A MOTHER has told how she waited almost 38 years for her daughter to be diagnosed with epilepsy.

Margaret's Blair's daughter Martina, who suffers from learning difficulties, suffered decades of seizures but Margaret says it was never fully investigated and she was given countless prescriptions for other conditions.

They said it was only when she was taken to the Scottish Centre for Epilepsy in Glasgow, run by the charity Quarriers, that she was formally diagnosed and given the right support and treatment.

Is is thought that up to a quarter of patients are misdiagnosed and given unecessary medication for other conditions - experts say cases can be higher in people with learning difficulties.

Epilepsy carries a small but significant risk of fatality and was the underlying cause in 105 deaths in Scotland in 2013.

On Thursday more than 100 experts gathered in the city to discuss how to help ensure that other families do not go through the same ordeal.

New guidelines have been produced by SIGN, part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland, calling for epilepsy to be diagnosed by a specialist.

Martina was born with hydrocephalus, which left her with severe mental and physical disabilities.

The doctors told her parents that it was unikely she would live to see her first birthday and advised the couple to leave their little girl at the hospital. Margaret said doctors referred to her as a "vegetable".

Margaret, 65, said: "Martina will turn 38 in July and we have only just hit on what is going on.

"We always knew she taking something but it was just put down to seizures.

"All through her life she was on some form of medication.

"When she heard loud bangs in the street, she would put her hands up to her years as if she was going to have a seizure.

"But when we took her to hospital, the professor was banging things in her ear and nothing was happening.

"But I could take her out for a walk and she would hear a loud noise and it would put her into a seizure.

"She would just be given medication and it would maybe help her for a bit but it was still there.

"That's just been the pattern. It wasn't investigated long enough to find out what was happening.

"I think they didn't have the time to do it. That's the story through her whole life."

Nando Franchitti, 66, Martin's dad said: "We've had to fight for everything with Martina."

Epilepsy is a common neurological condition affecting around 54,000 people in Scotland.

Evidence shows up to a quarter of patients referred to specialists do not have epilepsy.

Margaret says Martina's health has been transformed since she was finally diagnosed at the Scottish Centre for Epilepsy in Glasgow.

She said: "She's more engaged, she is happier. She been taken off the medication."

Professor Martin Brodie, an epilepsy specialist in Glasgow, said: "People with epilepsy have long reported inadequate provision of information and advice.

"We know that getting things right at the start makes a huge difference to people with epilepsy - allowing them to work, start a family and live a normal life."

Sara Twaddle, Director of Evidence for Healthcare Improvement Scotland said: "It's important to get right the care that people with epilepsy receive and crucially this starts with diagnosis."