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I had a black lab that also had really bad ones and we ended up giving him phenalbarberthal(sp?) also for the rest of his life. He started at having them around the age of 4 and he lived another 9 years. He was a VERY good hunter and friend. He did have one maybe once a year while on meds but not bad ones like before. He never had them in the field only at home thankfully. He was about 90 pounds of muscle and energy, I used to throw the dummy down the stairs about 20 times so he would wear down enough to sleep. I really miss him.
Our Lab mix had epilepsy – start up when he was about 2, the vet said it was fairly common in Labs, and that was about the age it showed up. So while it is not uncommon, I wouldn’t call it “normal”. The vet perscribed phenobarbital, twice a day. About once a year (or more often if he had a tremor) we’d have his blood levels checked. The only thing to watch for is that phenobarbital will slow them down a little and can lead to weight gain. Good regular exercise will serve to counteract this and keep him healthy.