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Epilepsy Wellness Advocates
Improve Your Quality of LifeChildhood Epilepsy Conquered: Alex’s Story 29 Sep 2023, 8:04 pm
No Longer Suffering in Silence
Things looked bleak when Alex was young, but now he’s been seizure free for 20 years! See his unexpected advice about living a full, happy life with a disability, and not suffering in silence. This personal epilepsy story serves as a powerful reminder of the strength it takes to overcome such challenges.
Sometimes you get a chance to take something bad and turn it into something good. That’s the choice Alex made.
A shock before college
Alex can’t tell you much about his epilepsy because he didn’t know about it until he was 18.
He was skimming through his medical records for college and literally “saw” the news staring at him in black and white. It was a shock.
His parents sat him down to explain. Alex’s problems started with a massive epileptic seizure when he was 18 months old. It was so severe that he ended up in a coma for an entire month. It was torture for his family.
“I was barely clinging to life. They didn’t think I wasn’t going to make it, but somehow by the grace of God, I was able to recover,” he explained.
The next seizure happened at age seven while Alex was sleeping. He recalls waking up in the hospital with an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth. He was prescribed anti-seizure medication as part of his epilepsy treatment, but being a young boy, he didn’t understand what it was for.
He also didn’t know that the seizure resulted in brain damage that caused intellectual challenges, such as taking longer to process information. “It just takes me a minute to register,” Alex said.
While he never had another seizure, that event changed Alex’s life forever. Since then, he’s always worried when the next seizure might happen. Alex was taken off seizure meds at 18, being told he outgrew his childhood epilepsy, yet he can’t erase the worry.
To this day, it’s still a mystery what caused Alex’s epilepsy, and there is no family history, but he’s thankful it’s gone.
A second challenge adds to the pain
However, another problem persisted. Alex developed cerebral palsy after his first seizure.
This is not uncommon. Nearly 50% of children who have cerebral palsy also have epilepsy symptoms, but neither disorder causes the other, according to Cerebral Palsy Guidance. They just tend to co-exist.
But Alex’s family didn’t know he had cerebral palsy because the doctors misdiagnosed him with a different condition. Alex prefers not to name that disorder because it includes a currently derogatory term that carries great stigma.
Unfortunately, Alex LIVED the stigma. He has vividly painful memories of being teased and bullied as a child for being different. “It’s absurd what I went through,” Alex said, and these experiences later gave him the drive to advocate for others.
At 14, Alex found solace in starting a business as a DJ for parties. His father was a popular local radio personality, so Alex was familiar with the music industry. He threw himself into this new venture and took pride in building success on his own.
Then, in his mid-20s, doctors correctly diagnosed Alex with cerebral palsy. Not wanting to explore that chapter of hurt again, he decided not to tell a soul.
Alex has a change of heart
A few years passed, and Alex’s outlook changed completely.
His DJ business had grown to play gigs all over the San Francisco Bay area and beyond since 2001. His favorite events were working with charities like Make a Wish, the American Cancer Society, and the Special Olympics.
Alex saw the gratitude of the people attending and could feel that he was making a difference in their lives at that moment. Yet half the people he worked for didn’t realize he had a disability, Alex said.
It now became important for him to show others that he could make an impact despite his challenges. “I had bottled it up for so long that I wanted to break my silence about my disabilities on both a personal and professional level,” he said. So he began to share his story on his terms. His efforts were met with support and respect.
Two jobs and a mission
In addition to his DJ work, Alex works part time as a campus supervisor for a California school district, a job he’s held since 2015. One day, Alex saw a student having a seizure. He came to her aid, stayed with her, called for an ambulance, and even went to the hospital to ensure she was ok.
The whole incident brought back a flood of memories, and it was the first time he had seen someone else having a seizure. It re-opened the trauma and anxiety, but Alex found it rewarding to help and support for epilepsy patients.
A new purpose through activism
Alex now sees advocacy as part of his personal mission. He works to bring awareness and fair treatment to all people with disabilities, emphasizing the importance of epilepsy awareness.
