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Seizures, Driving, Meds, and Second Opinions

Tue, 05/15/2007 - 11:53
My history is this: I began having seizures when I was 10. I lose consciousness with almost no warning and regain consciousness anywhere from 30 seconds to 3 minutes later with tingling hands, a heavily beating heart, and a very severe headache. My triggers are stress, sunlight, and physical exertion. When they began no doctor could figure it out, they all told me to just get used to it, so I did. Fast forward 15 years, I am married, been driving for 10 years (with no incidences), and my husband is quite concerned about these "fainting spells" I have all the time, so I go get them checked out again. January 2007 I am diagnosed with epilepsy, told I cannot drive until I am seizure free for 6 mos., and promptly put on Topamax. All of a sudden, I start having twice as many seizures. All day long I can hardly stay conscious. So they add Keppra. It gets a little better, but still, they are now every day instead of the ebb and flow I had been used to. Now I get to the real problem at hand: My husband deploys for a 15 month tour in Iraq in 5 months or less. They doctors are nowhere near getting my seizures even back to the level they were at when I came to them, much less lower than that. I have a full time job and live in a town with no public transportation. It seems I would be better off getting off the meds and going back to the way I was, although the doctors cringe when i say that. Any suggestions?

Comments

I'd be willing to bet (if

Submitted by solis on Tue, 2007-05-15 - 17:40
I'd be willing to bet (if you check your driver's insurance) that your insurance is no longer valid if you have any unreported medical condition that could affect your driving (like epilepsy). And, it's illegal to drive with no insurance. Whatever you do, do NOT drive; as, now that you know you have epilepsy, if you had a seizure at the wheel and killed someone you would be responsible for vehicular manslaughter. Not to mention, as stated, your insurance is likely invalidated. Not to mention the possibility of killing yourself in an accident. The risk truly isn't worth it. I went through a slew of neurologists, but never got controlled until after I saw an epileptologist (= a neurologist that focuses on epilepsy). I realize now is a rough time for you (with E being new, etc) but try to focus on the fact that 3/4 of the people with epilepsy are completely controlled on drugs and live totally normal lives. best wishes to you, ~sol

Re: Seizures, Driving, Meds, and Second Opinions

Submitted by ScreeFi on Mon, 2007-05-21 - 09:19
Hello! I have complex partial, and I found that the meds were worse than the episodes. I don't black out, and though my attention is a little skewed, I'm conscious through them, and though it's not comfortable, I can continue carrying on with any task I was in the middle of. I had a seizure once when I was downhill skiing in the middle of a mogul hill, and was able to get down fine. Because of this, I've always felt okay about my prospects of driving, especially before I was diagnosed two years ago. Up until now, in all honesty, I've been ignoring the diagnosis altogether, and have just recently come to terms with it. Anyway, when I was diagnosed I was put on Keppra, but before I had reached full dosage, it became apparent that the stuff was more debilitating for me than the seizures. It was impossible for me to feel joy, and an emotional trapdoor would burst open at the slightest negetivity. I couldn't go to school, and I couldn't go to work. I decided, with the support of my family, to drop the meds. The neuro essentially said that the decision was up to me. Since I dropped them, I've felt fine, and have been dealing with my occasional seizures as they appear, like I've been doing all my life. I feel like if your meds have made your seizures worse, as it sounds like they did (you said they increased frequency after you started the meds?) then they should pay attention to that, and come to the conclusion that those aren't right for you, instead of trying to build a cocktail ontop of a damaging prescription. Maybe you could see if you could stop the meds to see what would happen? That would give you a clear indication, I would think. Good luck!

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