College and alcohol

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Hey guys,

so i am 22 years old and in my fourth year of college. Even though it's been four years I still find it hard connecting with people my age especially since I don't drink alcohol. I am too nervous to try drinking because I don't know how it will affect my medication. Same goes for staying up late since a lot of my friends want to pull all nighters which I can't do bc sleep deprivation is a trigger for me. I just have a hard time telling people about why I can't do these things because they don't understand the risks and what it's like to have a seizure. Anyone else have this problem?

Comments

Well go connect with your

Submitted by just_joe on Sun, 2014-06-08 - 14:58

Well go connect with your friends. Just because they drink does not mean you have to drink. When I was your age I went to the clubs and danced had fun partied with friends. I might have 1 drink with alcohol all he others would be Shirley Temples (the same drink as others but without alcohol). If htey were having their all nighter I would excuess myself an let tehm know I had a ball but needed to do something like go see Mom or another member of the family and that I would see them again either the next night or some other night that week. I would invite some od them over and yes I would buy some beer or wine to offer them if they came over. If they didn't come over then I used the beer or wine in some of the food I made. You know your triggers and what to avoid if possiable. I also have triggers but I also know that those triggers do not always apply. Kind of like taking meds late can cause break thru seizures the use of CAN is just that. Stress is a big trigger but it has rarely effected me. Sleep deprivation effects many. Even when I was diagnosed I was getting about 5-6 hours of sleep a night. That was when I was a teen. Paper routs paid money and yes those papers had to be delivered before 7am so I could get home and change so I could get to the bus stop before the bus got there. After graduation I worked many jobs which required me to be there before 8 transportation takes time and fixing dinner and other things take time. I would get to bed about 12 so I got about 5-6 hours of sleep a night. Been doing that for over 50 years. I have had a few break thru seizures because of taking my meds later then I was supposed to but once or twice a year ain't bad. .I just have a hard time telling people about why I can't do these things because they don't understand the risks and what it's like to have a seizure To explain what a seizure is simply "All a seizure is is an electrical impulse going off in the brain wrong" plain simple and that is every kind of seizure. Now aks them what they do when their computer freezes? Do they walk away from it? Or do they scan their puter and get things right so it doesn't freeze? Is their computer more important then you? Just put it to them that way and I think you might be finding a few more friends. Oh and some of them might pick you up to go clubing or to the bar to have some fun dancing. They might also take you home and go back to the club. You might be surprised. But that will also depend on you and how you live and deal with epilepsy. I hope this helps Joe

Well go connect with your friends. Just because they drink does not mean you have to drink. When I was your age I went to the clubs and danced had fun partied with friends. I might have 1 drink with alcohol all he others would be Shirley Temples (the same drink as others but without alcohol). If htey were having their all nighter I would excuess myself an let tehm know I had a ball but needed to do something like go see Mom or another member of the family and that I would see them again either the next night or some other night that week. I would invite some od them over and yes I would buy some beer or wine to offer them if they came over. If they didn't come over then I used the beer or wine in some of the food I made. You know your triggers and what to avoid if possiable. I also have triggers but I also know that those triggers do not always apply. Kind of like taking meds late can cause break thru seizures the use of CAN is just that. Stress is a big trigger but it has rarely effected me. Sleep deprivation effects many. Even when I was diagnosed I was getting about 5-6 hours of sleep a night. That was when I was a teen. Paper routs paid money and yes those papers had to be delivered before 7am so I could get home and change so I could get to the bus stop before the bus got there. After graduation I worked many jobs which required me to be there before 8 transportation takes time and fixing dinner and other things take time. I would get to bed about 12 so I got about 5-6 hours of sleep a night. Been doing that for over 50 years. I have had a few break thru seizures because of taking my meds later then I was supposed to but once or twice a year ain't bad. .I just have a hard time telling people about why I can't do these things because they don't understand the risks and what it's like to have a seizure  To explain what a seizure is simply "All a seizure is is an electrical impulse going off in the brain wrong" plain simple and that is every kind of seizure. Now aks them what they do when their computer freezes? Do they walk away from it? Or do they scan their puter and get things right so it doesn't freeze? Is their computer more important then you?  Just put it to them that way and I think you might be finding a few more friends. Oh and some of them might pick you up to go clubing or to the bar to have some fun dancing. They might also take you home and go back to the club. You might be surprised. But that will also depend on you and how you live and deal with epilepsy. I hope this helps Joe