In 2022, he was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to be a council member on the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities. The group helps make sure that people who have developmental disabilities obtain the services and support they need to live independently and be active members of the community.
Alex was recently invited to be on a California police department’s Chief Advisory Board, and he’s eager to make an impact there, as well.
Today, Alex is happy with his life and finds fulfillment in empowering others. He enjoys traveling, going to theme parks, and spending time with his family and his dogs, Jack and Louie.
“These days I just tell people, ‘This is who I am and what I’m about,’” Alex said. “If you tell someone about your disability and they don’t treat you well, then you know they were never your friend.”
Q&A with Alex
What advice do you have for someone with epilepsy?
“My advice to anyone living with epilepsy is to live your life to the fullest. Do what you need to so that you can forget that you have epilepsy,” he said. Go out with friends, go for a walk, do things you like, and LIVE!
“It’s also very important to develop a support system” so you can open up and talk freely to people you trust, Alex pleads. He remembers feeling alone and doesn’t want others to be in that sad place. If you can’t find support by talking to your close friends and family, Alex suggests joining a support group.
Should you tell someone you have epilepsy?
If you’ve just been diagnosed, Alex said you should be cautious before telling people. “It’s your right to tell or not tell people about your disability,” he said. Take time to process the news and think about the people around you. First confide in the people you trust within your inner circle.
As a child, Alex’s condition made him the target of bullying, so he encourages you to be realistic about who is around you and what they might do with the information.
“For your own safety, don’t tell everyone unless you are ready,” he said. Putting news of your disability on social media might invite the good, but it can also invite a lot of bad. People might use it wrongfully, Alex warns, so he stresses that you must think it through.
What is the hardest part of having epilepsy?
The hardest part is worrying about the next seizure.
“Although I haven’t had a seizure since I was seven, I still have the fear,” Alex said.
Even now, when Alex is sleeping and gets a cramp on his knee or feels like he’s shaking for a couple seconds, he remembers having the exact same sensation at age seven. He has to calm his anxiety and remind himself that it’s been years since his last seizure.
What’s the best way to support someone with epilepsy?
If you know someone with epilepsy, Alex said to check on them regularly, offer support, and be a friend. People need help beyond only the times when they’ve just had a seizure. They need to know they are not alone.
Continue to follow up with check-ins. If the person doesn’t contact you for a while or you notice they haven’t come out of their house, take time to check on them.
“Call the person, go out to lunch with them, or get together.” That social contact is very important.
Do you have advice for caretakers?
Caretakers should know the warning signs of the patient’s epilepsy, Alex says. If the person with epilepsy displays a prewarning or senses that something’s not right, pay attention and do not leave them alone because a seizure is probably coming. Stay by their side the entire time during the seizure and offer calming assurance throughout the seizure, even if it seems they aren’t aware.
Do you have a personal epilepsy story that you would like to share? Please reach out! We’d love to hear it.
The post Childhood Epilepsy Conquered: Alex’s Story appeared first on Epilepsy Wellness Advocates.
7 Tips to Help Reduce Sleep Problems When You Have Epilepsy 19 May 2023, 5:47 pm
Getting a good night’s sleep is challenging when you have epilepsy. You’re exhausted already, and medications can wreak havoc on your body, causing side effects like sleeplessness, night sweats, anxiety, and seizures. Epilepsy and sleep issues often go hand in hand, but there are strategies that can help.
Are there natural strategies you can employ to get the rest your body needs?
Yes! Our research team has combed through different studies to give you the following seven tips to improve your quality of sleep. We’ll also discuss what to avoid before bed and how to get back to sleep if you wake in the middle of the night, especially if you’re dealing with epilepsy night sweats.
Start by trying some of these tonight. Then add the others until you develop a consistent sleep repertoire. You might soon find yourself sleeping much better after several weeks – all without having to turn to medication.
Epilepsy and sleep strategies aren’t “one and done.” The key is to apply these tips consistently because that’s the secret sauce that’s going to help you to sleep better
1. Create a bedtime routine
The human body craves routine. Just as most babies and children are happier and more predictable when parents stick to a schedule, the same is true for adults.
