The value of the EEG is to see if they can pinpoint any seizure activity in your brain. If they are sending it out for review, I wonder if it was a standard EEG or a qEEG. A quantified EEG uses more electrodes to map your brain for dysfunctional wave forms, not seizures. It can show brain dysfunctions that a normal EEG will not show.

The neuro-psych by Roseville does qEEG work and analysis.

The 'no driving' is a legal requirement. You need to be seizure free for six months to get your driving privileges back. You seizure history at the injury are enough to cause this loss of driving privileges.

There is an axiom about most neurologists. They are good at diagnosing tumors and seizures since both can be imaged with tests. The things that are not imagable, they usually have very little understanding.

You need to be looking at your lifetime, not your next drive down the road to 7-11. A seizure while driving can result in a six year jail sentence plus the memories of what you did to some other family. It is called vehicular manslaughter. Your awareness of your past seizure puts the burden on both you and the doctors.

I know what this is all about. I had seizures during high school. I had to wait 6 months to get my drivers license. Medication kept me seizure free.

I do not drive now, except in rare situations on very low trafficked roads. I do not drive highway speeds ever. My limit is about 35 mph. Faster than that can overwhelm my brain and cause me to space out. I have driven very little since May of 2001. My injury was Jan 16, 2001. I quietly deferred driving to my wife most of the time. My excuse was she like driving the BMW.

In May, she was following me on the highway from Winnemucca to Reno. She finally has enough of watching me wander across the road. She pulled me over and took over with my daughter driving her car. I 'fessed up to her a few days later as she was going to see the neuro with me.

It is tough not driving but the risk is not worth it.

<Mandatory Physician Reporting
There is a state reporting law for disorders causing possibly recurrent loss or lapse of consciousness, effective since 1939 but amended in 1988 to include Alzheimer’s-related dementia as a reportable condition. California Health and Safety Code Section 103900 mandates that physicians report patients over age 13 with these disorders to local health officers, who in turn transmit the reports (Confidential Morbidity Reports, or CMRs) to DMV.>

You can find this whole report at http://www.dmv.ca.gov/about/profile/...herFactors.pdf

adamphillips,

I will just give you a little history, but won't go into a long story. I had my first seizure in December of 2008. I was taken to the hospital. I had a CT scan and while waiting for results had another seizure, but the bed railing was down and I fell off of the bed and landed on my head. I ended up with a concussion, broken nose, two black eyes, etc. They put me on anti-seizure medication right away and I am still on them even though they haven't been able to tell me why I had the seizures. I was hoping it was just a "freak" thing, but while switching from one anti-seizure med to another, I had a break through seizure. They are not calling it epilepsy, just a seizure disorder I guess. I did have an EEG while in the hospital, but the results were inconclusive. The neuro on-call at the hospital said they saw abnormal brain waves and then when I went to see the neurologist that was assigned to me, she said that they were sleep waves. They never told me to stay awake during the EEG, so of course there were going to be sleep waves. I had a concussion and suffered 2 seizures. In Wisconsin, you can't drive for 3 months following a seizure. The first was during the dead of winter which got old fast and the next was in the spring/summer. I was really nervous to be driving again when I could. I was okay when it was just me, but when I had my kids with me it was really frightening. Seizures are nothing to fool around with. They told me that the only way to say for certain what was going on was to do a video EEG where they wean you from meds until they induce a seizure and then report the brain wave activities. If I would have had more than the 3 seizures that I have, I would think about it, but I am tolerating my meds fine and I don't want to lose my license again.

sheds and adamphillip,

The biggest concern I have about driving is the other car or cars. If there was a way to make sure that a seizure or loss of focus caused accident would not involve another vehicle, I would be more willing to take the risks.

Being concerned for your kids is understandable, but think of what your family would have to live with if their Dad/Husband hit another family head on and killed the whole family.

I still do some driving in low traffic conditions only on my good days. I used to have an antique car, a 1926 Chevrolet Suburban Woodie, that only went 35 mph. It was talk and very noticeable so others were very aware of me in traffic. It was only 1500 pounds so it would not do much damage to another vehicle.

I stopped driving it four years ago after having an accident with a circular saw. I had no recollection of how I cut my finger off. I decided that these minor losses of awareness were to risky.

So, please, consider the other cars and pedestrians before you take any risks. If meds work, great.

btw, I have a brain injured friend who was hit in a crosswalk by an inattentive driver on 10/16/1990. He used to be able to run a mile in 4:03. He ran half marathons at championship levels. He climbed the peak next to the Eiger. Now, he is limited to competing on an adaptive bicycle in the Para-Olympics. Visit a brain injury support group and see the people who were hit by drivers who were impaired or inattentive.

I was tested by the rehab driving instructor and she cleared me to drive. She had no idea what was happening in my head. Think white knuckles.

adamphillip, There is a driving rehab clinic in Walnut Creek. When I talked to them, they said that my neuro-psych assessment scores would be cause for license suspension.