I’ve added this section to my website about how I am now living with epilepsy. I have a rare, complex, hard to diagnose, hard to treat form of it. I was diagnosed with it in October 2021, but I can track the first signs something was wrong all the way back to October 2018, though they likely began before that. It’s been messing with me for a while, and it is definitely not done with me yet.
On this page, you will find every piece I have written about my condition. The list is in reverse chronological order, starting with my most recent pieces.
They’re not easy reading. I know that because they weren’t easy to write. Since I got sick this time, I’ve made an effort to be brutally honest, especially about myself, and my failings.
If you’re in a hurry, I summarise my situation in the video above in only 2 and 1/2 minutes. I even appear on-camera, something I very rarely do. The video aims to express where I am right now, and to be truthful, honest, and authentic. (Feb 2024 update – I had 2 more seizures this month. They were 36 hours apart, so I am not certain if that qualifies as a cluster. I’m inclined to think that it was, and treat it as 2x seizures as part of the same incident. Will ask my neurologist whenever I next get the chance. Lots of paramedics on both occasions, but no ambulance rides, or trips to A&E this time.)
If you have more time, here are all the pieces I’ve written about my epilepsy. The earliest were written before I was diagnosed. Even when it started, I knew it would keep getting worse. And so far, it has.
A Long, Overdue, and Rambling Update – 25th February 2024 – I had 2 more major seizures in February. I also worked out that I have several different types of seizures, and have done for over 5 years. I’ve since confirmed my hypothesis with my neurologist. I’ve been having clusters of focal seizures for a very long time, including the very last night I ever worked.
The Final Piece of the Puzzle – 27th November 2023 – I have more than one type of seizure. Seems obvious now, but it took me 5 years to work it out.
My Next Seizure – 18th October 2023 – As scary as my previous seizures have been, the one that scares me the most, is My Next Seizure.
Honeymoon’s Over – 18th September 2023 – In this piece, I work out how I experience a honeymoon period with my epilepsy drugs. They work well, until they don’t
Fear and Denial – 8th June 2023 – I have had two main responses to my life changing diagnosis: Fear or Denial. Or sometimes, both at once. I haven’t been coping with it well.
Piecing It All Together – 17th September 2022 – This is the start of me trying to work out how I ended up with such poor health. It started with my birth. I wish I was joking, but it sucks to be a miracle baby, as it all catches up with you eventually. There’s no escape.
Endgame, My Endgame – 17th September 2022 – This is the true story of how the Avengers saved my life. Yes, the ones from the movies. It’s also comes with a trigger warning. Heed it if you’re sensitive
A Hippy Health Update – 20th May 2021 – I still didn’t grasp what I was going through when I wrote this. Even years later, I’m still working things out.
A Sad, Tragic, Personal Statement – 4th May 2021 – This is the first thing I wrote specifically about possibly having epilepsy. But the sadder truth is I knew something had been messing with my brain for a few years. I just had no idea it was epilepsy.
After a 30 year career as a journalist, working for some of the largest news organisations in the world, including Associated Press, and Reuters, and 15 years as an overnight duty news editor for BBC News, Doug – the northlondonhippy is now a full time writer, and make believe hippy.
Doug is also the author of “Personal Use by the northlondonhippy.” “Personal Use” chronicles Doug’s first 35 years of drug use, while calling for urgent drug law reform. It’s a cracking read, you will laugh, you will cry, and you can bet your ass that you will wish you were a hippy too!
You can find Doug – the northlondonhippy on Twitter: @nthlondonhippy and a host of other platforms