Fried had fit at wheel of car - discharged from hospital same day, no tests - advice please!

[Hulababy]

This is posted on Katz's postnatal group and I posted elsewhere too. But still playing on my mond today and worried, wondered if MN can offer any further advice.

Scary morning yesterday for Dh and friends, well all of us really.

Dh, Katz's DH and a couple of other of the lads had a night out last night and stayed over at my place, whilst me and Mollie stayed at Katz's house. All good. Lads had had a good ight - a fair bit to drink but nothing major, two meals (!!!) and then loads of water that night and next morning. We were laughing at how sensible and old they were all getting!

So, Sunday morning one of the lads, P, started to drive Dh and Katz's DH back to Katz, with R following in his car behind.

2 minutes into journey, with no warning, P had a big fit at the wheel. DH and Katz's DH realised when car was drifting towards oncoming cyclist that something was massively wrong. P was shaking, foaming at mouth, glazed over, making funny breathing noises, etc. And with no control over the car which was no starting to swerve.

Luckily on very straight and wide road, although on downhill slope, but automatic car. Dh grabbed wheel and managed to control it, and then had to let go, get down in seat and stop car using the brake with his hands! And poor old Katz's Dh was shouting out at P to try to rouse him, and trying to guide DH too.

DH got ambulance, and Katz's DHmanaged to flag down 4 people, all of whom were doctors bizarely - good thing about living where I do! P was completely out of it, not a clue where he was or anything.

Dh accompanied P to hospital whilst other two got P's car back to our place, and then came over to Katz's house.

Managed to get hold of P's family via is ex wife, a good friend. They got to hospital after they managed to get hold of a car a few hours later. DH stayed with P until then, and passed on all details of what happened to the nurses.

And this is when I think it gets very worrying - P had no memory of this, no history, nothing to suggest it was going to happen. Hospital monitored his blood pressure and took a potasium and blood sugar level, and then a couple of hours discharged him. Saw a doctor there briefly. Doctor even just tried to suggest it might have just been him falling asleep at whelel briefly - both DH and Latz's DH know this was not the case and the symptoms presenting were definitely not indicative of this, and the doctor should have realised this from those notes! No explanation or anything, and no further tests. That's it. He had a big fit, at the wheel of a car, for no reason - and he was free to leave and drive again. He collected his car from us after leaving the hospital and went home on the motorway!

I am stunned he can drive straight away and they aren't doing any further tests or investigations. Is this normal? He could have injured (or worse) that cyclist, or himself, or the others. What if they'd been on a busier road or the motorway, what if he'd been alone in the car, or had had his 6yo son int he car, like he did yesterday, what if......? Doesn't this warrant firther tests before being free to get in a car and drive again?

Dh a bit shaken but okay. Katz's DH the same as is other friend. Must have been hard for those two as they had to just watch and couldn't do anything to control the situation - one from back seat, one from car behind. Dh didn't have time to think about it as he was the one in the passenger seat so was busy.

Very scary for all. Thank goodness they were all ok, and P seems to be ok, if no memory of anything at all. I don't think he has any sense of how serious it all was and how he could have injured himself and others, if not worse. If Dh had not controlled the car that cyclist was in direct path of the pcar to start with, and it was stone walls all along other side where golf club is.

This morning DH is a bit more shaken by it I think. At the time he was so busy just trying to control and stop the car, but now he has had time to do the what ifs, etc.

So - is this a normal discharge thing after a fit - no tests, no problems, just home and drive? P is back at work today, having driven on motorway and with no plans to see the GP!

not sure about that to be honest but i think its all based on medical opinion

not sure about that to be honest but i think its all based on medical opinion

hospitals don't do anything after a first seizure. DH has a brain tumour and is at risk of having seizures so he is not allowed to drive at all.

stickyj the dvla state no driving until a year after surgery

see here 1 year off from driving on page 6
I'm a GP and would recommend referral to neurologist if he came to see me.
Sometimes brain tumours can present with fits so it is in his interests to be followed up

He sees the GP tomorrow.

AFAIK is exwife has said their son can't go in car with him until it has been investigated too.

I've not much new to add but just wanted to add to the collection of stories about usual procedure in this sort of case.

DH had a fit about 2 years ago. His first (and hopefully last) out of the blue. This was in the centre of town and I was with him, he was taken straight to our local a&e attached to a large teaching hospital. They did some bloods on him but no further scans at the time. However their advice was NOT to drive and they referred him both to his GP and a consultant neurologist at the hospital. He subsequently got some scans which confirmed there was no physical reason for the fit.

He also had to surrender his license for 12 months and was strongly advised to stop windsurfing for the same period. I went to see the neurologist with DH and remember him saying that once you have had a fit you are on a declining risk curve for the next 12 months. The implication being that if you are going to have another one, it is most likely, statistically speaking, to happen fairly shortly after the first.

I do hope P's GP makes these points to him. Plenty of people have one fit only but he is at increased risk for the next 12 months. And not just him

Gizmo - that is the thing isn't it. It is the other people who are also at risk. My DH and Katz's DH were sat in that car, that cyclist was in the direct path of the car as P fitted and the car swerved. It was only because someone was in that passenger seat who was able to think fast enough to control the car that things were not worse.

I have just spoken to P's ex wife. P has now been to GP yesterday. He called DH on Monday for full details of what had happened too.

P has been referred to the neurologist for an emergency appointment - which will be in a couple of weeks. He has also advised not to drive until after that, which AFAIK he is abiding by.

He also isn't having his son unsupervised until then either as P himself suggested this, just in case anything did happen when they were alone.

So hopefully all will be begin to be sorted.

P's ex wife was also looking for advise on what to do about their little boy visiting P alone - for after the neurologust app depending on what is said then. She is thinking of getting him a basic mobile phone to take with him, with her number and grandma's numbers pre-programmed in, and also going throuhg the whole 999 thing in more detail. P has no land line at his house. Anything else she can be doing in this area?

How old is the boy? Is he old enough to be told about the recovery position, making sure nothing in his dad's mouth, moving things on the floor out of the way etc if his dad is having a fit?

He's turned 6 last month, in Y1.

Ooh, I'm not an expert about capabilities and understanding levels of 6-year olds. Not yet anyway!

Presumably he could be told if Daddy falls over and isn't well and is shaking, if there is anything on the floor that might hurt him, move it out of the way, then phone mummy or grandma or 999?
Probably not able to manage recovery position or checking mouth or anything though I would imagine?

Yes, I think that is the type of think sheis thinking of saying to him.

Not big enough for anything more physical. And been told to keep even adult fingers away from a fitting person's mouth - apparantly they can clamp their teeth together very tightly and can cause big damage to your fingers.

that makes sense about the fingers away thing, I've bitten my tongue badly several times.
My parents were advised to check I have nothing in my mouth I could choke on though.

Doesn't make sense does it, now I think about it?!

Hula - glad that progress is being made and he's off the road. Glad also that his GP has come good, a complaint really needs to be made to the hospital.