Consider a parent’s routine for toddlers: brush their teeth, take a bath, change into pajamas, chat a little, read a bedtime story, and turn off the light.
Similarly, you too should develop a regular pattern of what to do the hour or two before you go to sleep each night. For example, your routine might be: brush your teeth, take a shower, read in bed, turn off the light, then practice some relaxation techniques. This is particularly important when managing epilepsy and sleep concerns.
Doing the same things again and again conditions your body and brain to associate those activities with bedtime, and there is ample research to support the benefits of a bedtime routine.
2. Keep regular hours
Set up a time to go to bed every night and wake up at the same time every morning. Do it on weekends too or you’ll throw your circadian rhythm off all over again. Sleep research shows that trying to recover lost sleep on the weekends will not help you achieve the sleep regulation that your body craves.
However, if you consistently stick to a schedule, you’ll send signals to your brain tell it when it’s time to sleep and when to wake up.
Having regular sleep times not only improves the duration of sleep, but also contributes to a person’s overall well-being, especially for those struggling with epilepsy and sleep disorders.
3. Darken the room
Avoid screens before bed, dim the lights, and make your room dark about an hour before you go to bed. Try not to look at your phone or watch TV before bed. Blue light is known to disrupt sleep and your circadian rhythm, which are directly impacted by darkness and light.
The hormone melatonin regulates your sleep and is produced when it’s pitch dark. People who use room-darkening curtains report a big difference in the ability to get to sleep and stay asleep in total darkness, which is particularly beneficial for managing epilepsy and sleep issues.
Also, rethink having a bright digital clock or digital device right next to you. Go without it or turn it away from you so that it’s not shining your face. It will also help you avoid looking at the time if you wake up, which often creates more stress that prevents a sound sleep.
4. Stay cool
Keeping the temperature cool in the house, especially before bedtime, is conducive to a better rest. When you sleep, your body temperature automatically drops, promoting a deeper sleep. Making your room cooler signals your body that it’s time for bed.
Some people with epilepsy are more prone to seizures when their body temperature rises, so lowering the temperature in your bedroom can also help prevent a seizure and manage epilepsy night sweats.
Others get night sweats, which disturb the quality of sleep. Again, being in a cooler room can alleviate some of these issues, particularly for those with epilepsy.
What temperature is considered cool?
This varies by person. Different sources suggest setting the thermostat between 65 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit, but it really depends on what you’re used to. At least start by lowering the temperature, and you might notice a difference.
Bottom line, “thermal environment is one of the most important factors that can affect human sleep,” according to a the study, “Effects of thermal environment on sleep and circadian rhythm.” The research concluded that “excessively high or low ambient temperature” could impact sleep quality even in healthy people who don’t suffer from insomnia, let alone those managing epilepsy and sleep problems.
5. Declutter your bedroom
People with epilepsy often suffer from anxiety and nervousness to begin with. Clutter adds to the chaos and stress, which are major factors in insomnia, as numerous studies have shown. The Journal of Environmental Psychology and other research points to data that decluttering has a huge and direct impact on well-being.
Take steps to make your bedroom a peaceful place where you want to go to relax at the end of the day. Remove the distractions of mess, and keep the room clean and well dusted so there aren’t allergens that further contribute to disrupting your sleep, especially when dealing with epilepsy and sleep disturbances.
6. Keep a sleep diary
Sometimes it’s best to look at data about yourself. Those suffering from insomnia are often asked to commit to keeping a simple sleep journal that includes when you went to bed, how long you slept, what quality of sleep you had, and more. Also take note of your food and drink intake during the day, major events that occur, medications you’ve taken, caffeine consumption, and exercise.
This might seem inconvenient, but over time, you might be able to find patterns that certain medications, foods, desserts or stressors lend themselves to sleeplessness nights, especially if you’re dealing with epilepsy night sweats.
Take your sleep journal to your medical provider, and ask for help in identifying behaviors and activities that can be adjusted to promote better sleep.
7. Exercise in the daytime
There’s plenty of evidence that exercise can help improve your quality of sleep, how long you sleep, and how much time you’re in a deep, restorative sleep state. Exercise intensely and do high-impact activities regularly in the daytime to lower your stress, and this too will help with sleeplessness.
