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When I Felt Ashamed About Taking Epilepsy Medication

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Editor's Note

Please see a doctor before starting or stopping a medication.

Finding out I have epilepsy and anxiety when I was only 16 years old was terrifying enough. Finding out I had to take medication every day for the rest of my life was worse… or so I thought.

I didn’t want epilepsy or anxiety, but taking pills every day definitely made my condition real. In the beginning I felt like everyone was secretly talking about me, wondering what kind of weird person I had become. I didn’t want my friends or anyone who may come into my life to think I was any different. I wasn’t!

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One day I decided I didn’t need my medicine. I hadn’t needed it for years, so what could it hurt now?

After about a week of being medication-free, I started to feel worse, not like myself. Then one morning, I had a panic attack and a seizure! That gave me the wake-up call I needed. If I didn’t take my medicine, I would end up having a seizure every day. That to me was worse than what people thought about me taking medication.

After about a month, I finally realized it didn’t matter what other people thought. As long as I did whatever I needed to be safe, that’s all that mattered. Don’t worry about what other people think or say. Do what you have to do be and stay safe.

Getty image by Mitchell Wessels.

Originally published: June 17, 2018
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