JenniferOcean
New Member
My fiance had a series of serious seizures approximately 8 months ago which he almost died from. Initally, he was on STD, but once he had been seizure free for two months the STD was discontinued and he returned back to work. My fiance is an employee of an oil company and he is routinely required to go offshore. On his last trip offshore, he presented his medications for check-in to the rig medic and was told that his Lamictal, which is his anti-convulsant, was not allowed on the rig. This medication is a maintenance medication and must be taken twice daily to prevent him from having any more seizures. He was then sent home and told he could not go back offshore until this was changed. We have seen both his primary care physician and his neurologist about this issue and neither can see how this particular drug could be a problem as is known to have some of the least side-effects in a class of drugs known for side-effects. My fiancé has been on this medication since his diagnosis and has remained seizure free. The doctors have agreed to medically clear him to return to duty immediately as long as he does not switch medications. If he does, then he will have to wait a month to make sure that there are no adverse effects from the change. Further complicating things is that his company wants to put him on unpaid leave in the interim, even going so far as to suggest he should try to get STD again which will not get approved because his doctors say he is okay. If he did have more seizures as a result of switching medications, would his company carry any liability as he was given a choice between changing this medication and keeping his job?
Just an additional note, if it was a medication such as Xanax, Valium, or painpills of any kind, I would understand and we would obviously comply immediately. This is his Lamictal though. You can't get high off of Lamictal!
Any and all suggestions/comments are greatly appreciated!
Just an additional note, if it was a medication such as Xanax, Valium, or painpills of any kind, I would understand and we would obviously comply immediately. This is his Lamictal though. You can't get high off of Lamictal!
Any and all suggestions/comments are greatly appreciated!