Epilepsy & Exercise
Getting exercise is important for everyone, and if you are a person with epilepsy - especially uncontrolled seizures - you may feel like there are no options for you to really move your body. As a person who has found that - pre-RNS - any exercise that raised my heart rate above 130 almost guaranteed a seizure, I have first-hand knowledge on was that you can stay active and stay safe.
1. Pick a low-key activity, and do it with a friend who knows seizure first aid. I found that walking was a great way for me to get exercise. (And I have a dog, so that was motivation.) I also found that it is a good way to socialize because people generally have 45 minutes at some point during the week/weekends to walk. It didn’t get my heart rate up too high, and if I felt that my friend was walking too fast, I just said, “Can we slow down a bit?” I found myself looking forward to my weekly scheduled walks with different friends. Epilepsy can be isolating, and even if I couldn’t join my buddies on their 5am run, I could get one to come during her lunch break for a brisk (or not so brisk) neighborhood walk.
2. You do have to know your limits. And accept them. I knew my limits when it came to exercise, and it took me a while to accept them, which meant that I had a seizure when I told a friend that, “Of course, I can do hot yoga! I love hot yoga!” Overheating is a trigger for me. I knew that. But, I wanted to be ‘normal’ so much that I would risk having a tonic-clonic seizure in the middle of the yoga class rather than tell this person that I couldn’t go. Two brain surgeries and about a decade of maturing later, I just cringe at that story. So, know your limits, and just work within them.
3. Take precautions when doing a riskier sport. I don’t SCUBA dive. I snorkel, but I can just imagine having a seizure however-many-meters below the surface and dying. It’s not for me. I do snowboard. Going up the chairlift, I always put the safety bar down, and I always ride with my husband, and I always have my rescue meds on me. I’ll go on a trail ride with others people and rescue meds, and I cancelled a 7-day trip white water rafting trip last summer because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep my heart rate down to where it needed to be at that point, get enough sleep every night, not be stressed about having a seizure the whole time. So, just be careful. Everyone needs different precautions - some people with epilepsy need more than others - so do get that fresh air, but be careful.
