IT AFFECTS one in every 200 people in the UK with three-quarters of these diagnosed before the age of 20.

Yet the public know very little and are even scared of the condition. That's the opinion of Chorley epileptics who hope to make people more aware in National Epilepsy Week which runs until Saturday (May 25).

And this year the campaign focuses on how epilepsy affects women, such as with contraception, or during pregnancy and the menopause.

Joanne Lee, a 34-year-old from Queen's Road, Chorley had her first seizure four years ago which caused her to crash her car.

She explained: "I suffer from "absences" where I just drift off and lose minutes. In my accident I wrote my car off and lost my licence.

"With no transport I had to give up my job in Warrington. I'm on medication three times a day which makes you put on weight, makes you tired and your hair goes frizzy and can drop out.

"If I wanted to have children I'd feel very wary because the medication's side effects include babies being born with cleft palate and hare lip, and hormonal changes can spark off seizures."

Joanne thinks the awareness week is an excellent idea. She said: "Because epilepsy is not visible like cancer, and because you don't look ill from it, people don't know how to deal with it. And epilepsy can hinder job prospects.

"But it doesn't have to be like that. I have settled down in a job again and I live a normal, healthy life, as do most epileptics."

For more information on Chorley's Epileptic Group contact Christine Eccles on (01772) 38736.

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