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Have Epilepsy, contemplating medical school...
Wed, 12/15/2010 - 17:00Hi everyone, long time no post. I'm feeling a little down right now. I'm at a crossroads in my life. I'm 28, married and with a one year old son (who is awesome). My sezuires are currently controled on topamax, and my last neuro doc finally thinks he has diagnosed me with JME (No other neurologist has been able to figure out what I have had since my onset at 13). Any way, like most people with epilepsy I have been constantly told through out my life what I CANT do (don't worry no John Locke impressions incoming). In fact there are way to many extra curricular activities/careers for me to list that I've been told I can't do, and I'm sure everyone on this board has run into the same. Also during high school I was on depakote, which for some has terrible side effects. It made me stupid and fat, and only after taking my self off it was I able to get grade passable enough to get into college.
In college sezuires came back, so did the meds. Grades were fine, till my mom died of cancer. It was a long drawn out process. Forced my self to graduate with terrible grades. Any way fast foward to now. I look at mysel, someone who has always had an aptitude for science, but was never given a chance to show it. I got my degree in film (good choice that was), but when doing my internship had a sezuire could no longer work in hollywood. So I guess the point of my life story is, should I jump in and do the pre-med science pre reqs. It's going to be a lot of work, but I know I can handle it. I just don't want to spend the next year to two years on something just to have someone tell me "an epileptic cant do this, go work at wal mart...", nothing against wal mart (my wife worked there for 6 years), it's just I feel like this disability comes with a list of restrictions, and after having that weigh you down so much and hearing it so often sometimes you start to give up before you even try. I don't want to be defined by my epilepsy.
Comments
Re: Have Epilepsy, contemplating medical school...
Submitted by rikk on Tue, 2011-04-26 - 14:56
hi
med school is tough on anyone. that said, I have been treated by a number of docs that have had seizures.
they were the hardest and best I have had. They took no BS and looked harder for a solution to the problems of their patients.
You have gone throught a lot in life. If you believe that you are able, then try. Others tell me I can't just puts the spurs in me to prove them wrong. I won't be defined by the seizures. I am who I am, not what I have.
I know it is silly, but my belief is that, the only failure is not trying. I live that way. I have a degree in nursing. I am looking at doing the prep work for a second in psyc. I am taking basic classes to see if I can do the work. Memory, meds, and of course the seizures are problems.
It is never a waste of time to achieve a goal, or chase a dream, it may be come reality. I like the line from a stupid sci-fi movie. "Never give, never surrender."
I hope it helps.
Rikk
hi
med school is tough on anyone. that said, I have been treated by a number of docs that have had seizures.
they were the hardest and best I have had. They took no BS and looked harder for a solution to the problems of their patients.
You have gone throught a lot in life. If you believe that you are able, then try. Others tell me I can't just puts the spurs in me to prove them wrong. I won't be defined by the seizures. I am who I am, not what I have.
I know it is silly, but my belief is that, the only failure is not trying. I live that way. I have a degree in nursing. I am looking at doing the prep work for a second in psyc. I am taking basic classes to see if I can do the work. Memory, meds, and of course the seizures are problems.
It is never a waste of time to achieve a goal, or chase a dream, it may be come reality. I like the line from a stupid sci-fi movie. "Never give, never surrender."
I hope it helps.
Rikk
Re: Have Epilepsy, contemplating medical school...
Submitted by slwjunk on Wed, 2011-06-08 - 11:40
For medical school, I would advise talking to the deans office and finding out what the information is used for. I was fortunate enough to have an advocate in the Deans office that helped me navigate such things. Unfortunately, epilepsy is something that scares the heck out of medical professionals just like the rest of the public and I was told that I should just quit for my safety and the safety of everyone else by a few different classmates and even real doctors over the years...fortunately, I didn't listen but I feel that the support really isn't out there which is why I am so secretive out it. FYI for medical license applications, epilepsy is listed as a "reportable" condition for some states. It makes me angry every time I have to check that box...other states ask about medical/psychiatric conditions which impair one from practicing medicine or else hospitalizations and leave it at that.