There are other diseases/condition s that can cause seizures other than epilepsy. It's 6 months from your last seizure ONLY IF you have a seizure disorder. In Texas. No idea about where you are.

Here in AL, I think it's 6 months from the last seizure even if it is your first one. A friend of mine had one for the first time in her life (38ish) while driving.

I would recommend seeing 1-2 different neurologists. Their opinions can vary. Glad you're recovering.

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"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps"
Blog = http://extrememomentum.com|Photos = http://wheelgoodphotos.com

I'm in Massachusetts for what it's worth.

In 2014 I had a bad head injury that resulted in a seizure. Medically, it was treated just like any other concussion, meaning there really wasn't any set period of time before driving was an option. The neurologist was more concerned about the possibility of future seizures, but after an EEG at week ~5, he cleared me to drive.

Legally, I was given some bad information that following a seizure you're allowed to drive for 6 months. I assumed that to be true until I received legal advice from two different lawyers that there was no law preventing me from doing so, and that until the state did their own investigation and notified me other wise, my privilege to drive was not revoked.

My advice is to resume driving when you feel comfortable. I knew without a doubt I could not drive those first couple of weeks, but by week 3-4 it would have been okay. Only you know how your head is doing. Once you can get that cloud out of your head, you should be okay.

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-Andrew

here in NY I had to be seizure free for 6 months and get a dr. note with a dmv form. I'm on meds now and have not had any trouble.

Here's a site that has seizure regulations for each state

If you ever want to come off meds, it's another 6 months no driving. Too much hassle of not driving for 6 mos, I'm going to keep taking the drugs.

Good luck, kind of scary, esp getting back in the water. My doc said the water was a pretty safe place and it wasn't very likely that I would have one in the water.

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Great things never come from comfort zones.

The website you linked was for Epilepsy. There's a big difference between having Epilepsy and having a seizure from head trauma. Texas has a very similar law about being 6 months seizure free before driving, but that doesn't apply to a single episode that is caused from trauma. This is where I got some bad advice and assumed I couldn't drive for 6 months, when that wasn't the case.

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-Andrew

Yeah, no seizure disorder fortunately, just a result of the head trauma caused by the bone head who made a left turn right into me.

A seizure while driving could end your life or someone else's. I'd recommend giving it 3-6 months, even if there is no legal requirement that you don't.

My usual advice is: See a medical professional you trust to give you a good opinion, and err on the side of caution. This is no different.

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'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'

Here in lies the problem. I have never needed a neurologist before so I don’t have one I trust. I've seen two: one tells me that the 6 month hold does not apply in my situation, the other insists that it does. I'm hoping somebody with some background in this may chime in here as legally I can drive as nothing was reported to the RMV. I'm much more concerned with my safety and that of others.

Based on the spelling and grammar of your post, and that you managed to type, I'd suggest you're already functioning better than anyone that drives a pick-up!

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

So, I don't know where you are located, but I would seek out a neurologist that specializes in seizures/epilepsy. If you contact your local epilepsy organization (for example, I live in Alberta, and there are two large orgs in Edmonton and Calgary, both of which gave me great advice on potential neurologists), they might be able to provide some direction.

One issue I ran into here was that the medical community said 3 months, BUT motor vehicles says 6 months (it's like the two don't communicate). So you might want to check with your State or Provincial motor vehicles driver fitness branch as well.

To be clear, a seizure following a head trauma is not un-common, and a single, provoked seizure (as in your case) is not epilepsy. Epilepsy is defined as 2 or more "un-provoked" seizures. However, a person who has had a head injury, and/or a seizure following a head injury *may* be at higher risk for future seizures; that is your seizure threshold might be lowered b/c of the head trauma. While you heal, pay particular attention to limiting caffeine and stimulants and getting enough rest and managing stress.

I wish you a speedy recovery.

in Maryland you simply have to be cleared by your physician to drive. Once your MD says you can drive you can.

(background)
I was hit by a car and almost killed in 2011. I survived (obviously) but with a (what's now likely permanent) traumatic brain injury. About 3 months later I had a seizure, followed by what appeared to be the development of a seizure disorder. It took a while, but eventually a neurologist wrote the MTO (our Department of Driver's Licenses if you will) and had my license suspended. This same doctor had an EEG and MRI done and diagnosed epilepsy. Because no medication seemed to stick, I was hooked up to a "permanent" EEG and weaned of my meds last year. The result was that I didn't have epilepsy but that my seizures were psychogenic. I haven't had any since.

