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My story so far..
Wed, 05/09/2018 - 11:22Topic: New to Epilepsy.com
Hiya everyone, Ive been diagnosed with nocturnal epilepsy today, and am only just coming to terms with it, I'm quite new to all this so please don't ridicule me aha. I had 2 major seizures on Saturday night, and was taken to A&E twice. I have what my mum calls 'mini-seizures' in my sleep where i can't breathe, its like I'm unconscious, i wet the bed and i am unable to control my body for about 10-30 seconds. I drive, (but have stopped driving now) but have been told i may not be able to drive for at least a year. As these only happen in my sleep, and these mini seizures have been going on for about 9 ish months now, i was wondering are there any different rules when it comes to driving and nocturnal epilepsy? I'm about to leave school from doing A-Levels, and about to start a new job so ideally i need to be driving. Any advice will be much appreciated! Thank you!!
Hi Soph, sounds like you're
Submitted by figs on Sat, 2018-05-19 - 22:38
Hi Soph, sounds like you're in the UK. Different rules there with driving/not driving so asking an American site for that info won't be much help for you. It's the DVLA in the UK that has the official information.But Joe IS right in the fact they're more than rules and there's a damn good reason for them. While it is possible for people with active nocturnal ONLY seizures to drive during the day it's at least a 3 year wait and having to prove beyond doubt no hint of or history any sort of any type of daytime seizure. Even though it's going to be a major inconvinece for you, especially on the job front (and we do all sympathize), the reality is, with an epilepsy diagnosis you are now high risk of having seizures, and there's no guarantee they're going to only keep happening at night when asleep. And should that pattern decide to change, could you live with yourself if you where behind the wheel at the time and took out an innocent family?Sorry, but the driving is on hold for now, and your focus has to be on treatment and what your options are. Have you got a referral to a neurologist yet?