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Seizure While Driving

Sat, 01/10/2009 - 00:00

I am 17 years old and about 2 years ago I was diagnosed with JME. On New Years I spent the night at my friends house and got only 2 hours of sleep. I didn't take my medicine that night (Keppra + Lamictal), or the next morning. As I left her house (only minutes after waking up) and began walking to my car I had a few blackouts and even shook a little. This happens to me if I don't take my medicine/don't get enought sleep but I didn't think of it as a big deal. I was just thinking about getting home and going to bed.

As I drove home, which was only 5 minutes away, I felt a little tired but that was all.  That was the last thing I remember because the next thing I know I was being pulled out of my car onto a stretcher and into an ambulance. I immediately knew I had one of my grandmal seizures. I was so confused, and so scared. Later I learned that I had a seizure, run off the road and crashed into a light pole going 45 MPH. My car was completely totalled but I thankfully was fine and was left with only a few bruises. I'm not able to drive for a while (and being 17 that feels like it's the worst thing in the world), but I understand that I should not be allowed behind the wheel of a car right now. I had been seizure free for about 6-8 months before the accident. This past week has been so hard for me and my family but I'm trying my hardest to move on. Anyway.... I am just wondering if anyone else has ever had a seizure while driving?

Comments

Re: Seizure While Driving

Submitted by nk1982 on Thu, 2010-06-03 - 22:43

I'm sorry but WTF were you thinking?! Why did you really have to take a chance and drive? Was it REALLY a life and death situation? Why couldn't you have called someone to take you home or hang out at your friends house for a while? You were just lucky you did not hurt or kill yourself or someone else. YOU NEED TO BE MORE RESPONSIBLE!

Yes having epilepsy sucks especially as a teenager knowing you want to do all the things that your friends do. When I was your age, I was unable to drive and I felt like a child when my parents had to drop me off when I wanted to hang out with my friends. The last seizure I had as a teenager was at 18. Then I went seizure-free meaning I was happy being able to drive throughout my college years and after graduating from college. The meds worked for 9 years meaning I was very happy being independent. But back on 2/19/2010 I had a seizure while driving causing me to blackout hitting the median at 60 mph. Luckily I made it without a scratch and no one else was hurt as well. The wreck was terrifying since it totaled the car and the only thing I remembered when I escaped out of the seizure was hearing a loud crash and seeing the airbag deploy. Then when the paramedics came I had another seizure meaning the next thing I remembered I was in the hospital. I was depressed since I lost my driving privileges for 6 months which really sucks since I went seizure-free for 9 years and having my parents driving me to work at 27 years old makes me feel like a child. But in a way when I pass by the accident spot I can only remember how lucky I was since it could have been. But in the fall when I start driving again I feel like this accident helped me grow up and learn to accept disappointments since it's a part of life.

 

 

I'm sorry but WTF were you thinking?! Why did you really have to take a chance and drive? Was it REALLY a life and death situation? Why couldn't you have called someone to take you home or hang out at your friends house for a while? You were just lucky you did not hurt or kill yourself or someone else. YOU NEED TO BE MORE RESPONSIBLE!

Yes having epilepsy sucks especially as a teenager knowing you want to do all the things that your friends do. When I was your age, I was unable to drive and I felt like a child when my parents had to drop me off when I wanted to hang out with my friends. The last seizure I had as a teenager was at 18. Then I went seizure-free meaning I was happy being able to drive throughout my college years and after graduating from college. The meds worked for 9 years meaning I was very happy being independent. But back on 2/19/2010 I had a seizure while driving causing me to blackout hitting the median at 60 mph. Luckily I made it without a scratch and no one else was hurt as well. The wreck was terrifying since it totaled the car and the only thing I remembered when I escaped out of the seizure was hearing a loud crash and seeing the airbag deploy. Then when the paramedics came I had another seizure meaning the next thing I remembered I was in the hospital. I was depressed since I lost my driving privileges for 6 months which really sucks since I went seizure-free for 9 years and having my parents driving me to work at 27 years old makes me feel like a child. But in a way when I pass by the accident spot I can only remember how lucky I was since it could have been. But in the fall when I start driving again I feel like this accident helped me grow up and learn to accept disappointments since it's a part of life.

