I don’t recommend having any type of seizure while driving because it’s dangerous…to say the least.
Well duh…
That’s just stupid. Why would anyone want to have a seizure…driving
or not driving?
Well…
That’s the reality for 3% of the population.
Did you know…
Folks living with Multiple Sclerosis also have seizures?
Yes they do…with 2-5% of the MS population has seizures.
Seizures
may take several forms:
- Generalized tonic-clonic seizures are brief episodes of
unconsciousness with uncontrollable jerking movements of the extremities.
- Generalized absence seizures are momentary lapses of
consciousness without abnormal movements.
- Partial complex seizures are periods of stereotyped
repetitive activity. The person appears to be awake but does not respond
to external stimuli.
(nationalmssociety.org/Symptoms-Diagnosis/MS-Symptoms/Seizures)
And according to one article…
Seizures
have been recognized to occur in MS since the earliest descriptions of this
disease and were included in textbook descriptions of MS symptoms for over 125
years. Since that time, seizures have been reported in many clinical
descriptions of the disease. Recent descriptions of the pathological findings
associated with MS, including increased appreciation of cortical and
subcortical demyelination with and without inflammation, have shed light onto
possible explanations of why seizures may be more common in MS than in the
general population.
(ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2748351)
Let’s focus on the absence seizure (aka Petit Mal Seizures)
According to the Mayo Clinic…
An indication of simple absence
seizure is a vacant stare, which may be mistaken for a lapse in attention that
lasts 10 to 15 seconds, without any
subsequent confusion, headache or drowsiness. Signs and symptoms of absence
seizures include:
·
Sudden stop in motion without falling
·
Lip smacking
·
Eyelid flutters
·
Chewing motions
·
Finger rubbing
·
Small movements of both hands
Absence seizures generally last 10 to 15
seconds, followed immediately by full recovery. Afterward, there's no memory of
the incident. Some people have dozens of episodes daily, which interfere with
school or daily activities.
(mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/petit-mal-seizure/basics/symptoms/con-20021252)
And what does Healthline have to say about
that?
Absence
epilepsy is characterized by petit mal
seizures, also known as absence seizures. These seizures are
brief, usually less than 15 seconds,
and have symptoms that may be barely noticeable. However, loss of
consciousness, even for such a short time, can make absence epilepsy dangerous…
Signs a person may be experiencing a petit
mal seizure include:
- staring off into space
- smacking the lips together
- fluttering eyelids
- stopping speech mid-sentence
- making sudden hand movements
- leaning forward or backward
- appearing suddenly motionless
You can
tell if a person is experiencing an absence seizure, as opposed to some other
type of episode that resembles an absence seizure, because an absence seizure
cannot be interrupted with touch or sound. Large-scale seizures may begin with
an aura or warning sensation. However, petit mal seizures typically occur
suddenly and with no warning. This makes taking precautions to protect the
patient important.
Petit mal
seizures typically last less than 15
seconds before the person returns to normal behavior. The patient does not
typically have any memory of the past few moments or the seizure itself. Some petit mal seizures last longer. These
are known as atypical petit mal seizures and can last several minutes.
While
petit mal seizures may have to do with the brain, they do not cause brain
damage… Falls do not typically happen during the seizure. A person can
experience petit mal seizures a dozen or more times per day without any ill
effects… Because the patient is unaware the seizure is taking place, others are
usually the first to notice the petit mal seizures.
(healthline.com/health/epilepsy/absence-petit-mal-seizures#Overview1)
My situation…
I was driving this
morning in downtown Vancouver on my way to a meeting.
The street has one lane
each way.
I heard a car honking,
but my brain was foggy for a moment…like I didn’t know where I was.
I was confused.
I was stopped…my foot was on the brake.
Cars were coming
towards me in the other lane.
There were cars behind
me (one of which was honking).
My first thought was
that I was at an intersection waiting to turn…I was confused.
No stop light.
No stop sign.
No intersection or side
street.
On both sides of me were
rows of businesses, and cars parked on the sides of the street. There was nowhere
for me to go other than straight.
I had absolutely no
reason to stop.
So why did I stop?
I DON’T KNOW!!!!
I don’t remember
stopping. I don’t remember thinking that I needed to stop.
I have no memory at
all.
However…
I am glad that I did
stop rather than something worse happening.
Why was that car
honking?
Was I out for a few
seconds and they were impatient?
Was I out for longer
and they were impatient?
What a jerk…some dude
is having a seizure in the car in front of you and all you can do is honk.
Luckily
I don’t have seizures that cause me to drive in reverse…that would give you a
reason to honk.
Maybe I’m just jealous
because I can never find the damn horn when I want or need to honk.
Back to my seizure…
I can’t tell you if it
happens often, but I can tell you that it happened twice about 4 years ago. I
can’t recall the details of one of the situations other than something happened
that cause me to loose time. I was on the bathroom floor that time though.
The second situation
was when I was brushing my teeth one morning. All I remember is brushing my
teeth…then I standing there looking at myself in the mirror. My electric
toothbrush was vibrating on the bottom of the sink. I had toothpaste in and
around my mouth. I don’t know what happened. I don’t remember dropping my
toothbrush.
That was scary…
Today was scarier…
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