Avoid intense exercise a few hours before bed to prevent stimulating your system and keeping you awake longer.
What Not to Do Before Bedtime
We’ve already discussed how digital devices disrupt the sleep cycle. Use common sense in avoiding other activities that you know will keep you awake.
Don’t use substances 4 hours before bed
One of the largest, long-term studies of alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine usage among African Americans within four hours of bedtime showed that each of these factors led to disturbed sleep continuity and a decreased duration of sleep time. If you’re having trouble sleeping to begin with, say no to caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine before bed.
Don’t nap in the late afternoon or evening
You had a terrible night of sleep and can hardly keep your eyes open by the mid-afternoon or early evening. It might be a tempting short-term solution to grab some shut-eye, but don’t succumb.
That late nap will only prevent your body from getting back on track. It will interfere with your sleep cycle, cause you to go to bed later, and throw off the duration of your natural night-time sleep. A study of 10,000 middle school and high school students pointed to the connection between late naps and sleep disturbances, which are especially concerning for those managing epilepsy and sleep cycles.
So drink some water, get up and walk around for five minutes. A little activity will help you stay awake, and you’ll be back on schedule to fall asleep at your regular bedtime.
You’ve woken up: How to get back to sleep
You’ve woken up to use the bathroom. Or a thought about tomorrow came into your head. Or you just suddenly woke for no reason. Try not to automatically stress about waking. Use these tips to help you fall asleep, particularly if epilepsy night sweats or other concerns wake you.
- Tell yourself you will go back to sleep easily.
- Gently dismiss worries about tomorrow and put them on the shelf until the morning.
- Remind yourself that you did your best today, and give yourself permission to sleep.
- Try some breathing exercises or visualize yourself going on a quiet, peaceful walk.
- Calmly began to relax your body, starting with your feet and moving toward your head. Tighten the muscles in your toes, and then relax them. Do the same with your ankles, calves, shins. Work your way up to relaxing your shoulders, neck, jaw, eyes, and forehead.
Still not working?
- Johns Hopkins recommends that if you’re not able to sleep after 20 minutes, you should leave the bed and do something relaxing, like read or listen to soft music.
- Cleveland Clinic cites that it’s ok to listen to music on your phone or watching a show passively. Though these are on your phone, these activities are not as harmful as engaging in texting, emailing or social media, which stimulate your brain. Still, a better option is to read a book and avoid screens.
- Don’t watch the clock. As you start keeping track of the time, you might become more anxious about the sleep you’re losing, and the stress will prevent you from falling asleep.
- Don’t start working on a project on your computer, as work-related activities can increase your level of stress. Work also signals the brain that you’re ready to engage in daytime activities, and you don’t want to initiate that pattern.
- Do engage in something that’s not exciting or stimulating in any way. Calming activities are the best.
When you start getting drowsy again, return to your bed. By doing this, you are reinforcing a message to your brain that the bed is for sleeping.
Takeaways
Having epilepsy can make it more difficult to sleep, but these seven strategies, especially when done in combination, should help you get a better rest. You know your body better than anyone, so think about what might work best for you.
If you continue to have sleep issues, speak to your doctor about your medications, share your sleep journal to find areas of improvement, and ask about alternative suggestions.
The post 7 Tips to Help Reduce Sleep Problems When You Have Epilepsy appeared first on Epilepsy Wellness Advocates.
The Keto Diet, Meditation, and Exercise 3 May 2023, 8:41 pm
The power of 3 in treating epilepsy
Many people think the ketogenic or “keto” diet is just another modern weight-loss program. In reality, it was developed a century ago to treat epilepsy and reduce seizures. In this article, we’ll explain the keto diet for epilepsy and discuss how using it in conjunction with meditation and exercise can be a powerful natural treatment for epilepsy to help reduce seizures.
What is the keto diet for epilepsy?
Today, the high-fat, low-carb, low-sugar keto diet for epilepsy is used as a non-pharmacological approach to manage epilepsy when medication isn’t effective at controlling the disease.
