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HELP!! Boot camp and seizures
Sun, 10/16/2011 - 00:52Hello..I am going to try and make this as breif and simple as possible, in July my son left for boot camp,a bout 4 weeks in he had a locker fall on the back of his head, within a week of that he had a siezure, 2 weeks another one and another 2 weeks another one,(all grand mal) it has been 2 weeks since the last one, (the last one he was admitted to the hospital and put on keppra,and hasn't had any since), I have a history of seizures, but, They started after a head injury when I was 12, I have been seizure free now for 11 years, anyway, the first thing that came to the Dr.s is that they are hereditery, I corrected them on that..Now they are saying that some people are more 1)prone to seizures then others, 2) Boot camp can cause seizures to come out and 3) it may have been the locker incident, but, that is the last resort on the Dr.'s part...my son is being discharged from the marines ELS (which is basically as if he never happened in there) I don't think this is right, I have no problem with him being discharged, but, shouldn't it be medical discharge? And i find it strange that the seizures started after the locker fell on his head, (which his SDI is trying to hide) Can anyone give me some help on this..as to why seizures would start in boot camp to start with? My son has always been very physically fit, and has always worked out and takes pride in keeping his body healthy and strong..I just don't understand. Thank you all and god Bless!!
Re: HELP!! Boot camp and seizures
Submitted by Spike. on Sun, 2011-10-16 - 16:24
Not only is sleep deprivation a common trigger for someone to have any seizures, a seizure can take place even for someone who does not have epilepsy.
After I completed Navy boot camp, and within just the first two weeks of being stationed on a Navy aircraft carrier (February 1987), is when I started experiencing some odd symptoms of not being able to speak clearly. Even though these symptoms would seldomly reoccur and last no more than 30 seconds, I went ahead with bringing it to the attention of one of the ship's doctors. With the doctor's response of only assuming that I was trying to come up with excuses to get out of the Navy, I began to wonder if maybe I really should get out. But since my symptoms were lightly noticeable and very seldomly reoccurred, along with my thoughts of me just needing to become more comfortable and relaxed to where I was located, I decided to let time take its course, and hopefully, my odd symptoms would fade away. Throughout my entire 8 years enlistment in the Navy (1986 – 1994) my symptoms still continued to reoccur, but they were always very light, and very, very seldomly reoccurred. I was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1994.
Immediately after having my first tonic clonic seizure (old name: grand mal), in mid-July 94, is when I started to see private doctors. By explaining to the doctor the odd symptoms I had always been experiencing, the symptoms indicated that I had actually been having Simple Partial Seizures ever since February 1987. With the results of medical tests I went through, doctors diagnosed me with having epilepsy. Because of when my seizures originally started, I qualified to be seen by medical personnel through the Veteran's Administration (VA), and the VA labeled my condition as being "Service Related".
With your son starting to experience seizures while being in boot camp, I don't know if his condition could qualify as being "Service Related". So my suggestion is for you and/or your son to contact the Veteran's Administration (VA), to see if his condition can qualify as being "Service Related". The website for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as a website located at… va.gov
Bruce (I'm not a doctor, but instead, an epilepsy support group leader, epilepsy advocate, who has epilepsy.)
Not only is sleep deprivation a common trigger for someone to have any seizures, a seizure can take place even for someone who does not have epilepsy.
After I completed Navy boot camp, and within just the first two weeks of being stationed on a Navy aircraft carrier (February 1987), is when I started experiencing some odd symptoms of not being able to speak clearly. Even though these symptoms would seldomly reoccur and last no more than 30 seconds, I went ahead with bringing it to the attention of one of the ship's doctors. With the doctor's response of only assuming that I was trying to come up with excuses to get out of the Navy, I began to wonder if maybe I really should get out. But since my symptoms were lightly noticeable and very seldomly reoccurred, along with my thoughts of me just needing to become more comfortable and relaxed to where I was located, I decided to let time take its course, and hopefully, my odd symptoms would fade away. Throughout my entire 8 years enlistment in the Navy (1986 – 1994) my symptoms still continued to reoccur, but they were always very light, and very, very seldomly reoccurred. I was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1994.
Immediately after having my first tonic clonic seizure (old name: grand mal), in mid-July 94, is when I started to see private doctors. By explaining to the doctor the odd symptoms I had always been experiencing, the symptoms indicated that I had actually been having Simple Partial Seizures ever since February 1987. With the results of medical tests I went through, doctors diagnosed me with having epilepsy. Because of when my seizures originally started, I qualified to be seen by medical personnel through the Veteran's Administration (VA), and the VA labeled my condition as being "Service Related".
With your son starting to experience seizures while being in boot camp, I don't know if his condition could qualify as being "Service Related". So my suggestion is for you and/or your son to contact the Veteran's Administration (VA), to see if his condition can qualify as being "Service Related". The website for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as a website located at… va.gov
Bruce (I'm not a doctor, but instead, an epilepsy support group leader, epilepsy advocate, who has epilepsy.)