Could you have a seizure issue without knowing it?

Yup. I have a friend who fell running a few times...turns out she was having seizures. I think she was having a few other odd moments too...but she runs marathons, so falling was out of the norm for her.

Yes, Often peoople having the seizure are unaware of it. The people around them notice 1st.

My son has epilepsy and seizes 1 to 2 times per week. He's lucky in that he always experiences an aura just before and is able to alert someone. He used to have "absence" seizures where he would just zone out. An EEG can detect seizure activity. He's had several ambulatory EEGs where he wears sensors for a few days while at home and going about normal days. This may be an option for your friend.

Absence seizures last a few seconds as you stare into space w/o shaking or movement.  You won't even notice that it happened and if someone calls to you then you won't even know that you were spacing out. That's how mine occurred. I was told that after a seizure you won't have any memory of having seized.   I never remembered.

It varies. My understanding is that in the UK you have to go 1 year w/o having had a seizure. In some states it's only 6 months. However, it's irresponsible to drive until your seizures are diagnosed and have been under control for a long time. Sometimes you have auras which tell you that a seizure is coming, but not always.

This is the type of epilepsy that my dh has. The doctors say that his epilepsy is a result of concussions. 

When dh was first diagnosed, he took short term disability while starting the meds and didn't drive. Now that he's medicated, he's fine to drive. 

His absent seizures can last much longer than a few seconds. He is unaware that he is having a seizure and doesn't remember afterwards.

The part of the brain used for driving is not the part that is affected by the seizures. Dh can drive perfectly the day after the seizure. Since he loses time and isn't completely aware of his surroundings, I won't let him drive, and he has a few coworkers who are aware of his condition and won't let him drive. They call me if they're having a hard time getting dh to listen. Dh can work from home, and he usually gets a bad headache before his seizure, so he takes his headache med and sleeps until the headache goes away. 

The seizures occur when dh is so stressed about work or something that he ignores his headaches, etc. and tries to push himself too far.

Dh's seizures are now under control. He rarely has a seizure anymore--maybe once or twice a year, and those are usually brought on by extreme stress or illness. 

We had no idea that the staring off into space and not listening/remembering was part of epilepsy. Dh went undiagnosed for years. His high school teachers thought that dh was being a jerk or had a learning disorder. His brother has had the same symptoms, and his sister had a regular seizure as a small child but hasn't had any other problems. 

My late DH never knew he was having seizures until we moved in together. He had one in the middle of the night and I immediately got him in to a neurologist. The only symptom he had the next day was that he had bitten the sides of his tongue. He finally connected the dots and realized this had been happening for years and he never knew because it was always while he was sleeping.

There are many types of seizures...many.

DS is 18 and has had a seizure disorder related to Autism since he was 3. He can not communicate that one is about to happen and doesn't know it happened afterward. His body locks up, many muscles contract, he loses the ability to communicate, his eyes glaze over, and he drools.

It lasts from 1 to 2 minutes.

Afterwards, he is so exhausted he *must* take a 2-hour nap.

They are mostly controlled by meds...but no med has ever controlled it 100 percent. He has breakthrough episodes about 5 times a year. Without meds, he has 3-5 a day!.

It breaks his heart that he will probably never be allowed to drive...but legally and morally, that's just not a risk we can take. It sucks.

Are you familiar with a Vagus Nerve Stimulator?  My son received one two years ago and it's made a huge difference in lessening the frequency and intensity of his seizures.  It doesn't work for all epileptics but this thing has been a godsend for him.

it depends on the state. Some say 3 months, others 6, other 2 years, and I believe in Arizona if you have one in the state you are not allowed to drive again.

Dh has epilepsy. When he had his episode that alerted us, it was about 4 months or so before he could drive. His neurologist had to clear him. He was 5a king meds and they had to reach a certain level. Colorado does not have a set time frame, but the doctor has to okay it.

My 11yo ds has epilepsy (diagnosed almost 2 years ago). He was having these episodes of staring off into space that lasted like 5 seconds. After seeing just 2 of them, we made an appt with a neurologist. He had an EEG and it was confirmed that he has left temporal lobe seizures. His seizures didn't last much longer than 10 seconds...but he could be walking or doing homework or playing basketball and he'd just kind of carry on. I remember one time he was carrying a plate and a cup to the sink when he had one...and there was no denying it was a seizure because he tends to lip smack afterwards and it takes him a second or two to be able to respond...but he continued to walk and carry the stuff without dropping anything. They started him on one med right away and it made the seizures more frequent and they lasted a little longer. They eventually switched his meds and he's been practically seizure free since. He had one seizure on Easter this year...but within a day we'd tied together that he was running a fever (and since his threshold for seizures is much lower than the average person, ANY fever can trigger seizures), plus it was really warm out that day AND add on that he was very excited because it was Easter. Thankfully he had an appt with the neurologist a few days later...and at that appt, we realized he'd gained 10+ lbs and since his meds are based on weight, he probably didn't have enough meds in him. Upped his meds a little and he hasn't had a seizure since.

He doesn't remember having seizures.  When they were happening frequently, we'd tell him you had a seizure. 

One of my best friends has epilepsy and he is unaware when he has a seizure.

I don't think so. My doctor wanted to test me to see if I was having seizures so she sent me for a seizure test at the hospital. They did it at 8 am (and I am not an 8 am person!!!) so the technician (who may have been a nurse, I am not sure) had me answer a bunch of questions and she decided I didn't have a seizure disorder. Then she had me lay on a bed and flashed a strobe like for about 30 minutes. I think I fell asleep about 5x. She kept telling me to wake up. According to her professional opinion she told me I do not have a seizure disorder. She would report the findings to my doctor.