My Sleep Seizures Make Me Forget My Own Girlfriend | BORN DIFFERENT

A YOUNG woman has opened up about a little-known condition that sees her suffer with memory-wiping seizures - triggered by everything from extreme emotion to food. Meg, 21, has functional neurological disorder (FND) - where the basic wiring of the nervous system is intact, but the brain is unable to send or receive signals properly. As a result, she experiences debilitating symptoms like seizures, limb weakness, temporary paralysis, tics and narcoleptic-style episodes where she will uncontrollably fall asleep. She said: "It affects virtually everything. Every day I can wake up with a different symptom." The first sign that anything was wrong came when Meg suddenly started having seizures, aged 17. Despite running all sorts of tests, doctors were baffled. "I couldn't go a day without having a seizure. I couldn't drive, couldn't go to college, couldn't see my friends - everything a normal 17-year-old wants was taken away," she said. Finally, after around six months, Meg was diagnosed with FND. So little is known about the condition that experts are still unsure what causes it, or exactly how to treat it. Since then, she has been trying to adapt to life, which is difficult, as every day is so unpredictable. Most days, she will have seizures, and also experiences regular sleep attacks. Both can be triggered by heightened emotions. In the past, she's had a seizure celebrating winning a sweepstake bet, and a sleep attack laughing at an episode of a sitcom. One of the worst parts of Meg's condition is that the episodes can wipe her memory, so she'll forget key people in her life - including devoted girlfriend Tara, 23, who keeps a diary and shows her photos or takes her to meaningful places to help her remember. Meg, who documents life with FND on TikTok to raise awareness, concluded: "I want to help give people with hidden disabilities a voice." Follow Meg on social media at https://www.tiktok.com/@megjacks and https://www.instagram.com/megjacks_/ Follow Tara on social media at https://www.tiktok.com/@tarasorkin and https://www.instagram.com/tarasorkin/