 

 

Re: Seizure While Driving

Submitted by Jay Powell on Sat, 2010-08-07 - 13:16
It seems like there should be some kind of mechanism that can be added to cars to stop them when a driver loses control like during a seizure or heart attack.  Is anyone aware of such a mechanism?  If not we should start a discussion that would encourage someone to invent one.  If a person's hands left the wheel for a certain number of seconds it might stop the car, lock the steering wheel and maybe put on the emergency flashers.  There could also be a warning sound to the driver before so that it doesn't go into that mode without reason.

Re: Seizure While Driving

Submitted by Mr. B-rad on Sat, 2010-08-07 - 15:07

I had a seizure while driving once. It happened before I really understood my seizures and the signs leading up to one.

 I am a mechanic and I was in our service truck going on a service call. All day I had been feeling very crappy with that indescribable feeling I get before a seizure. I was driving down a winding road feeling terrible. The next thing I knew I was still sitting in the truck which was no longer moving but there was a car wrapped around the front of the truck and a lady frantically trying to get me to respond. I had forgotten to take my wallet along but I had enough sense to quickly phone the shop so someone could bring it to me. Luckily I was only a few miles away.

I'm very thankful that I didn"t hurt myself or anyone. The road made a gradual turn left but I kept going straight just to the right of a telephone pole right beside a large hedge. I boadsided a parked car whose owner was on the front steps just getting ready to get in it and leave. If she would have been in the car I would have injured her. If the car had been gone I would have crossed the lawn into the house. If I had hit the pole I would have been injured. It could have been so different.

Nobody there knew it was a seizure. The lady thought I had blacked out from the accident. She and the police officer thought I had fallen asleep seeing how tired I still was. I didn't mention the word seizure and nobody brought it up. The police officer gave me the lightest fine she could and let me go. The truck could still drive but I couldn't turn very sharp because of the damage. The car was completely totalled. Talk about feeling small. I just wanted to crawl in a hole and hide.

That was my wake up call that my epilepsy was more serious than I thought. That was a huge factor in learning what the indicators of an oncoming seizure are. I'm just glad that the only damage was to vehicles and not humans.

I had a seizure while driving once. It happened before I really understood my seizures and the signs leading up to one.

 I am a mechanic and I was in our service truck going on a service call. All day I had been feeling very crappy with that indescribable feeling I get before a seizure. I was driving down a winding road feeling terrible. The next thing I knew I was still sitting in the truck which was no longer moving but there was a car wrapped around the front of the truck and a lady frantically trying to get me to respond. I had forgotten to take my wallet along but I had enough sense to quickly phone the shop so someone could bring it to me. Luckily I was only a few miles away.

I'm very thankful that I didn"t hurt myself or anyone. The road made a gradual turn left but I kept going straight just to the right of a telephone pole right beside a large hedge. I boadsided a parked car whose owner was on the front steps just getting ready to get in it and leave. If she would have been in the car I would have injured her. If the car had been gone I would have crossed the lawn into the house. If I had hit the pole I would have been injured. It could have been so different.

Nobody there knew it was a seizure. The lady thought I had blacked out from the accident. She and the police officer thought I had fallen asleep seeing how tired I still was. I didn't mention the word seizure and nobody brought it up. The police officer gave me the lightest fine she could and let me go. The truck could still drive but I couldn't turn very sharp because of the damage. The car was completely totalled. Talk about feeling small. I just wanted to crawl in a hole and hide.

That was my wake up call that my epilepsy was more serious than I thought. That was a huge factor in learning what the indicators of an oncoming seizure are. I'm just glad that the only damage was to vehicles and not humans.

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