Hehe back to the absence epilepsy thing, it's really hard to live with; I was told mine were especially frequent (unmedicated, I was having them once every ten minutes or so). People think it would be fairly easy as it's not a physical condition or visible, really. (Only my mom can tell I'm having them... and she can tell over the phone as well!)
I recieved quite a bit. I'm on lots of medication (lamotrigine at the moment, but they want to add Keppra because they haven't ceased entirely. I don't want it, but they're going to add it on to my lamotrigine rather than replacing it entirely... but that's rather irrelevant).
The DSA gave me a dictaphone and a note-taker. I also got a visual thesaurus piece of software; I'm thinking it'll be helpful when I hyave a seizure and just can't remember where I was going... Mindmapping software helps for the same reason.
I haven't had chance to see how effective they are, but I'm hoping they'll be ace. I can't concentrate for long periods of time, so often I only get the first half of the lecture, which is usually the easy stuff.
So yes, go and get a diagnosis, Craghyrax!!!!! It's better to be safe than sorry, and it won't hurt. You'll probably get an MRI and an EEG to check. I kept seizing while they were doing it, so they were very pleased with the results. I'm just that nice. Do tell your doctor to get a referral even if s/he is reluctant. I was diagnosed when I was 11, but then told I didn't have it at 16. I went back to the doctor at 18 saying "No, seriously, I still have it, I assure you.", and she just told me I was forgetful and dozy (idiot, how could she see my history and think that). I had to go to another doctor and beg for a referral!
It does affect your life; I was driving for six months before the second doctor! Now I can't, which is sad. There are ways around everything, but the help is out there. Once you're sorted, you can do what everyone else does!
I think I may have rambled a bit there, but hey. Better too much than too little? You don't have to read it!