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2 - On being a woman with epilepsy
from Part I - The woman with epilepsy
- By Lisa Zobian Lindahl, 112 Clay Point, Colchester, VT 05446, USA
Edited by Martha J. Morrell, Columbia University, New York, Kerry L. Flynn, Columbia-Presbyterian Cancer Center, New York
Book:

Women with Epilepsy

Published online:

02 November 2009

Print publication:

20 March 2003, pp 7-16
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Summary

In this chapter, the author shares her personal experience and perspective on what it has been like to live with epilepsy. The author explains how she navigated the medical system, the questions she asked and how she become an effective self-advocate. Women who are coping with seizure disorders are making decisions and living their lives without adequate information, sometimes with false information and, all too often, with fear. Everyone who takes medication for epilepsy has concerns about possible side effects. Besides the visible side effects of various antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), there are two areas in which women may have epilepsy-related fears. The first is child-bearing and raising. The second area of concern is that of physical safety, especially the risk of sexual assault during, or just after, a seizure. In the author's view, taking responsibility for one's own well-being is essential to living well as a woman with epilepsy.