Well go connect with your friends. Just because they drink does not mean you have to drink. When I was your age I went to the clubs and danced had fun partied with friends. I might have 1 drink with alcohol all he others would be Shirley Temples (the same drink as others but without alcohol). If htey were having their all nighter I would excuess myself an let tehm know I had a ball but needed to do something like go see Mom or another member of the family and that I would see them again either the next night or some other night that week. I would invite some od them over and yes I would buy some beer or wine to offer them if they came over. If they didn't come over then I used the beer or wine in some of the food I made. You know your triggers and what to avoid if possiable. I also have triggers but I also know that those triggers do not always apply. Kind of like taking meds late can cause break thru seizures the use of CAN is just that. Stress is a big trigger but it has rarely effected me. Sleep deprivation effects many. Even when I was diagnosed I was getting about 5-6 hours of sleep a night. That was when I was a teen. Paper routs paid money and yes those papers had to be delivered before 7am so I could get home and change so I could get to the bus stop before the bus got there. After graduation I worked many jobs which required me to be there before 8 transportation takes time and fixing dinner and other things take time. I would get to bed about 12 so I got about 5-6 hours of sleep a night. Been doing that for over 50 years. I have had a few break thru seizures because of taking my meds later then I was supposed to but once or twice a year ain't bad. .I just have a hard time telling people about why I can't do these things because they don't understand the risks and what it's like to have a seizure To explain what a seizure is simply "All a seizure is is an electrical impulse going off in the brain wrong" plain simple and that is every kind of seizure. Now aks them what they do when their computer freezes? Do they walk away from it? Or do they scan their puter and get things right so it doesn't freeze? Is their computer more important then you? Just put it to them that way and I think you might be finding a few more friends. Oh and some of them might pick you up to go clubing or to the bar to have some fun dancing. They might also take you home and go back to the club. You might be surprised. But that will also depend on you and how you live and deal with epilepsy. I hope this helps Joe

I just turned 23 last month

Submitted by living.with.the.purple.ribbon@gmail.com on Sun, 2014-06-15 - 23:38

I just turned 23 last month and I have the exact same problem. I can't drink (side note: according to the small taste of alcohol that I had, you aren't missing anything), I can't pull all-nighters, I can't drive, I have to have my medicine and a drink with me at 7am/7pm which interrupts whatever I'm doing(most annoying).. We thought about clubs one time as being a way to get out of the house but a lot of clubs have strobe lights, and we were too lazy to do research.. Connecting will always be hard because most just don't understand the severity of the effects. They tend to see it as you just trying to con your way out of things. I've been in situations where people where trying to peer pressure me to drink and they were standing there saying, "Ohh come on! One shot won't do anything." If they've seen you have a seizure then they might be a tiny bit more understanding. After basically probably making you feel like there is no hope, there is. I met my best friend in college, and he's been there for me and understanding the entire time that I've known him. There IS someone out there who will get it, who will put forth effort to make sure that you have fun too. Try to connect through stuff that you like to do, whether it's gaming like Call of Duty (or even just old fashion board games), or reading popular books like Faults in Our Stars (or whatever it's called, I don't like reading so.) Do things during the day when you don't have class so that you don't have to worry about the going to sleep issue. Ohh, and when they ask why I can't do something and explaining to them that I have Epilepsy doesn't work then I usually come up with something stupid or sarcastic like "Because my brain doesn't like me and will electrocute me if I do.." or "My medical bills are high enough, that's why." Most of the time it gets a laugh and an "Ohh, okay."Sorry if that is a jumbled mess.