[sanitarium]

Well my last few days have been pure crap. Last thing I remember doing on wednesday was standing by the till at work then waking half with it in an ambulance on the way to hospital, then waking again in a lift lying in a bed and then waking in a hospital bed with my parents by my side 9 hours later. Aparently i'd had an Epileptic fit at work and then another one at the hospital, scary stuff. I'd had another one back on the 7th of august but i thought that was coz i fell over and knocked my head.
I've just got out of hospital having spent 3days next to old men pissing the bed at 3 in the morning and having alsorts of needles poking in and out of me. My tounge is caning coz I chewed it while fitting and the my body aches all over. The most devistating thing for me is that I can't now drive for a year!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've just gone and bought a Honda Civic 1.6 Sport for £12000 as well. I'm lucky i'm stilling living with parents so they can get me to gigs and the bus goes past where I work.
Anyway i'm now on medication and I was just wondering if any of you guys suffer from it or know any one that suffers and I was just looking for some usefull advise.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Chroma]

The most devistating thing for me is that I can't now drive for a year!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please take this part very seriously, and be careful driving until things are more under control. Not too long ago I lost a good friend of mine after he had a seizure while driving and swerved off the road into a tree.

I wish I had more advice to help you with, but at least take the your doctor's/parent's orders very seriously on this point.

 

[jemsite]

Sorry to hear.

Get followup consultation with the best neurologists & Epilepsy doctors in your area. They will help you grasp with the condition and hopefully help get the seizures under control. I understand your dilemna greatly as my youngest daugher Ava (now almost 18 months) had 3 seizures over 7 days last February and hence was diagnosed & is treated for Epilepsy (takes Lamictil w/o problem or detrimental side effects that we can tell).

It's one of those conditions you don't think/hear much about until it hits home then you hear alot about it. Having had alot of consultation, the biggest thing you have to realize is there might not be a "reason" they can pin the problem on, which is actually good. I mean a brain lesion could cause seizures and that would be alot worse than everything checking out OK on testing via brain scans, etc. Widely variable. You probably had a spinal tap that will test normal. People have a few seizures then never have them again. Some get worse and worse and worse and need to be controlled. Obviously at your age driving presents itself as a risk and not driving is a hardship that you must endure for everyone's safety, including yours

Once your medication gets ramped up and you get some blood work to confirm levels, hopefully it can prevent them. I believe 2 years seizure free is a long-term goal and easy to lose sight of... but assuming you didn't have seizures for many years before this week it's possible you won't have them again. Rule out all possible causes and keep the faith. If you need to chat or whatever by PM don't hesitate ...glen

 

[patricia]

hi dave,
sorry to hear that.
anyway, my mother had those attacks for many years(from the day she was a child).
all i know now,that there are good medications to put those epileptical -attacks under.
hang in buddy , keep the faith and dont loose youre happiness.

patricia

 

[fettouhi]

Indeed scary stuff, take care dave. All the best .

Regards

André

 

[damo7v]

dave,

my heart goes out to you. like others, i hadn't given this condition too much thought until earlier this year when my dog was diagnosed with canine epilepsy. i know, i know - "but he's just a dog"... well, not to me.

it's taken a long time, but we are finally starting to get his seizures under control using a combination of two medications: phenobarbitol and potassium bromide.

as has been said, epilepsy can be the result of a temporary condition or unfortunately idiopathic, which is a fancy way of saying they'll never really know why.

please remember that there are much more important things at stake here than a car, albeit a fairly flash one! my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

 

[Algiman]

Dave, hang in there - I know nothing can be said to make this easier. If ever you are stuck for a lift to a gig though, give me a shout!

Damo7v - My dog too, it isn't nice. pm me about the potassium, you are being ripped off.

 

[StoleN GuitaR]

In the last 2 months I had 2 incidents when i passed out and knocked my head.

We've gone througha series of doctor visits and tests.
They stuck me on tegrtol because they assumed that I have epilepsy. We saw a private Nerologist and he refered us to a cardiologist, because the way i described what happened led him to believe that it's just that i have low blood pressure.
The cardiologist put me on a "tilt table test"

Basically they strapped me on a table that has me on a tilted angle for an hour. the point was to see if I would pass out.

Right now they've ruled out epilepsy.

Instead of not being able to drive for a year, It's been shortened to 3 months.
2 or more head injuries in 1 month = 3 months no driving.

Hope everything goes well mate!!

God Bless

Simon Persson

 

[pawel]

That's sad to know. I agree with what Glenn said, get some good consultation and take the inability to drive very seriously. You are lucky to have family and hopefully friends who wil support you and help you out if needed. I had some health issues recently as well, that seriously changed my plans for the upcoming year, so I wish you all the best as well.

