A few nights ago, a close friend had put me in the position where I just couldn’t cancel. He’s too damn nice a guy and it’d been a while since I’d seen him. This was also a good opportunity to pick up my meds, which I’d been procrastinating doing for quite some time.
The pharmacist was a tad concerned about the dose and the number of medications I was on, as well as my size. I wasn’t too fussed - Michael Jackson’s Thriller was on in the background (how cool is that?!).
The pharmacist also asked me if I was epileptic. The mood stabiliser I’m on is primarily used for treatment of epilepsy, rather than in psychiatry. Nope, just depressed, I tell her.
But it might be worth jotting down what to do if someone is having an epileptic fit (grand mal - seizure-type fit).
- Make sure they have something cushioned under their head so they don’t hit it hard on the ground and thus injure themselves that way
- Lie them down, and turn them onto their side so that they cannot choke on their tongue and/or vomit
- Do not put anything hard in their mouths to prevent lockjaw - but ensure airways are not blocked or will not become blocked. This might mean you have to put your fingers in their mouth and ‘unfold’ their tongue to prevent choking.
- Stay with them and reassure them when they come round. Yes, they may have soiled themselves, but we’ve all done that as babies so I’m sure we can find it in our hearts to be understanding
There are also petit mal seizures, where the person just ‘zones out’ as if they’re daydreaming. They can appear to be staring into nothingness for a lot longer than non-epileptics do. Again, just make sure they are in a safe or quiet place out of harm’s way (as in not going to get run over) and stay with them till they come out of it.