The diet also helps with other health conditions, including diabetes, autism, Alzheimer’s, and chronic inflammation. It’s crucial for people with epilepsy to reduce inflammation in the brain, as that can help decrease seizure activity, and that’s why many patients look into the ketogenic diet for epilepsy.
Typical daily food consumption under the keto diet is about 70-80% fat, 20% protein, and 5-10% carbohydrates, according to the Cleveland Clinic. While the medical community doesn’t have a firm grasp of why the diet reduces the frequency and severity of seizures, they theorize that it alters your brain energy metabolism and enhances neuronal stability.
In simpler terms, the keto diet for epilepsy reprograms how your body processes the food it consumes. Humans ordinarily get their energy from carbohydrates. But the diet helps retrain your body to burn fat and produce ketones, which become the new source of energy that regulates your brain’s electrical activity. They stabilize the overexcitability (electrical activity) in the brain that can lead to a seizure.
The diet is primarily recommended for children with epilepsy but sometimes is used as a short-term treatment for adults since it’s a rigid program that is difficult to sustain for long-term purposes.
Is the keto diet for epilepsy right for you?
Don’t jump into the keto diet for epilepsy without talking to your doctor, as you must determine the right combination of foods and then be carefully monitored for side effects through testing. Some of the risks of going on this diet include higher cholesterol, kidney stones, lower bone density that leads to broken bones, and constipation. At Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland, 1,500 children have been put on the ketogenic diet to control seizures, and they work with a ketogenic team to ensure the treatment continues to be viable.
Meditation as a natural treatment for epilepsy
If you do start the keto diet for epilepsy, it’s important to combine it with two other drivers that lower inflammation in the brain and reduce stress: meditation and exercise for epilepsy.
Meditation is widely known for its stress reduction and relaxation benefits. Since stress is a potential trigger for seizures, adding meditation into your daily routine will help improve your overall brain health. Often people are intimidated by meditation, thinking there might be difficult concepts to understand. There are lots of books and videos about meditation, but meditation doesn’t require you to take a class. You can start today. Right now. It’s about finding an easy way to relax yourself and stay in that calm state for 5, 10, or 20 minutes – whatever you can spare.
A simple technique is to sit or lay down comfortably, close your eyes and focus on your breathing. If you are distracted, relax and resume focusing on your breathing. Getting distracted by other thoughts is natural, and you don’t need to beat yourself up about it. Just let it go and return your thoughts to the deep breaths you are taking in and out.
Meanwhile, visualize something you find soothing, like watching the waves on a beach or sitting outside in the sun on a warm spring day. Some people repeat a phrase that relaxes them and helps them feel calm. When you’re stressed, stop a few minutes and take time to meditate.
Meditation gives your brain the freedom to take a mental break and recharge during the day as needed. It’s helpful to begin and end your day with meditation and do it at regular times. As you practice this technique more and more, you’ll find it to be an excellent form of stress relief.
The role of exercise in managing epilepsy
Now that you’ve begun your form of meditation, the final element you need to add to the mix is exercise for epilepsy. We all know the benefits of exercise, yet it’s hard to get into a routine. Choose the shape and form of exercise that appeals to you most, and you’ll be more likely to stick with it.
If you don’t exercise at all, start small and do what you can. As with meditation, don’t worry about what you’re doing. Just get moving. The whole point is to reduce stress. If you can only exercise for 10 minutes, start with that. Stretch. Walk, run, do aerobics, or swim. Mix it up throughout the week. Increase the time you exercise by a few minutes each day until you get into a healthy routine. At first, exercising for epilepsy might make you tired, but after you do it consistently, you will find that it energizes you.
As your body gets used to exercising daily, you will notice a huge difference in your moods and overall well-being. Exercising routinely promotes neuroplasticity, enhances cognitive function, and decreases your susceptibility to seizures, making it an essential natural treatment for epilepsy.
How to combine keto, meditation, and exercise for epilepsy
Now that you understand the basics, get started on meditation and exercise for epilepsy, and talk to your doctor about whether following the keto diet for epilepsy is a good option for you. Doing all three in tandem might be the holistic treatment you’ve been waiting for to reduce inflammation, stress, and seizures.
