‘Couldn’t Get Out Of Bed’ Fatima Sana Shaikh Reveals She ‘Was Constantly Drugged Out,’ Struggled With ‘Multiple Seizures’ Mid-Flight | People News
New Delhi: Actor Fatima Sana Shaikh has long been open about her battle with epilepsy, a neurological disorder she was diagnosed with during the filming of Dangal in 2016.
In a recent interview on the Humans of Bombay show, the actor recounted an episode involving multiple seizures while travelling to the United States.
Sharing details of the incident, Fatima revealed, “I was travelling to the US and via Dubai flight and I got a seizure on flight then I was taken to the airport hospitals and you know they give you…an anti-epileptic IV thing and but even then my seizures wouldn’t stop and then I was taken to the hospital was given a strong dose.”
She went on to explain the toll the treatment took on her body and mind. “Epilepsy ka kya hota hai na ki aapko ek strong dose de diya, ek certain chemical de diya and I was on different chemical agar vo flow nhi krenge na mtlb, you need to wean off of them and then you need to wean in off the other one and you are so drugged out.”
At the time, Fatima revealed that she was juggling two projects, Sam Bahadur and Dhak Dhak, The episode forced her to cancel a shoot. Recalling how difficult it was to cope, she said, “One of the guys called me and was like can you shoot and I cried because I couldn’t get out of the bed, I was constantly drugged out, my emotions were all over the place.”
Fatima said that speaking about her condition openly has been a source of healing for her, and she hopes her story can help others going through similar experiences. “This is my reality, mereko toh hai abhi aap ye jaan lo shyd kisiko help krega, kyuki mujhe help kar raha hai conversations se, mujhe support groups se help mili and now I am very much stable I haven’t gotten any episodes since a while now”
She emphasized the importance of timely medication and community support, saying, “I have taken my medicines on times, I am talking about it , I have been learning through other people’s experiences, and I am very lucky and there are kids, 4 to 5 years old who get multiple seizures in a day, their life is hampered.”
Watch The Interview Here:
Previously, during Epilepsy Month, the actress took to the story section of her Instagram and replied to a question asked by one of her followers about when she found out about it. The actress wrote: “(I) was diagnosed when I was training for `Dangal`. I got an episode and woke up straight at the hospital… (I) was in denial first (for five years). And now, I have learnt to embrace it, and work and live around it.”
Now, the actor is using her platform to raise awareness about epilepsy and mental health, inspiring others to seek help and speak out.
