Ok... I'll attempt to not drag this out (but I can't make any promises). Does anyone here have any history with seizures? Let me explain... Our 10 year old (Andrew) was admitted to the hospital this summer for a 30 day evaluation because of his extreme behaviours. While he was there, the doctor has asked about family history, prenatal health, etc (all the normal stuff). There is a history of seizures on mom's side of the family but we thought 'no biggy'. The doctor opted to perform an EEG because of Andrew's mood lability and the family history. He told me he would call me with the results - IF there was anything abnormal with it. I received his discharge summary a week ago (he's been home for two months now) and The report goes on to say that he talked to the parents (I'd like to know who the parents were because he didn't talk to us about it). Here's my background in nursing and I have no clue what this all means (we don't look at EEG's or attempt to figure out what they mean) - I can't say that I have worked with many seizure patients before so I'm clueless of all the types of seizures there are. I've been digging around online tryin got figure this all out...looking for answers, wondering if the behavioural issues we have fought so hard at school about are actually seizures we had no clue about. Does anyone have any experience with seizures? I guess I'm thinking of the simple partial seizure type or the Jacksonian type. Andrew is a doll! I love him dearly but his moods are so volatile at the best of times - turn on and off like a light switch with absolutley no "warning" that he's about to blow - he does it and then snaps out of it just as quick as when he went into one of these (what we had previously called) 'fits of rage'. The more I sit and think about it, the more I think he may have been misdiagnosed and until we treat him properly, we're going to continue having these problems. I had promised Mom when they were going to do the testing that there wasn't any point in worrying about it - we've gone this long without knowing; worrying wasn't going to change it. While I still stand by that I would like to know what the results mean and whether we should be looking at other treatments (maybe getting him of the anti-psychotic he's been on for his behaviours and treated properly). Do you have any experience with this? Would you please pray for the right diagnosis and treatment plan?
hi brenda, i have the same education as you, lpn, but this is just a thought. could his rage be some form of seisure?? sorry about the spelling, fin is as always sleeping on my left arm i am praying for your family. tracy
Hi, Brenda! I'm sure not an expert in seizures, but I did have students in my class that were seizure prone. They are common in special needs kids. Our nurse would address them every year at the beginning staff meeting. There are actually zillions of different kinds of seizures, depending on what section of the brain is effected. People usually consider epileptic seizures, but this is just a small amount of them. There are actually seizures where the persons tastes or hears or sees things, because they occur in those sensory areas of the brain! What does he usually do when they occur? Are you even aware they're happening? I would agree that perhaps his behavior could be uncontrolled on his part due to the seizures, at least to some extent. I'd also contact the doctor that filled out the report, and tell him you would LOVE to have this supposed consultation. I would ask exatly WHEN it took place..... (Oh yeah! I guess he DID mention the possibility to you when the tests were first done. That counts, right? :roll: ) If you ARE aware when the seizures occur, you need to DOCUMENT them as accurately as possible. If he's having a fit of some kind (compared to blanking out for a few seconds), jot down the EXACT TIME it starts and finishes. This is because it sometimes feels like five minutes when it's only one or two. Make careful note of WHICH BODY PARTS or his BEHAVIOR while it's occuring. This is very helpful information for the doctor, because it gives them clues as to EXACTLY WHERE IN THE BRAIN the seizures are occuring. Rarely does a child go into the Doctor's office and oblige them by having a seizure. Also, it helps to have some idea of the frequency at which they're occuring. As far as meds go, if he's put on meds to control them, they will probably need adjusting as he grows. Everything will be fine for a while, and then he'll start getting them again for no reason. That simply means he's growing and his body has outgrown his meds. I hope this is helpful! Again, I'm not an expert and have had little "actual" experience with them. It's mostly what I've been taught.
I have a high school friend whose daughter has seizures and what she does is whirl in a circle with her head up in the air for a few moments and then will wind down and come out of it. Feels very strange for a little while then settles down to normal. I had never heard of that before.
I worked with a lady who was epileptic. I once asked her if she could feel them come on and she said no. She said nothing in particular would bring them on. I wondered how she could drive like that, plus we worked around machinery. She is a very heavy lady, and her doctor actually encouraged her to not diet, because he was afraid the changes in her system would make the seizures worse. He told her to maintain her weight, and try hard to not gain more.
Today alone has been a wild day here. Andrew (the child in question) was the first to be ready for school, but as bus time approached he deliberately doddled and missed the bus (I don't have a car right now so I couldn't drive him to solve that problem). So onto the table a large pile of books landed and he had to work in them (he thought he was going to laze around and do nothing). We've had problems with him in the past where he would come up with reasons why he shouldn't or couldn't go to school and then not want to work - we've worked exhaustively to keep him in school and have told him that if he misses the bus (or comes home "sick") that he would be working - he tried to convince me he was sick this morning saying he was going to vomit all over his books - I didn't fall for the game (and he wasn't sick - it was a mind game he was trying to play with me). Anyway... I have a couple computer programs for the boys - math, science and language arts accelerator's that I allowed him to work with after he completed some book work... these are simple games that reinforce the material he has been learning; cute little games, etc. Out of no where, he started into one of his fits (growling, shoving things, etc). I went to see what was going on - he claimed to be frustrated over something... he came away from the computer for a couple minutes (at my insistance) before I would allow him to go back. He was ok ... for awhile. Later this afternoon, he had two more episodes similar to the first one except they happened while he was playing a game with his younger brother - he was again growling, throwing things, hitting the walls this time and really agitated for no appearent reason... it concerns me when he like this because he could easily strike out to his younger brother (which he has done in the past). He had his risperdal this morning and no extraordinary events took place that shold have caused him to blow up like this. He has been absolutely miserable most of the day and so he went to bed earlier than usual tonight (and I can tell you he was not impressed with me in the least). He has an appointment with his child psych on Wednesday, at which time I will ask him about the reports and ask him to look into it more (and to make a point of telling him I had no idea about the EEG until I read it). I am so absolutely frustrated by all of this - I wish I had the answers I long to have, but more importantly, I wish I knew how to treat it. As of right now, Andrew is on Dexedrine (he's also ADHD and ODD - Oppositional Defiant Disorder) and the Risperdal. I would give anything to have a perfectly healthy boy without these issues... Jackie... thank you so much for your post... I feel stupid for even have to ask others. Being in nursing I suppose I should know this stuff, but I don't work with it enough and all we really concentrated on were seizure precautions, and we concentrated more on epilepsy because it tends to be the more common one.
