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I dated a girl for a while that had epileptic seizures. You could usually tell in advance when one was coming because she got irrationaly angry. Last time I saw her she threw a suitcase at me and when I dodged that she spit on me. Needless to say I never saw her again and went to some effort to stay out of the town where she lived. Would not have wanted her carrying a gun.

IME (family with epilepsy and diabetes) the two seizures are completely different. Usually with diabetes the seizures are preventable and stoppable, with epilepsy you just never know when they will strike and there is nothing you can do.

My husband's seizures are similar to how mamabearcali described diabetic seizures - preventable and stoppable. He takes anti-seizure medication every day to prevent them. But when they were tweaking the dosage, he had a couple of "sub-clinical" seizures, and he knew they were coming. He would get disoriented, he wouldn't make much sense when he would talk, and he would see "auras" (still not exactly sure what those are, but he says they come every time a seizure has tried to surface).
No anger or aggressiveness whatsoever.

So I guess they are different.

discoqueen wrote:, and he would see "auras" (still not exactly sure what those are, but he says they come every time a seizure has tried to surface).
.

An "aura" can be anything that is a warning or precurser to the actual seizure---It may be visual changes-spots, halos,etc.--may be sounds--hearing noises, may even be a funny taste in the mouth. But in people who have them, they are fairly consistent. Most people who get the auras recognize them and can take the steps necessary--either medically to prevent the seizure--or physically to make themselves safe

JustMe wrote:

discoqueen wrote:, and he would see "auras" (still not exactly sure what those are, but he says they come every time a seizure has tried to surface).
.

An "aura" can be anything that is a warning or precurser to the actual seizure---It may be visual changes-spots, halos,etc.--may be sounds--hearing noises, may even be a funny taste in the mouth. But in people who have them, they are fairly consistent. Most people who get the auras recognize them and can take the steps necessary--either medically to prevent the seizure--or physically to make themselves safe

Guess I should have clarified a bit more (need more coffee!) - he never described to me *exactly* what his auras were, so I don't know if it was visual disturbances or something else.
But he definitely knew it was coming, and would say "I think I'm about to have a seizure" which would set me in motion to grab his meds that would stop it from manifesting. We haven't had an issue in a very long time, but those meds are always close at hand. ;)

Sorry, OP, for hijacking.

kjolly wrote:I dated a girl for a while that had epileptic seizures. You could usually tell in advance when one was coming because she got irrationaly angry. Last time I saw her she threw a suitcase at me and when I dodged that she spit on me. Needless to say I never saw her again and went to some effort to stay out of the town where she lived. Would not have wanted her carrying a gun.

Pictures?

I've got to comment on this one, as I've successfully lived 43 years with Type I diabetes. As I grow older I seem to meet younger people that think snap answers and quick solutions are the best option. I would vocally question the competence of any physician that said he was going to suspend anything (including DL, CHL, library card, or forum membership). I accept that scared people feel the need to protect themselves from liability, but no one has the power to single-handedly take my property or rights. If your statement below is accurate, then the attending physician needs training. Or... a good talking to.
My two cents,
Nick




"by GJwitha45 » Mon May 14, 2012 12:28 pm

Blood sugar and acid got off a little this morning and I had a slight problem. Went to ER and all seems to be fine. Now the attending Dr. told me that he is going to suspend my drivers liscene as well as my CHL."

7 yrs ago out of the blue I had a grand mal seizure in a parking lot. Cracked my head open on the concrete. They could not figure out what caused my seizure. The hospital doc told me I could not drive for 6 months. I went to the neurologist after being released from the hospital and he said I could drive that there was no indication that I would have another seizure but if I did have another seizure then they would pull my license. Good Luck.

Diesel42 wrote:I would vocally question the competence of any physician that said he was going to suspend anything (including DL, CHL, library card, or forum membership). I accept that scared people feel the need to protect themselves from liability, but no one has the power to single-handedly take my property or rights.

True. He can't revoke anything but he may have a duty to report it to the authorities. We also don't know if the doctor said he was personally going to suspend the licenses or if he told the OP that he would report the second seizure in two years.

JustMe wrote:

discoqueen wrote:, and he would see "auras" (still not exactly sure what those are, but he says they come every time a seizure has tried to surface).
.

An "aura" can be anything that is a warning or precurser to the actual seizure---It may be visual changes-spots, halos,etc.--may be sounds--hearing noises, may even be a funny taste in the mouth. But in people who have them, they are fairly consistent. Most people who get the auras recognize them and can take the steps necessary--either medically to prevent the seizure--or physically to make themselves safe

Had a regular patient for a while who would call for EMS, telling the dispatcher that she was having an aura, and would be going into a grand-mal seizure in just a few minutes... her aura: she started smelling root beer. Definitely different!

Keith B wrote:I don't beleive there is a provision for a medical doctor to submit a request for revocation. I think I would tell him if he sends ANY information on your condition to someone who you have not authorized the release to, that you will fille a suit against him for violation of HIPA.

I agree.

Chas.