The post The Keto Diet, Meditation, and Exercise appeared first on Epilepsy Wellness Advocates.
Medication Mismanagement: The #1 Trigger of Epileptic Seizures 1 May 2023, 7:35 pm
At EWA, we promote a holistic approach to epilepsy treatment, but we also know that if you have to take meds, you need to do it in a way that makes them optimally effective. This article explains how.
Do you want to find simple ways to reduce breakthrough seizures?
Of course you do. And one of the most effective ways to do that is to consider a more well-rounded and holistic approach. This can encompass diet, exercise, stress reduction, sleep, AND how we manage medication, which are all critical factors in preventing breakthrough seizures.
While we at EWA are absolutely committed to finding solutions that don’t involve medicine, the fact is that most people with epilepsy are currently only taking meds as part of their approach. Johns Hopkins Medicine reports that nearly 70% of people with epilepsy manage their seizures through medication. If you’re in this group, this article is for you.
Even though a majority of people try to control seizures through drugs, they still continue to have seizures. And the main cause of these breakthrough seizures is forgetting to take your epilepsy medication.
We want to help you shift how you think about meds so that it’s part of your holistic, mind and body approach. In this article, you’ll learn:
- Why controlling when and how you take your meds is so important
- What to do if you miss a dose
- Advice about meds from experienced patients
- Seven ways to remember to take your epilepsy medication
Why medication management is so important for preventing breakthrough seizures
The whole point of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) is to control any abnormal electrical activity in the brain and prevent seizures. Proper medication management is a key part of a holistic epilepsy treatment plan.
Even if your epilepsy is well controlled, not taking your medication consistently at the same time(s) each day creates variations in the concentration of the drug in your body. Missing a dose disrupts that very delicate balance of seizure control that the medication aims to achieve.
Your first step is easy: Flip how you think about meds to avoid seizures
Taking your meds is more than popping a pill. It’s one weapon in your arsenal to battle epilepsy and take control of your disease. You need to exercise, get plenty of rest, meditate, watch your diet, be social, live your life, talk about your challenges, have fun, take chances, and take your meds like clockwork – as if your life depends on it.
Do all of this purposefully and understand the importance of metering out those pills mindfully as part of your whole-body-and-brain, holistic epilepsy treatment approach to controlling your disease.
What’s the impact of missing a single dose on breakthrough seizures?
It depends on a number of factors, such as what drug(s) you are prescribed, how often you take them, and your health history.
For example, the risk of a seizure is much greater for a person who takes their medication once a day and misses that dose, as opposed to the risk for a person who takes several doses a day and misses just one. Missing doses can significantly increase the risk of breakthrough seizures.
However, if skipping doses is a frequent occurrence, your danger of having a breakthrough seizure increases tremendously. That’s why it’s important to learn how to minimize your risk using simple techniques that you can employ today.
What to do if you miss a dose of your epilepsy medication
Different medical sources offer different advice for different medications. Some tell you to wait until the next dose. Others say that if certain conditions are met, you should take the missed dose and delay the next one.
It’s confusing because there are so many variables.
The simple answer is that if you realize you missed your medication, you should call your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist and ask what to do next. They are the most qualified sources to tell you how to proceed because they know your medical history.
How to be proactive: Advice about meds from experienced patients
Epilepsy makes you feel vulnerable. Take control by being proactive. Experienced patients understand the big picture. They attest that these small suggestions will reduce your stress and save time if a problem does occur:
- Ask your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist today what to do if you do miss a dose of medication. Better to be prepared now, rather than deal with the problem late at night or on a holiday weekend. Find out what to do and ask questions if you’re not clear. Then communicate the answers to your family and caretakers so that everyone understands your action plan
- Carry a list of your medications and your doctor/pharmacy information with you – and let your family know where to find it. Then, if you do have a seizure or need emergency help, you’ll eliminate any delay in getting accurate information to the medical professionals who are trying to assist you.
