FAQ : Freaking Awesome Questions! Part II

Thanks again for all your questions! See Part I here. For this portion, I want to start with some more intimate questions (cue music, dim lights). So here we go.

What’s the most embarrassing episode you’ve had? What’s the weirdest? What was the scariest?

It’s hard to say which episode was the most embarrassing. In a sense they are all both embarrassing and not. It’s always embarrassing to thrash around on the floor, especially if that floor is full of one hundred drunk college boys (see this post). However, I never remember any part of the actual incidents.  Therefore, I have the advantage (or disadvantage) of making up what happened. I picture myself gracefully falling to the floor like a 40’s actress fainting at the sight of blood. (The devil on my shoulder pictures something more in tune with the dancing styles of Tina Belcher of Bob’s Burgers.) Then I quietly tremble (vs. violently flop) as if a cool breeze kissed my neck….this is starting to sound more like erotic fan fiction…clever title ideas anyone?

Anyway, I’d say the weirdest one was the one I’m not entirely sure I really had (see here).

The scariest was when I crashed my car (see here).

How do friends and family react?

Luckily, they react perfectly. I’m sure they are scared for a bit, but then they dote on me, buy me ice cream, etc. In general, my family and close friends don’t dwell on it.

The hard part is telling new people. When do I tell them? How do I tell them? Sometimes I feel like I should walk around with business cards that tell people all about my condition just so I can just get it over with. But in truth, I’ve never had a bad reaction. And normally, people respond with “hey, my (insert relation here) has that”, or “cool, so what should I do?” All in all, positive comments.

But I am an adult now. As an adolescent, it was much worse. I know, I know, kids don’t understand, they’re just scared, they’re not trying to me mean. Let’s be honest for a moment: middle schoolers and high schoolers are assholes. I was one, you were one, get over it. So, in middle school, I never wanted to tell anyone, especially since the school didn’t let me do anything at 6^th grade camp except sit and whittle a stick. Literally.  In high school, it was much the same. Who’d want to go to the movies with someone who could freak out at any moment?

Luckily, this isn’t the case anymore. Or if it is, I just don’t give a crap.  

Is it curable?

Like a lot of answers….it depends. Some forms of epilepsy have definitive causes, which can be treated. For example, you might have a tumor that is causing your seizures. If you remove the tumor, it’s likely the seizures will stop and you’re cured! Of course there are also tumors that are inoperable, or other types of irreversible head trauma. In those cases, it’s not likely your seizure will go away. In fact, they might worsen. Then there are types of epilepsy, like mine, where the cause of the seizures is unknown. Because we don’t know the cause, it’s hard to really “cure” it. The best we can do is “manage” it. Which, once you think about it for some time, is just as good. I used to hate not knowing what caused my seizures (at a general level, not talking about triggers). But I’ve grown to accept that I might never know what causes them. Medication helps me control them, and that’s all that really matters. Plus, this method fuels my fantasy that I secretly have otherworldly powers that are just waiting to reveal themselves.

Is it genetic?

I’ll have to do more research into the actual numbers on this, but in general, the same thing applies as in the previous question. That being said, I’ve had doctors tell me that one’s predisposition to seizures can be genetic. If I have children, they might be more prone to seizures than other people, or they might not. Again, this is mainly because we don’t know why I have them.

Is it true that cannabis oil has proven effective in preventing seizures?

To a degree. See this post.

Does the keto diet work?

I still want to do more research on this topic. For now, see this post.

Follow up: am I still on my modified version?

No. I like bread too much.

That’s all for now! I hope to answer some of these questions in more depth in the near future.