School and Epilepsy

I've been reading on other posts asking about what it's like to have Epilepsy at school. So, here's my comment to all those who are dealing with Ep. When I was in 7th grade (age 13), I was having seizures, but didn't know it. At that time, I wasn't aware about seizures. I was made fun of by classmates. I would recall seeing flashing lights and feel my heart accelerating 'coz the fear kicks in on me. It's just a reflex. Anyway, one classmate would make fun of me by rolling his eyes up and pretend that he was seizing. Everyone would laugh. In highschool, my friends/classmates were a little more understanding. They would get scared when I get them, but it's understandable. At my Junior year of highschool, I was told by my doctor that I'm having seizures and was given Dilantin. By the way, I had to see many doctors to find out what's wrong with me. A lot of them were stumped until I found a doctor who was able to diagnose me correctly. In college, the added stress of school, began to affect my seizures. I was doing a lot of all nighters with my studies and reports that needed to be handed in by morning for certain classes. My doctor was telling me that too much stress isn't good for me and that I needed to cut back on my classes. So, instead of taking a full load of classes, I went to taking 2 classes. It decreased the seizure activity, but I wound up graduating much later than I would have liked. Well, at least I was able to get my diploma. It was a great accomplishment for me. So, my advice, to all the students dealing with Ep at school, is to not allow negative comments from anyone at school affect you. Just remember that these people are not educated in Ep. So, just turn a deaf ear on them and do what is more important......your schooling. Who knows in the future you may wind up having a way better paying job than them 'coz you were more studious than they were. I tell you education really pays off in the long run.