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A seizure while driving

Sat, 01/06/2007 - 19:46
I am 23 and suffer from seizures. I was driving my two children to school when i had a seizure. I blacked out and wrecked. Thank god my kids weren't hurt but i ended up staying in the hospital for 38 days and thay told me it was EP and put me on lamictal. I knew something was wrong before the accident but i did not see a doctor. Now i wish i would have.

Comments

Hi, I had a seizure last

Submitted by Diana31 on Sun, 2018-08-19 - 20:49
Hi, I had a seizure last October and ran into another car. Luckily it was during morning traffic on the freeway so it was slow. I hear the people in the other car were not hurt badly. Unfortunately, I blacked out and continued up the road. I am being charged with "hit and run". Lost DL when I told doctor and it was reported.  However, I had already taken self off and remain that way 11 months later. I am trying to explain epilepsy to attorney so he can present my case and why I did not know I had even hit anyone. 

Re: A seizure while driving

Submitted by Patman on Thu, 2008-06-05 - 20:50

I thank God also that I wasn't killed when I had a blackout while driving.  I drove for 5 years while all I had was simple partial seizures and I didn't blackout.  But for some reason the Tegretol stopped keeping them away in 2000, so after 2 blackouts I was switched to Depakote and didn't drive for about a month.  I thought I was better, so I started driving again, and I had a head-on collision.  Thankfully I was on a 2 lane road at rush hour, so I and the other driver were only going about 15 mph and neither of us were hurt.  My sister was driving right behind me, and when I came to she told me that I just slumped over and my truck veered into the oncoming lane, so I am very fortunate and thankful that it didn't happen on a big highway going much faster.  The cop who was there said he wouldn't give me a ticket as long as I didn't drive again, and I haven't because since then I have never even gone for than a few days without having at least partial seizures.  I am very lucky that I have a wonderful wife who is willing to drive me to and from work in addition to all of the driving she needs to do, and although I do wish I could drive sometimes, we have always kept this working with few problems.  I wish everyone with epilepsy can have a great partner like her, since she does extra to make sure that I can live mostly normal. 

I now take Lamictal and Keppra, and although they have big side effects, I haven't had a blackout or grand mal since 2004, so I am very thankful for that.  My doctors are wanting to do tests to see if I am eligible for brain surgery, but I won't do it if there are huge risks involved since I can deal with the partial seizures that I have now.  If there is anyone reading this who has had any kind of brain surgery, I would be interested to know if it has helped you much. 

I wish everyone with epilepsy well, and like Kristin said, Go Gators!

I thank God also that I wasn't killed when I had a blackout while driving.  I drove for 5 years while all I had was simple partial seizures and I didn't blackout.  But for some reason the Tegretol stopped keeping them away in 2000, so after 2 blackouts I was switched to Depakote and didn't drive for about a month.  I thought I was better, so I started driving again, and I had a head-on collision.  Thankfully I was on a 2 lane road at rush hour, so I and the other driver were only going about 15 mph and neither of us were hurt.  My sister was driving right behind me, and when I came to she told me that I just slumped over and my truck veered into the oncoming lane, so I am very fortunate and thankful that it didn't happen on a big highway going much faster.  The cop who was there said he wouldn't give me a ticket as long as I didn't drive again, and I haven't because since then I have never even gone for than a few days without having at least partial seizures.  I am very lucky that I have a wonderful wife who is willing to drive me to and from work in addition to all of the driving she needs to do, and although I do wish I could drive sometimes, we have always kept this working with few problems.  I wish everyone with epilepsy can have a great partner like her, since she does extra to make sure that I can live mostly normal. 

I now take Lamictal and Keppra, and although they have big side effects, I haven't had a blackout or grand mal since 2004, so I am very thankful for that.  My doctors are wanting to do tests to see if I am eligible for brain surgery, but I won't do it if there are huge risks involved since I can deal with the partial seizures that I have now.  If there is anyone reading this who has had any kind of brain surgery, I would be interested to know if it has helped you much. 

I wish everyone with epilepsy well, and like Kristin said, Go Gators!

Re: A seizure while driving

Submitted by scratch on Sat, 2008-05-17 - 06:39
very sorry to hear about your accident...... thank god everyone is ok... no it's not alot of fun to lose your driving privileges..been there i know what it feels like....no one here wants to take a chance and drive and have a sz...possibly killing someone or themselves...take care of yourself and those children.......god bless

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