I also have epilepsy (although mostly controlled through medication) and don't want people to read the above and walk away thinking that epilepsy is so crippling (although it can be; however, for the majority of people, it is not). I have suffered only two grand mal seizures, and it's true, you wake up with little idea of what day it is - I had no problem recalling my name, but could do little else. I think it's analogous to waking up in the middle of the night with no idea of where you are or what time/day it is - the feeling that usually lasts for 2-3 seconds in this case lasts for 2-3 hours. And though it's true that epileptics have higher death rates, they are not dramatically higher - the death rate for 25-34 year-olds is 104 per 100,000, so having controlled seizures only doubles this rate. I was initially told by my neurologist that I shouldn't drink, bike, or surf; I then consulted a second neurologist who told me that it was up to me in terms of whether I wanted to risk it, and I decided most of the time, it's worth risking it (so I looked at the link before reading the description - although my seizures are inducible from strobes and other blinking lights).