7 ways to remember to take your epilepsy medication
People with an excellent track record of taking their medication on time tend to be much healthier. Here are some of the common strategies they use to ensure that they take their meds consistently, which is crucial for how to avoid seizures.
1. Set alarms, reminders, or timers
Set up daily reminders that go off at scheduled times. You can set alarms on your work calendar, mobile phone, smartwatch, or smart speakers. But setting reminders isn’t enough.
When an alarm goes off, make sure you stop whatever you’re doing and take your meds there and then. That will get you into a good habit and prevent you from becoming immune to the sound of the reminders.
Again, you’re being mindful of the importance of this routine act and how it impacts your body.
2. Use a medication-reminder app
There are many free medication reminder and medication tracker apps on the App Store or Google Play. Their sole purpose is to help you eliminate the worry of forgetting to take your meds.
Some popular choices include Medisafe, MyTherapy Pill Reminder, EveryDose, Mango Health, and Pillo: Medication Reminder.
All apps aren’t the same, so check out their different features and ratings. If historical data is something your doctors need, look for apps that enable you to quickly track your medications.
3. Flip your pill bottle over after you’ve taken your medication
If memory is an issue, this is a great visual clue to let you know which meds you’ve taken.
Some people with memory issues will gather their pills, but still forget to take them. For that reason, don’t flip the bottle until you’ve actually swallowed the pill.
4. Keep your meds in a pill organizer
An old-fashioned, seven-day pill organizer is another visual reminder of what pills you need to take and what you have already taken each day. This is also helpful if you have memory issues, and your caretakers can take a glance to see whether you’re on track with your medications.
Also, putting your meds in a pill box every seven days sets you up for a full week and eliminates the hassle of messing with numerous medication bottles throughout the day every day.
5. Keep your medications where you can see them
Maybe you’re forgetting to take your pills because they are stored out of sight?
If so, put your medications on your kitchen counter or another location where you spend a lot of time. It’s a noticeable nudge to remind you to take your meds.
6. Tie in taking meds with existing habits
Schedule taking your medication to coincide with routine activities you do daily. For example, your morning routine might be to get out of bed, brush your teeth, and get dressed. If you add taking your pills to that list, you’re piggybacking on an existing habit.
Grouping activities together will increase your ability to remember to take your morning meds.
Similarly, find other activities that you do consistently at other times of the day, and merge taking your pills into those pre-existing routines.
7. Set up automatic refills on your prescriptions
Arrange auto refills through your pharmacy or mail-order pharmacy. That way, you’ll never run out of your medication, and you’ll eliminate any anxiety about not having enough meds on hand. If you feel you’re cutting it too close, talk to your pharmacist.
Remember, the more routines you adopt and use, the more likely you’ll develop an effective medication routine for epilepsy. That translates to better health, fewer seizures, and more stability in your life.
Key takeaways for preventing breakthrough seizures
Forgetting to take your medication is the #1 trigger for breakthrough seizures and one of the major challenges of living with epilepsy. But this is one challenge where you have control.
Medication is currently an important part of your holistic approach to your personal epilepsy management.
Really think about the impact of taking epilepsy medication. It’s not just a pill. You’re tired of breakthrough seizures. YOU CAN AVOID THEM if you optimize how you take your meds. And you do that by taking them at the right time. Every day.
Maybe one day you can embrace a non-pharma alternative. But for now, you need to get rest, get exercise, get emotional support, and take your meds like clockwork.
Here’s how you’ll benefit from sticking to a structured medication routine:
- Prevent avoidable seizures
- Ease your anxiety and fear
- Reduce unnecessary healthcare costs
- Shift your focus back to your life and away from epilepsy
And here’s a quick checklist of action items to tackle right now:
- Create a wallet-sized list of your meds and pharmacy/physician contact information
- Call your doc or pharmacy to ask what to do if you miss a dose of medication
- Implement one or two of the seven strategies to remember to take your meds
- Schedule time next week to integrate more strategies into your daily routine
Do you have other tricks and tips that help you remember to take your epilepsy medication? If so, share them below.
The post Medication Mismanagement: The #1 Trigger of Epileptic Seizures appeared first on Epilepsy Wellness Advocates.
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