By Peggy O'Farrell
pofarrell@enquirer.com

Telling potential employers she has epilepsy has cost Michele Black jobs.

Friends have told her to just keep quiet about the disease, but Black, 46, of Florence, has always been upfront about her condition.

"I prefer to be honest," she said. "I'm not embarrassed or ashamed about it, 'cause I didn't do anything to get it."

Black said she accomplishes two goals with her honesty:

She gives people a heads-up not to panic if she suffers a seizure while they're talking.

More important, she educates new acquaintances about the disease and, she hopes, eliminates some of the stigma people with epilepsy face.

Black and her husband, Jesse, will talk about living with epilepsy Oct. 1 at "Take Charge," an educational event for people affected by the disease.

Epilepsy, which affects about 3 million people in the United States, is a neurological disorder marked by recurrent seizures.

Black started having seizures in fourth grade.

"In school, people might think I was ignoring them when they talked to me, or I'd do repetitive motions," she said. "One time I got in trouble for just turning the light switch off and on over and over."

She wasn't diagnosed until she was a junior in high school.

"One doctor gave a sinus operation, which I didn't need," she said. "Another told my mother that she should quit her job and stay home with me so I'd get more attention."

Several years ago, Black had surgery to help control her seizures. Before the surgery, she had 20 to 30 seizures a month.

Now, she's down to about two a month, but she still has to take three prescriptions to help control her seizures.

Researchers are trying to find new medications that provide better seizure control with fewer side effects, said neurologist David Ficker, director of the epilepsy monitoring unit at University Hospital and the University of Cincinnati Neuroscience Institute.

"Some of the new medications we're studying here do work differently in the brain than what we currently have available," he said.

Ficker will also speak at the Oct. 1 event, giving an update on research efforts and new treatment options.

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