I don't know if it would have prevented me from reaching this point of having seizures, but catching it earlier definitely wouldn't have hurt.
If it is any consolation, my brother went through the same thing you are experiencing, but of course it really isn't any consolation at all for you right now. He was sliding on the ice in second grade, slipped, cracked his head, and got a bad concussion, and had grand mal seizures all through his childhood. Almost drowned in two feet of water, hit a McDonald's with his car, and had some scary and embarrassing moments during his seziures and went through some really tough times with alcohol.
If it's any consolation to you, the damage to my brother was done the split second he hit his head on the ice. Nothing done afterwards could change that, except maybe catching the onset of the grand mal seizures quicker, but they usually are never caught on the first few. They get mistaken for fainting spells, spacing out, nodding off, etc., even though they are a lot more violent than that. Just happens.
The good news is he now controls his seizures 100% with medication. My brother now drives, doesn't drink, got a Gold medal in field archery at the Cornhusker games, kicks @ss at formal target shooting events with both handgun and rifle, shoots trap, and has better fine motor skills than 90% of the people alive. He had to give up the field archery after he slipped out of his tree stand and broke his wrist in two places (harness!). His spine was starting to go crooked anyhow from a 90 lb.(!!!) bow, so maybe it was time to hang that up as well.
To sum up,this no doubt will, as you have already said, suck short term, but don't give up. There can be light at the end of the tunnel, but it may be some trudging involved to get out of said tunnel and back into the fresh air and sunshine. You have my prayers.