Epilepsy?
History
My dad was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 18, in 1983. That was when he had his first seizure. He didn't have another seizure until 1999. This time though he was driving his truck. My grandma, mom, and little brother were in the back seat; and my grandpa and I were in the front (I was in the middle, in the little fold up seat that used to be in trucks). All I remember is my grandpa squishing me to get his foot on the brake pedal, and the fire truck that came before the ambulance got there to take my dad. If my grandpa hadn't been there, or if my dad had been driving by himself, that situation would have turned out a lot differently.
The next seizure occurred a couple months later when he was working at The Home Depot. The doctor was pretty sure the stress of being store manager combined with the loss of sleep from it was contributing to the seizures reappearing.
In 2007 my dad was away on a business trip in Atlanta, Georgia. He walked out of the hotel and fell to the ground from another seizure, the guy he had gone with called an ambulance. The next one was also the last one. We had all gone up to Pine Top to spend some time with friends. He went out shooting in the sun all day, and then stayed up drinking with one of his friends. The next morning he was washing dished in the kitchen and started having a seizure while one of the kids was there with him. The kid ran out saying he had fallen and when we got there he was convulsing. My mom called an ambulance because if he doesn't get a shot right after he has a seizure he always has another one. This was the trip to the hospital we learned my dad did NOT have epilepsy after all.
The next seizure occurred a couple months later when he was working at The Home Depot. The doctor was pretty sure the stress of being store manager combined with the loss of sleep from it was contributing to the seizures reappearing.
In 2007 my dad was away on a business trip in Atlanta, Georgia. He walked out of the hotel and fell to the ground from another seizure, the guy he had gone with called an ambulance. The next one was also the last one. We had all gone up to Pine Top to spend some time with friends. He went out shooting in the sun all day, and then stayed up drinking with one of his friends. The next morning he was washing dished in the kitchen and started having a seizure while one of the kids was there with him. The kid ran out saying he had fallen and when we got there he was convulsing. My mom called an ambulance because if he doesn't get a shot right after he has a seizure he always has another one. This was the trip to the hospital we learned my dad did NOT have epilepsy after all.
The Medication
For epilepsy my dad was prescribed 100mg of Phenytoin Sodium. He was supposed to take this three times a day, every day. My dad is a very independent person, and this medication made him have to be dependent on someone else. It completely ruined his motor functioning when he was on it. He was always slow, and his reflexes were terrible. So he never stayed on it for very long.
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Learning the truth
While in the hospital for the most recent seizure we learned that my dad doesn't now, nor has he ever had epilepsy. His body just reacts very dramatically to changes in his body. Every seizure he has ever had was triggered by stress, lack of sleep, low blood sugar, low potassium, or dehydration.
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