Afff_667 wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:Lawyer up. No ER doctor has the legal right to act as your regular attending physician when you have one already.

I don't believe that's true, although the term "right" makes it interesting. Anyone may file a written notice to Texas DPS detailing why he/she feels an individual may not be medically safe to operate a motor vehicle. The request may then be handed over to a medical advisory board through Department of State Health Services (DSHS) which may then recommend suspension of a drivers license to DPS. Then, the jumping through hoops begins to get the license unsuspended with the burden of proof being on the individual to prove that he/she is not a menace and is safe to drive again, including fees and taking the written and practical driving tests again. Verbal notifications to DPS are not accepted, so it does take some work to accomplish, but I'm sure most medical facilities have a form.

ER doctors are not legally bound to report these kinds of things but will very often do so as a cover yourself matter. The doctor being an ER doc is not relevent. Suppose an individual had a seizure, saw an ER doc, and no action was taken. By not reporting it, the doc, ER, and their respectve dogs may all become liable in court should an unfortunate accident occur and the plaintiff's legal counsel finds out about the seizure history, etc.

Where is that? Tex. Gov't Code §§411.186 & 411.187 don't authorize that. I also don't see seizures as a disqualifier in the statutory eligibility requirements of §411.172. Am I missing something?

Chas.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:

Afff_667 wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:Lawyer up. No ER doctor has the legal right to act as your regular attending physician when you have one already.

I don't believe that's true, although the term "right" makes it interesting. Anyone may file a written <SNIP>

Where is that? Tex. Gov't Code §§411.186 & 411.187 don't authorize that. I also don't see seizures as a disqualifier in the statutory eligibility requirements of §411.172. Am I missing something?

Chas.

I'd bet a weeks pay if YOU'RE missing it...it ain't there.

The following may be of interest:

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/DriverLice ... cation.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-dia ... l?state=TX" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When my wife had some fainting spells, her physician gave her a letter stating that under Texas law she could not drive for six months after an loss-of-consciousness incident for which no reason had been determined (assuming no further LOCs). I believe the letter cited a provision of the Texas statutes, but I don't have the letter handy to see what it was. Of course he didn't tell her this fact to face, he sent it by mail. At first we were under the impression that the DPS would be notified, but as far as we could tell, they were not (at least we did not receive any notifications from them). Apparently the only place he noted it (besides the letter) was in her medical record.

We suspected that particular medication was taking was causing the problem, and after she stopped taking it, the fainting spells ceased. After a period of time with no LOCs, he more or less agreed that the medication had been the problem, so after a further period she asked him to note this in her record so she could drive again (since the reason had been found). He messed around a bit, and by the time we were able to follow up, the six months were over anyway.

I don't know either what any of this would have to do with CHL. I would follow up quickly with personal physician.


A quick perusal of the Transportation Code appears to show that if DPS is going to suspend or revoke a license for medical reasons, they will have to get a board of physicians appointed by the Department of State Health Services to go over the case, and you should have an opportunity to provide your medical records to them (e.g. get your current physician's word in, in addition to the ER physician). Also, the DPS appears to have a statutory timeline that they have to follow in notifying you of any suspension and giving you the chance to contest it at a hearing. (Note that the notification can be sent by first class mail, doesn't require registered mail service).

All this is about driving licenses - I don't see what it has to do with CHLs either, but anyone can write a letter to DPS and complain about you and your CHL, I guess.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:

Afff_667 wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:Lawyer up. No ER doctor has the legal right to act as your regular attending physician when you have one already.

I don't believe that's true, although the term "right" makes it interesting. Anyone may file a written notice to Texas DPS detailing why he/she feels an individual may not be medically safe to operate a motor vehicle. The request may then be handed over to a medical advisory board through Department of State Health Services (DSHS) which may then recommend suspension of a drivers license to DPS. Then, the jumping through hoops begins to get the license unsuspended with the burden of proof being on the individual to prove that he/she is not a menace and is safe to drive again, including fees and taking the written and practical driving tests again. Verbal notifications to DPS are not accepted, so it does take some work to accomplish, but I'm sure most medical facilities have a form.

ER doctors are not legally bound to report these kinds of things but will very often do so as a cover yourself matter. The doctor being an ER doc is not relevent. Suppose an individual had a seizure, saw an ER doc, and no action was taken. By not reporting it, the doc, ER, and their respectve dogs may all become liable in court should an unfortunate accident occur and the plaintiff's legal counsel finds out about the seizure history, etc.

Where is that? Tex. Gov't Code §§411.186 & 411.187 don't authorize that. I also don't see seizures as a disqualifier in the statutory eligibility requirements of §411.172. Am I missing something?

Chas.

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/DriverLice ... cation.htm Same link posted by ELb...

Absolutely no reference to CHL, either.

Sorry, Mr Cotton, if I mispoke...I work very hard at staying in my lane. I admit that I do not have a specific reference to Tex Gov't Code, but I was a FF/Paramedic for many years and encountered situations similar to the OP's. The DPS page confirmed info that I was aware of through practical experience only.