What Causes Epilepsy?

Hey Lovelies,

It has been a very interesting day... Megan received some news today and I think we are all unsure about how we feel about it. Are we happy to have an answer? Are we ok with the answer we got? Are we scared of what happens next?

Epilepsy can be caused by many different factors and that's part of what makes it so hard to understand. I found an article from the Epilepsy Therapy Project that I wanted to share with you and then I'll fill you in on Megan.

Many famous people in history had or may have had epilepsy, including world leaders like Julius Caesar, writers like Lewis Carroll who wrote Alice in Wonderland, artists like Vincent van Gogh, and athletes like Chanda Gunn, goaltender for the US Olympic hockey team.

The causes of epilepsy can be divided into two groups: brain injuries and chemical imbalances in the brain. Anything that injures the brain can lead to seizures. But in over half the cases no cause can be identified. 

The type of injury that can lead to a seizure is age‐dependent. Seizures in children often are caused by birth traumas, infections, such as meningitis, congenital abnormalities or high fevers. Seizures in the middle years commonly are caused by head injuries, infections, alcohol, stimulant drugs or medication side effects. In the elderly, brain tumors and strokes cause a higher proportion of seizures. 

Read More...

So now back to Megan. She called me this morning and told me she just received a call from Mayo Clinic with news of their findings. The findings were...she has a brain tumor. Yep, a brain tumor and it could possible be the cause of her epilepsy and her mystery illness that has consumed the past 6 years of her life. Here's the link to her latest post and the little bit of humor that she tends to find in everything. That's why I love here.

Megan's Post: So....I Have a Brain Tumor AND I'm a Tumor

Just in case you can't see the second post I'll post it below.

Purchase "Megan's Bracelet" and $5 of each purchase will go to Epilepsy Research




Blissfully,

P.S. You're Lovely

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What is Epilepsy?

Hello Lovelies,

What is Epilepsy? Many think they know but many are very wrong. My goal this month is to help educate you as best I can about Epilepsy and to help fund research.

The Epilepsy Foundation explains Epilepsy as follows:
Epilepsy is a medical condition that produces seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions. It’s also called a seizure disorder. When a person has two or more unprovoked seizures, they are considered to have epilepsy. 

A seizure happens when a brief, strong surge of electrical activity affects part or all of the brain. One in 10 adults will have a seizure sometime during their life. 

Seizures can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. They can have many symptoms, from convulsions and loss of consciousness to some that are not always recognized as seizures by the person experiencing them or by health care professionals: blank staring, lip smacking, or jerking movements of arms and legs.

For everyone the experience is different. Some people have one symptom and others can have multiple combinations but the point I'm trying to get across is that Epilepsy DOES NOT EQUAL convulsions in every person with this condition. For Megan, the symptoms never told her Epilepsy and when she finally did have a Grand Mal Seizure (convulsions) that's when she found out that what she couldn't explain had a name.

We, as a public, as uneducated about something that affects so many people. Get Seizure Smart.

Purchase "Megan's Bracelet" and $5 of each sale will go to Epilepsy Research.

Blissfully,

P.S. You're Lovely

Check out the ETSY shop
LIKE me on Facebook
FOLLOW me on Twitter