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Life in Sport with Epilepsy
Wed, 08/16/2017 - 14:19I am a 20 year old, semi professional rugby player and i have always suffered with seizures but mainly auras. I have had auras whilst training and playing before and carried on because they tended to pass quite quickly so my epilepsy had never really previously got in the way of what i wanted to achieve. But due to a number of auras i have had recently, my team are contemplating cancelling my contract and releasing me. I am to be assessed by an independant rugby specialist but i'm afraid that he won't have much of an understanding of epilepsy much like many of the doctors and physios i have worked with, then they will prevent me from playing again. I have sacrificed and worked a lot to get where i am and if its all taken away from me, then i don't know what to do or where to turn
Comments
Hey, I have juvenile
Submitted by Miss TRE on Thu, 2017-08-17 - 02:51
Hey, I have juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and was a very active child. I used to play football (soccer) as a child. I had my first tonic clonic at the age of 12 during a soccer match. Back then I was only having myoclonic jerks. I was still having myoclonic jerks and did a 60 mile charity bike ride 2 weeks after my diagnosis and was never told I shouldn't by my neurologist.Fast forward, I'm now 29 and my health has deteriorated a lot (due to medication changes). Tonic clonics are 6-8 weeks apart. I am a keen endurance runner. I'm training for my 3rd marathon and no health professional, including numerologist have ever told my not to do endurance running. Yes I have the occasional jerk when running. But the positives for me outweigh the negatives. Running minimises my side effects and I believe allows me to function at high levels at work.However on the other hand. My sport is not contact. I would try and speak to a epilepsy socialist. I dnt know if u have access to an epilepsy nurse. They are sometimes better than neurologists with the everyday stuff. But I totally get that you don't want to stop your sport because it can really help with epilepsy.
Could you maybe go to en
Submitted by Shahar on Mon, 2017-08-21 - 03:49
Could you maybe go to en apilepsy specialist rather than a rugby specialist to get evaluated? I am in a similar situation in that I mainly have auras which are not putting me or others in danger. But due to the fact that my sport is a water sport official guidelines say I wouldn't be allowed to do it with epilepsy, so so far I have not told anyone. If I ever need to I would ask my neurologist to write an explanatory letter.
So you have been having many
Submitted by just_joe on Wed, 2017-08-16 - 19:01
So you have been having many more auras. You need to discuss this issue with your neurologist. Auras are warnings to many that they may have a stronger or larger seizure shortly. Auras are seizures themselves.