My seizures were very bad, then I went to college. I had quite a good period whilst I was at college, and then when I came back and for about twelve years, I didn’t have any seizures at all – just the myoclonic. And then after I’d had my children, I started again with tonic-clonic seizures, which were worse than what they’d been previously. And I couldn’t get any medication at all which suited me and controlled my epilepsy. So, in 2005 I had a vagus nerve stimulator fitted. The vagus nerve stimulator is situated in my chest, and the chord goes through the vagus nerve in your neck to the brain. And this is put in place and works on similar lines to a pacemaker. So it goes off every minute and helps, gives a double boost for my epilepsy. I am still on medication as well, so it isn’t alone – it hasn’t stopped my seizures, it has helped my seizures. It has totally changed my life, I can go out, I can do things, I feel a lot more confident now. I can’t tell when I’m going to have a seizure, but I do feel more confident that I can go out and do things.
