Driving licence surrendered

carlosvr6 · 3 Oct 2006 at 13:35

After nearly 7 years of having a driving licence i have had to give it back to the DVLA cos i have been diagnosed with Epilepsy. It's only been a day and i already miss driving though i did and will get chauffeur driven into work by the missus everyday.

I hope i have a fit free year so i can start drving asap.

Phate · 3 Oct 2006 at 13:37

unlucky mate

When was the last time you had a fit? have you always suffered from it?

Firestar_3x · 3 Oct 2006 at 13:37

I know how bad this must be, the Ex couldn't start lessons cause she had an attack, scary scary stuff didn't know how to deal with it at first, when she was watching all her friends passing and driving around it was really hard for her.

All the best for the year, just get on the right medication

Freefaller · 3 Oct 2006 at 13:37

That's awful

I hope you have a clear year and get better soon. Hope it doesn't cause you too much aggrevation.

carlosvr6 · 3 Oct 2006 at 13:42

Phate said:
unlucky mate

When was the last time you had a fit? have you always suffered from it?

I've had seizures since my road traffic accident back in 1994 but they wrongly diagnosed this as migraine. I've only started getting proper epileptic fits this year- one in Jan and one in August. Now they say my seizure are to do with epilepsy and not migraine. I got advised to give up driving so i voluntarily gave it up. Was'nt easy but i did'nt want to be the cause of anyones death and suffer the guilt, even though i only suffer from nocturnal epilepsy.

Firestar_3x · 3 Oct 2006 at 13:45

Good on you, did the right thing for the correct reasons

Phate · 3 Oct 2006 at 13:50

carlosvr6 said:
I've had seizures since my road traffic accident back in 1994 but they wrongly diagnosed this as migraine. I've only started getting proper epileptic fits this year- one in Jan and one in August. Now they say my seizure are to do with epilepsy and not migraine. I got advised to give up driving so i voluntarily gave it up. Was'nt easy but i did'nt want to be the cause of anyones death and suffer the guilt, even though i only suffer from nocturnal epilepsy.

Let me say I think you made the right choice

good on you for doing it.

Have a cookie!

pinkaardvark · 3 Oct 2006 at 13:57

Would you not have been better just to keep your license but not use it for a year?

paradigm · 3 Oct 2006 at 13:58

pinkaardvark said:
Would you not have been better just to keep your license but not use it for a year?

More temptation then though.

Phate · 3 Oct 2006 at 13:58

pinkaardvark said:
Would you not have been better just to keep your license but not use it for a year?

Could you trust yourself not to drive AT ALL for a whole year if your license was in your wallet? and you had a car?

carlosvr6 · 3 Oct 2006 at 14:00

Firestar_3x said:
Good on you, did the right thing for the correct reasons

Been in an accident before where my friend died (passenger). Got a lot of things said to me at that time even though i was a passenger myself. Felt guilty then even though i could'nt have done anything to prevent it. In all fairness though you could'nt blame the driver cos he was'nt speeding (doing 70 on a dual carriageway) and got two blow-outs, lost control and went into a lampost. He got a lot of grief cos he walked out unscratched.

pinkaardvark · 3 Oct 2006 at 14:01

Phate said:
Could you trust yourself not to drive AT ALL for a whole year if your license was in your wallet? and you had a car?

I wouldn't keep it in my wallet and I would get rid of the car though.

carlosvr6 · 3 Oct 2006 at 14:03

pinkaardvark said:
Would you not have been better just to keep your license but not use it for a year?

Easier to get back if you hand it in rather than them take it off you. Besides i can get help towards travel costs to work if i hand it back and beleive me on my wages every penny counts. I do get promoted next month though.

cleanbluesky · 3 Oct 2006 at 17:28

carlosvr6 said:
After nearly 7 years of having a driving licence i have had to give it back to the DVLA cos i have been diagnosed with Epilepsy. It's only been a day and i already miss driving though i did and will get chauffeur driven into work by the missus everyday.

I hope i have a fit free year so i can start drving asap.

May I ask about the sequence of events that lead up to this, including what made you seek help, when you had your fits etc?

silversurfer · 3 Oct 2006 at 17:32

I used to work with a guy in a similar position and after cycling to work 5 miles and back every day for a year, he was all clear and got himself a nice new motor

2 blow outs though? :confused:

penski · 3 Oct 2006 at 17:35

silversurfer said:
I used to work with a guy in a similar position and after cycling to work 5 miles and back every day for a year, he was all clear and got himself a nice new motor

2 blow outs though?

I've been in a 535i that had a front offside blowout, the debris from which ruptured the rear offside tyre, pitching the car into the central reservation and rolling it.

It kind of went *BANG* *wobblewobble* *BANG*

*n

commodore16 · 3 Oct 2006 at 19:09

Sorry to here this, you are being v. sensible about this, though did I read right that your epilepsy started due to a head injury in a road accident, or was it already present beforehand?

carlosvr6 · 4 Oct 2006 at 09:37

cleanbluesky said:
May I ask about the sequence of events that lead up to this, including what made you seek help, when you had your fits etc?

Partial seizures after accident in 1994 which i though were migraine all this time. Epileptic fit in January but had to have more tests done for a full diagnosis - EGG, Sleep deprived EGG, Various scans etc. I was told at the time that i might have to stop driving but i explained to my specialist epileptic nurse that it would be difficult due to travel for work. After my fit in August which really confirmed my epilepsy (nocturnal) i was advised that i should give up my licence and get in touch with Access to Work if i'm having trouble getting to and from work as they might be able to help.

I got in touch with ATW and after asessing public transport routes/costs from home to work they agreed to pay towards the extra costs/mileage that my wife does getting me to and from work so there was no reason left not to give my licence back.

silversurfer said:
2 blow outs though?

Yes mate two blow outs. Must have been something on the carriageway.

commodore16 said:
Sorry to here this, you are being v. sensible about this, though did I read right that your epilepsy started due to a head injury in a road accident, or was it already present beforehand?QUOTE]

Although they cant be 100% sure they thinks it's due to the head injuries i got in the car accident. Good medical history and never had fits or seizures before this time.

sidthesexist · 4 Oct 2006 at 11:41

carlosvr6 said:
After nearly 7 years of having a driving licence i have had to give it back to the DVLA cos i have been diagnosed with Epilepsy. It's only been a day and i already miss driving though i did and will get chauffeur driven into work by the missus everyday.

I hope i have a fit free year so i can start drving asap.

my dad had the same thing a few years ago, they also removed his hgv1 from his licence when it was returned and stated that he wouldnt get the class1 back until he has spent 10 years without a seizure and without taking and meds :eek:

carlosvr6 · 4 Oct 2006 at 12:12

sidthesexist said:
my dad had the same thing a few years ago, they also removed his hgv1 from his licence when it was returned and stated that he wouldnt get the class1 back until he has spent 10 years without a seizure and without taking and meds

Thought it was ok to be on medication as long as your seizure/fit free. Well that seems to be the case for a normal car licence anyway.