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View Full Version : seizures, and my BS a work... i hate this crap.



bellamandu
April 4th, 2009, 04:06 PM
so today, despite my prescribed meds, i had a seizure at work today.

i am actually rather horrified by it. i dont really remember the details of the seizure itself, so when hubby picked me up from work he asked the managers and workers to describe to him what happened so we can let the doctor know what kind of seizure it was so we can modify the meds from there.

this was the reply from my boss: "oh, i dont know. i just let her sit down. we weren't really paying any attention."

"well did she have a seziure?"

"i dont know, she said she was..."

"well can you describe what happened? what she convulsing or did she just seem kinda loopy?"

"i already said, i dont know, no one was watching her."


this, despite the fact that they were given instructions that when i have a seizure i need to be watched so i dont hurt myself.

im terrified to go back.

unfortunately, i might get my wish.

despite the fact that they knew ahead of time about my seizures and about missing plenty of work until it gets under control, i have a feeling i wont have a job next week.

the doc is doubling my dose. im not at my full prescribed dose as of yet. its so high a dose that i have to gradually go up to it over two weeks. i am supposed to skip a week and go into the next dose. because of that i have to miss 4 more days of work until the meds stabilize in my system.

and to top it all of the jump in dose is making me an emotional wreck, i've gained 7lbs in the past week and im prolly gonna gain even more now. luckily the doctor says if i keep having seizures at top dose that he's going to swap meds for me until we can find something that works.


i started at 500 and am gradually working my way up to 1500mg. the doc just doubled me from 500 to 1000 per day, skipping a week of adjusting.

bleh.... i suppose this is all to be expected, not only is it prescribed for seizures, but bi-polar disorder, manic depression, anxiety, and migraines.

my boss didnt seem to happy. which is strange because in a way she also seems like she could give a shit less... at least when its on company time anyway.

hubby says if i get fired he wants to sue, but i'm not sure exactly how to go about that.



i want to move back to myrtle beach. :(

and eta: the meds i am referring to are Depakote ER, you can view all the nasty effects of it here:http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-19881-Depakote+ER+Oral.aspx?drugid=19881&drugname=Depakote+ER+Oral
and a discussion from depakote patients here: http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drugreview-19881-Depakote+ER+Oral.aspx?drugid=19881&drugname=Depakote+ER+Oral (http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drugreview-19881-Depakote+ER+Oral.aspx?drugid=19881&drugname=Depakote+ER+Oral)
if you scroll down to the next few pages, you can see where the average patient is gaining 20lbs or more, or is having a hell of an emotional state.

Agaliha
April 4th, 2009, 05:43 PM
:hugz: That is scary! I'm sorry you've been having a hard time with your seizures lately. I hope you find a Rx and dosage that keeps them under control!
ETA: As for your work... I can't believe your boss just ignored you! WTH? It could have been serious. That's messed up.


Depakote....ugh. That stuff scares me!
Besides my other issues with medicines, one of the reasons why I refused to go on any anti-seizure meds is because of the horrible symptoms/side effects. I haven't gone back to my neurologist to discuss my EEG & MRI and what he's going to diagnose me as, so I'm not sure if this is what it really is or not...but the working theory is that I'm having simple partial seizures. I get mine daily, many times a day. I've had them for about 3 years, give or take some months. No progression, just same old stuff. I realize the risk, that any time I can have a complex or generalized seizure (I don't drive or work, or even leave the house some some of his worries don't apply to my situation)...and though he was pushing Rx on me in the first meeting (a year ago), I couldn't go through with it. Right now, I'm just don't feel the end result (stopping my visual hallucinations/illusions-- my seizure symptom) outweighs all the physical, emotional, mental and other side effects. I have a huge medicine (and pill swallowing) phobia and being on anything, especially something as serious as anti-seizure Rx would put me in a perpetual state of stress, which isn't good for seizures...I hope when I see him soon, we can discuss things...anyway, I'm rambling. _inabox_

Nox_Mortus
April 4th, 2009, 05:56 PM
You can't legally be fired because of a medial condition/disability, I don't know what action you could take because of them not watching you or whatever, although standard protocol at most places would be to call EMS.

Agaliha
April 4th, 2009, 06:03 PM
You can't legally be fired because of a medial condition/disability, I don't know what action you could take because of them not watching you or whatever, although standard protocol at most places would be to call EMS.

Yeah, calling 911 would have been a good thing to do. Even if it wasn't generalized (grand mal) it could have progressed into one. And status epilepticus is a very dangerous possibly with those types of seizures we well.

I tried to find some info about employment and being fired for epilepsy and while I haven't found any advice for dealing with it yet, I have found various people on other message boards that say they were fired for epilepsy and other related thing. :2G: I'll see if I can find more...

PhoenixRose
April 4th, 2009, 09:30 PM
Well there are quite a few things you could sue for. If you get fired, discrimination {descrimination?} for having the medical disorder. You could probably sue because the didn't watch you, negligence. If you had been hurt by falling out of a chair, banging against something or however else, they would be liable {sp?} for your medical bills, time away from work, and probably even more. If you do sue, find a good lawyer and they will help you figure everything out.


As for the problems with the pills, I'm so sorry about that. It has to be terrifiying knowing that you can't feel comfortable because you're not sure if the medicine is helping our not. Just know there are plenty of people cheering for you and that you will always have the love and support of your hubby and others like us ^^

Blessed be and lots of prayers for you!