsy has effected alot of areas of my life. Memory, comprehension, etc. all that good stuff. But I want to succeed and if I need extra help, I need help, no matter how smart I am. Hope this helps. Candita
RE: Epilepsy and college..
Submitted by lprice on Wed, 2005-04-06 - 00:51
I graduated early from high school, so I had just turned 17 when I went off to college. I had my first seizure in Jan of 98 and started at college in Sept of 98. I had planned on working on my driver's ed during the summer leading up to college, but that was before I had my seizure. I had to wait a full year before I could get my license. Luckily, my sister went to the same school so she lugged me around. I understand the feelings of frustration because I hated being driven around, but it has made me appreciate driving more. I worked in the library at my university and took a full load and was fine. I knew my body and mind and they told me when I was doing too much. College is an exciting experience...don't get discouraged!!! I feel such a great sense of accomplishment having my degree. Let finishing college be your goal, and if you have to be driven there, so be it. I know it's hard...I WAS THERE!!! But think of the end result...you will be proud of yourself!!!
It's normal to be nervous. I am usually pretty shy at first, but when I feel more comfortable I don't shut up!! The first few days or so will be trying in the new situation, but college is what you make up it. Don't be pessimistic about it. Try to think about the pros of continuing your education. I know most of this sounds cheesy. I just don't want you to have any regrets. I think that if I had let myself be overcome with my emotions, I probably would not have finished my degree.
I'm here with support. I hope that I have helped you in some way.
I graduated early from high school, so I had just turned 17 when I went off to college. I had my first seizure in Jan of 98 and started at college in Sept of 98. I had planned on working on my driver's ed during the summer leading up to college, but that was before I had my seizure. I had to wait a full year before I could get my license. Luckily, my sister went to the same school so she lugged me around. I understand the feelings of frustration because I hated being driven around, but it has made me appreciate driving more. I worked in the library at my university and took a full load and was fine. I knew my body and mind and they told me when I was doing too much. College is an exciting experience...don't get discouraged!!! I feel such a great sense of accomplishment having my degree. Let finishing college be your goal, and if you have to be driven there, so be it. I know it's hard...I WAS THERE!!! But think of the end result...you will be proud of yourself!!!
It's normal to be nervous. I am usually pretty shy at first, but when I feel more comfortable I don't shut up!! The first few days or so will be trying in the new situation, but college is what you make up it. Don't be pessimistic about it. Try to think about the pros of continuing your education. I know most of this sounds cheesy. I just don't want you to have any regrets. I think that if I had let myself be overcome with my emotions, I probably would not have finished my degree.
I'm here with support. I hope that I have helped you in some way.