A friend of mine said he used to have epilepsy but that didn't seem right to me if you have it then isn't that it? Like something your just born with?

There are different types, there is childhood, and something triggers it to show up, but it will often go away.
Then there is others who get it for other reasons.

So yes, this is correct, they would have grown out of it.

I had seizures when I was 17 until I was about 28... I do not get them anymore. I grew out of them.