Brenda~ I'm so sorry about your day! Sounds like it was frustrating, to say the least. I'll be praying for you, and for Andrew, that tomorrow is a better day. I know you already asked me about Ashley's seizure disorder and I told you a bit about it~ it's called Benign Rolandic Epilepsy~ and it's a childhood epileptic disorder that she should (hopefully) outgrow by age 15. I had actually thought that we may be done with it; then, as I told you yesterday, she had another seizure yesterday morning. Turns out, she had one last night too. So, now she's back in a stage of being frightened to go to sleep (and understandably so). Anyway, I just wanted to comment on some of the above posts...... First of all, in response to Becky's post~ Ashley CAN feel her seizures coming on. I told you that her "partial" seizures involve her mouth and tongue~ she will feel a GrandMal coming on when her tongue goes numb~ but by that time, she can't talk anymore, so she can't call for me. Normally, she makes a really strange throaty noise that alerts me (last night, unfortunately, I didn't hear her). When she comes out of the seizures, it takes several minutes before she can talk or move her limbs. It's very scary. I think most adults with epileptic disorders are unaware of when they will hit (like Becky's friend). I guess I'm glad that Ashley is aware, as I've warned her not to try getting out of bed, etc. In response to Jackie's post~ yes, she is so right~ you want to document EVERY LITTLE THING! If they pursue having him tested further for a seizure disorder, they will question, question, question. Ashley was referred to a pediatric neurologist and she asked EVERYTHING. They will ask questions about your pregnancy with him and want to know tons of stuff about your medical history, etc. They will want to know dates, times, how long the seizures last, exactly how he acts, etc. Oh, I so hope that, once and for all, you can get to the bottom of Andrew's problems and come up with a solution that works for him. Poor kid~ has he ever mentioned feeling out of control during these times? As frustrating as it is for you, I'm sure it's scary for him to.
Brenda, reading through your post I'm reminded that television and computer screens can trigger seizures. Please understand that there are NO sure rules for seizures. Becky said her friend can't feel them coming on while Ashley can. What is true for one isn't for another. But something about the lights, especially if they are flashing, etc., can bring them on. I had a girl in my major in college who would have a seizure right before a big test. The stress of the test brought them on for her.
Strobe lights are a trigger for epileptics I do know that... Glenda had one triggered back in April by the lights at the church flickering (the sound guys were playing witht he lights even after we had told them that it could trigger seizures for a couple members). She also hesitates to drive at night because of the flickering of headlights... And some computer/Nintendo games give warnings right on the package that they can cause seizures (although I don't think we have any of those in our house - I'll have to double check on that one though.)
Our appointment with the doctor is tomorrow and needless to say I won't be leaving his office until I have a very clear diagnosis of what the abnormal EEG means and how to follow up with it... Andrew was back at school today... morning was fine but the afternoon was a total write off and we're not even sure what triggered him to blow. I had just spoken to the guidance teacher and asked her to pass on the message to his teachers that if or when Andrew had any kind of a blow out - no matter how big or small, I wanted to know wher it happened, whether there were lights flickering or not - all that kind of stuff... they didn't tell me what it was like today (I don't think they had time to look around with all they were faced with). A friend of mine whose son is bi-polar also has an appointment tomorrow afternoon (and he's experiencing some problems too) right after we are done - you might want to pray for the doctor - I think he's in for a hard afternoon :roll:
I've been reading some articles for my son with Tourette's Syndrome. Here is an interesting one I found: http://www.latitudes.org/articles/finding_triggers.htm I linked to it from www.nasponline.org (a respected source for information). They have alot of new findings about TS and alot of the symptoms and triggers seem like they could be linked to seizures and they mentioned EEG's, too. Here is that link: http://www.nasponline.org/publications/cq312tsresource.html
I have no more answers now than what I did when I left the house He did say to follow it up with our family doctor and to be seen by a neurologist who is more familiar with EEG reports and such and he also said he thinks we should probably have another one done - this time without any meds at all prior to the test (I think Andrew was on his Risperdal when the test was doen which would lower the seizure threshold if he was to have one). Pleas keep praying.
Brenda~ This is strictly my opinion (well, my pediatrician would agree)~ but I would highly recommend that you look for a pediatric neurologist. They are much more aware of problems that are associated with children and would be more "on top of things" so to speak. Ashley had to have a 2nd EEG done as well (our insurance covered neither of them). But, it's worth it, to get to the bottom of things and have some peace of mind. Even though Ashley is still having seizures, we know the cause and can better deal with it. Keep us posted (I know you will!),
My sister has epilepsy. I remember she was about 15 she had a spell where she couldn't move and felt like she couldn't breathe. It was scary for her. She takes meds to drive.