Here in Ontario you need to be 6 months seizure free before you can drive again. After 6 months my family doctor wrote the MTO again and a couple of months later I got a note saying I could get my license renewed, and I'm now driving again
(end background)

My advice to you is to not drive a motor vehicle until you have this shit sorted out. Any sort of stress can cause a seizure at this point, and you don't want to kill anybody because you had a seizure at an inopportune moment.

Epilepsy isn't a normal disease - if you have 'organic' seizure, even only one, you have epilepsy. While it is true that head injuries can trigger isolated seizures (the theory is that my first seizure was a 'real' one, like that), it is also possible that you develop recurring seizures. And you cannot know.

I suggest you find a hospital with an dedicated epilepsy clinic. A proper neurologist specializing in epilepsy should have you get an MRI and an EEG, including a sleep deprived EEG. Based on that he should be able to detect 'epileptiform' waves in your brain, which indicate epilepsy. Stay away from your garden variety neurologists mostly dealing with strokes etc - epilepsy is a problem requiring specialized attention. Hopefully there is no problem and you'll get the all clear. If there is a problem, most people are OK with medication, and none of the many ones I tried had any side effects. But for your own safety and safety of the world around you have it looked at.

PM me for more information.

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Citizen of the world, former drunkard. Resident Traumatic Brain Injury advocate.

(Have now also read the rest of your post)

I really hope you are right, and that you are doing as well as you think you are. But it is impossible to have "significant brain trauma" and be ready to go after two months. Either your trauma wasn't "significant" in the clinical sense or you are not as ready to go to work. I would advise you to get a neuropsychological assessment done before you go back to work. I thought I was ready to go back after three months, and lasted for three half days. And in hindsight I had no idea what I was thinking. I haven't worked since. Again, I hope you're better off than I am, but you need to have it checked - just thinking that your "close to your previous mental capacity" is not how it works, unfortunately. The brain isn't like a broken leg.

I don't know your exact situation, but over here things dramatically change once you get back to work - you may lose the right to apply of short- and long term disability benefits if you go back and have to stop working because you are still symptomatic.

Good luck, and again, let me know if I can help.

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Citizen of the world, former drunkard. Resident Traumatic Brain Injury advocate.

Epilepsy isn't a normal disease - if you have 'organic' seizure, even only one, you have epilepsy. While it is true that head injuries can trigger isolated seizures (the theory is that my first seizure was a 'real' one, like that), it is also possible that you develop recurring seizures. And you cannot know.




Sorry this is incorrect. 1 seizure by definition can not be epilepsy. Epilepsy is defined as recurrent unprovoked seizures

The best advice offered in this thread so far.

Mark

In my experience, "epilepsy" is a group term for recurrent seizures due to any cause, including no discernible cause. It is not a single disease. It is generally agreed that any seizure episode can increase probability of future seizures, even decades into the future. For example, infant febrile seizures can ultimately result in intractable epilepsy much later in life, even with no detectable seizure activity in the interim. There will still likely be a particular locus of activity that seems to correlate to the seizures, but, very often, there is no way to know a precise cause of the activity and there may or may not be any avoidable triggers. Generally, if there is a known cause, treatment is more precise than systemic drugs (many of which have ridiculous side effects) and, in that case, people avoid using the term "epilepsy" because that is an irrationally scary word to most people because of the unknowns associated. Most often this goes something like, "Epilepsy?! Oh, I don't have that! I just have frequently recurring seizures due to the inoperable, golf ball-sized, benign tumor in my left temporal lobe. I take the same daily meds, but it's NOT epilepsy."

It is a very strange phenomenon.

For the record, it's three months seizure free prior to clearance to drive here in Minnesota.

Well, either your neurologist (or, if you are a neurologist, you) went to a different school than mine. I was told that a single unprovoked seizure, with a positive EEG, combined with 'working' anti-seizure medication, can lead to an epilepsy diagnosis. And I know people in this situation. One man I know had a seizure as a teenager, was put on carbamazepine, and hasn't had a seizure since. He's in his late 50s now, and is still considered an epileptic. But my neurologist did admit that epilepsy diagnosis are difficult things, because we don't know enough about the disease. My diagnosis that turned out to be wrong is an example.

Academics aside, you must agree that the OP should have this checked out before climbing behind the wheel.

PS: I just went to the ol' Wikipedia to see what it says, and it has a definition that involves 2 seizures. But the definition was changed in 2014, and before that it was one seizure. So maybe we're both right :-)

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Citizen of the world, former drunkard. Resident Traumatic Brain Injury advocate.