Hi All! 

My name is Isabelle, I’m 24 years old and 2 years ago was diagnosed with Non Epileptic Attack Disorder(NEAD). 

For those of you who don’t know NEAD is a condition where a person has seizures that look like epileptic seizures but are not cause by electrical activity in the brain. These seizures are cause by the brain’s response to overwhelming stress, which can be emotional or physical triggers but there can be other causes.

NEAD is very hard to diagnose as at first look it can seem like epilepsy but it not as easy to treat as a dose of medication. There are different treatments such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). 

I was diagnosed at 22, I was only 6 months into my career after graduating from uni. I lost complete control of my own body sometimes have up 10 seizures a day. I was lucky having a job that allowed me to work at home when needed. 

Everyone’s seizures are different and can have different symptoms, for me I lose complete control of my body and when I regain consciousness it can take some to get my speech back. I’ve had countless hospital appointments and there is still no guarantee my seizures will ever go away. 

After 2 years of learning what my body can and can not handle I am slowly managing my seizures. Running helps me do that, keeping my body and mind healthy. 

Please help me run my first half marathon and donate to FND action. So we can raise awareness about NEAD and help improve treatment and care available within the NHS. 

http://www.nonepilepticattackdisorder.org.uk/