Community Forum Archive

The Epilepsy Community Forums are closed, and the information is archived. The content in this section may not be current or apply to all situations. In addition, forum questions and responses include information and content that has been generated by epilepsy community members. This content is not moderated. The information on these pages should not be substituted for medical advice from a healthcare provider. Experiences with epilepsy can vary greatly on an individual basis. Please contact your doctor or medical team if you have any questions about your situation. For more information, learn about epilepsy or visit our resources section.

Lost my job and my license

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:14

I am an RN who has led a pretty independent life and career. I'm 31 years old and I had a tonic-clonic seizure this past June while I was driving across country to move to Arkansas. Thank God my boyfriend was with me at the time. He is also a healthcare preofessional and was able to pull me out of the car and perform CPR on me in the middle of the road. I had no pulse and I was not breathing. I was revived and brought to the hospital and released. My boyfriend was able to prescribe me medication immediately to control my seizures. Upon arriving in Arkansas, I found and began seeing a neurologist who prescribed me medication and had me get an MRI, CT scan and sleep deprived EEG. All these tests proved normal. I know many seizures occur and no one can find the cause of them., so I was not all that surprised by this.

This past week, I was home alone and awakened and walked to the kitchen. I felt a seizure come on quickly with no time to prepare. For me, it is auditory. I hear very loud noises in one or both ears. This time it was both ears and the noise is so loud it sounds like speakers are blasting in my ears and I cannot think straight. I tried to dial my boyfriend who was at work. I do not actually remember dialing the phone, but apparently I did. Thank God he picked up because when he did, he could hear wrestling around in the background and garbled speech. He called 911 and rushed home from work. He found me lying on the floor crying (in post-ictal state) confused. He said I was very sweaty and red faced, but alive. I did not require any resuscitation this time. 911 soon arrived and brought me to the hospital. While we were at the hospital, my boyfriend called and told my boss that I would not be able to make it to work the following day because I had a seizure. I had never called out or missed a day at this job, and my boss was aware of my seizure history.

The day after the seizure (a Friday), my went to see my neurologist who was very surprised I had another seizure. He requested I take Diazepam in addition to Keppra and my newly prescribed Lamictal (which I had starting weaning onto in the weeks before this seizure). My neurologist advised me that I could not work in my current job as a recovery room nurse for the next six weeks because he said I may make errors in giving medications or have a seizure while at work. He said I could do anything besides direct patient care. I notified my boss this same day and forwarded her the note from the doctor that stated I cannot do direct patient care for six weeks (until around January 15th, 2015 when I next follow up with the neurologist).

I received a call the following Monday that my hospital was separating employment with me. I was only a per diem nurse. I understand that I would not be able to continue doing the same job for them that I had been doing. But why would they terminate a per Diem nurse? I had been planning on coming back to work as soon as I could. It is not as if I am paid benefits by them. I just work as an hourly paid employee when they need me. I became so depressed, as I felt that my whole world had already crumbled from underneath me. I had already lost my license for one year and now my job too. I just do not understand why I was terminated for needing six weeks off.

Comments

I agree with mereloaded about

Submitted by blueknight480 on Fri, 2014-12-26 - 22:50
I agree with mereloaded about stigmata I supervised at a factory recently and if they had found out about my tls they would have fired me but they regular sent alcoholic to 3 months of rehab in Florida

more of us would seek help if

Submitted by blueknight480 on Fri, 2014-12-26 - 22:52
more of us would seek help if it were not for fear of losing our license

I agree with mereloaded about

Submitted by blueknight480 on Fri, 2014-12-26 - 22:52
I agree with mereloaded about stigmata I supervised at a factory recently and if they had found out about my tls they would have fired me but they regular sent alcoholic to 3 months of rehab in Florida

Sign Up for Emails

Stay up to date with the latest epilepsy news, stories from the community, and more.