 

[Serratus]

Hi Dave,
Sorry to hear about that mate, hold in there - hopefully they can get everything sorted (medication, etc) fairly quickly so you can settle into normal life again.
regards,
Rich

 

[StoleN GuitaR]

Dave, do you get any warning signs before anything happens.. eg: weird taste in your mouth, odd feeling, dizziness.

make sure you learn your body's signs..

 

[Koss]

As far as I can remember, and according to my family, I've taken about 4 or 5 seisures in a small period of time, maybe over a year, but I haven't had one in about a two and a half years now, and I never had it checked out. I just never thought about it being something overly serious, but I was only about 15-16 then and didn't care to learn about that kinda stuff.

Just be glad your seisures didn't start kicking in a couple hours later on the ride back home.

 

[Flobanez]

Sorry to hear that man. Keep your chin up and have faith.

 

[Kontalonis]

My dearest empathy's go out to you man. Just remember to look on the bright side.......you can still work and play gigs. I hope the medecine is helping (pills can do wonders these days). Please keep us posted and remember that jemsite is with you!

 

[mi2tom]

Be very careful Dave.....

 

[sanitarium]

Thanks alot guys. The medication they stuck me on is called Epilim and i feel really light headed after taking it but I assume i'll get used to it. As for driving i am not gonna be driving coz i heard it's harder to get your licence back if you don't declare it, plus if i have a fit while driving i I could kill myself and possibly you coming the over way so it's just not worth it.
I've gotta cut back on drinking as well as this can cause chemical imbalance which can trigger it off.
I think the main thing that did it for me I think was stress. When this happened back in august I was quite happily working for Currys electrical store but was pursaded to go for an interview for an assistant manager at All: Sports by my mate who was the manager. Changing jobs was pretty stressfull then.
Even worse though was this time, I'd been with All: Sports 7 weeks when they came round and closed my shop, I lucky enough to be head hunted by JD Sports for the same roll. Or so I thought, I got into my shop only to find it was the managers last week, the staff were pure crap and it really wasn't me at all. On wednesday when I had my fit it was the managers last day and i didn't even know how the tills worked yet! As well as that I had some other personal issues stressing me out.
I have know got my job back at Currys (a differant store though coz they couldn't fit me in where I was) and I start on monday. I havn't got round to telling JD sports, i'll go in later today.
It's funny when something like this happens it makes you realise who your friends really are and i'm just lucky im still living at home. It may seem silly but we are making a few changes already, we are going to change my bed from a bunk bed with desk and chair underneath to a normal bed (well ok double bed ) incase I fit in bed coz it not as big a fall.
StoleN GuitaR I got got no signs it was coming at all, I was literally standing at the cash desk one minute and then half consous in an ambulance the next.

 

[the.godfather]

Sorry to hear about that Dave, I used to have a good friend that had fits quite often. We went away on a school trip once, and he was sharing with me and some other friends - and he had a fit then too. Luckily we all knew he was Epileptic, and he instructed us on what to do, and who to call if anything happened beforehand.

As you have said, its a good thing your still at home, you still have the support of you mum/dad, plus the fact that if anything does happen to you - they will be there!

Hope everything gets better.

 

[jim777]

Keep a good thought, we're all with you.

 

[AirGuitarHero]

Sorry to hear that, Dave.

I knew someone who used to get regular fits. As long as he was taking his meds and took care of himself, he was OK and could lead a normal life. However, he lacked the self-discipline to carry it out completely and the fits relapsed.

Things that I know triggered the fits: stress (as you say), booze, too much TV/computer, coca-cola (or excessive amounts of caffeine), flashing lights (e.g., at discos), or a combination of these.

As with any medical condition, prevention is your best weapon. Too often doctors don't educate patients on hprevention, so I would acively seek advice on lifestyle and habits that may help you.

I know you're not being flippant about not being able to drive. It is a huge disadvantage in modern life, but if you look after yourself the condition might improve just enough to get your licence back. Any medical condition will take an impact on one's quality of life, but that's something that has to be accepted. With self-discipline and information, we can have a certain degree of control over our health.

 

[VanWyck]

Dave,

I am truly sorry to hear about your situation. My sincerest sympaty goes out to anyone suffering from seizures. In our modern era of medicine it seems that the neurological disease processes are unfortunately the least understood- making therapy a difficult endeavor.

The medication that you are taking helps to 'stabilize' the brain's activity thereby lowering your seizure threshold. Be compliant with your medication - take the prescribed dose at the proper time, and follow up with your physician for blood levels and to discuss your progress.

The medication you are taking is also used as a mood stabilizer. The light-headed sensation you are experiencing sounds like a common side effect. Be sure to discuss the sensation as well as any others with your doctor.

Feel free to PM me any time. You need to quit drinking (sorry).