Taking Care of Yourself

Help support my goal for the 2020 Walk For Epilepsy!

Adequate sleep is extremely important for anyone who suffers from epilepsy.  I haven't written in a few days because I wasn't sleeping well enough and that subsequently let to an exasperation of my seizure symptoms.  If they get too frequent then I take one of my emergency meds to stop them in their tracks, but unless I maintain healthy habits, the seizures will come back. 

For that reason, I want to mention the work of the SUDEP Institute, the importance of maintaining good seizure-management practices  and also regular self-evaluation of one's own triggers and risks for seizures.  Sudden Unexpected Death In Epilepsy is a generally unfamiliar term in numerous circles, but it is a reality.  Every year 1 in 1 million individuals suffering from epilepsy passes away due to this condition, and the causes for it still remain unclear.  What is understood, though, is that managing good practices as an epilepsy sufferer can decrease the risk of SUDEP, and controlling seizures remains essential. Not everyone has specific triggers or can always determine when and where a seizure might occur, however.  It's important to stay in contact with your healthcare team and to foster self-understanding of your own symptoms.  One way of doing that is keeping a record of your seizures, responses to medications, etc.  I use the 5-Year Seizure Diary, which was developed by a mom working to manage her child's seizures.  The book serves as a reliable way to track events, triggers, auras or any changes that help myself and my doctors to better understand my epilepsy.   

Here are some recent words from my friend Ammon:

I wanted to share a recent personal shift that has felt monumental. Contributing my artwork to medical fundraising and awareness events has felt like a full circle occurrence. Since my artwork is actually part of an ongoing story of living with epilepsy and surviving brain cancer, being able to contribute in any way to those who are walking a difficult path feels very personally fulfilling.     wanted to help spread the word of an epilepsy fundraiser that [Nati] is promoting. You will see the link below. Come and join us for the Epilepsy Walk in the Boston Common in the spring! You will see details in the link as well. 

Wishing everyone the best:)

Support the 2020 Walk For Epilepsy!

  
You can check out more of Ammon's amazing pieces here as well:

Ammon EP Society6