LJ Idol Season Seven Week 10 - Staring at the Ceiling

[walkertxkitty]

o/` "But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know, right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know, right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be...me" o/`

-- "Unwell" performed by Matchbox 20

Comments

[lironess]

My ex husband had weird seizures. They resembled petit mal but they weren't. Part of the reason that I stayed with him so long is I was not sure how much of his problems with memory were caused by the seizures. Now I know he was just an asshole who happened to have seizures. I am sooo glad that he is someone else s problem now.

The scariest part is that he drives for a living....and seizes while driving.

[lawchicky]

Wow- very interesting!

[walkertxkitty]

Thank you. I'm not sure how well it fits the theme --- a lot of what I wanted to say simply wouldn't come out properly --- but it's there for what it's worth.

[basric]

Well written.

[walkertxkitty]

Thank you.

[faerie_spark]

I am stunned! Everything that I have heard about current seizure-disorder treatment has been much more medically enlightened than the experiences with the medical system which you describe. I am sorry you've been treated so badly, and so disrespectfully.

I am also fascinated by your accounting of the Shamanic perspective. Shall have to read more on this, and on the Icarus Project.

A unique and enlightening entry. Thank you for sharing.

[walkertxkitty]

It's unfortunate, but at least in places like Colorado and Florida that is still the prevailing attitude --- that the patient can somehow help the seizure behavior or that the patient is somehow at fault. I've another friend who was told she was just plain hysterical; it took years to get her a good diagnosis and she was in Pennsylvania.

The shamanic perspective was interesting to me because, looking back on it, I could see my own journey so clearly. If you're at all curious, the place to start is with Mircea Eliade's "Shamanism". It's the classic text on the matter, a bit dated and dry but full of information. The other one I mentioned is a good one too.

Thank you for taking the time to drop by and comment, it's appreciated.

[cheshire23]

There is often the perspective that epilepsy = the classic tonic-clonic seizure only, and that any other type of seizure isn't "real". And also that if the first or second or at most third medication you try doesn't work completely effectively, the problem must be that you aren't taking it or that you're doing something else that is magically making it not work.

In New York, epilepsy is legally classified as a "developmental disability" - with all the unfortunate implications that this has.

[walkertxkitty]

Ironic, considering I've a tested IQ of 156 and that's down from 163 owing to unrelated brain damage. While epilepsy can be present with other developmental disorders, it doesn't necessarily impact the intellect. I find it unfortunate that the US is still able to do such things. The rest of the world appears to be much more enlightened.

[walkertxkitty]

Thank you for reading.