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Adult Onset with Fever
Wed, 08/27/2014 - 19:27My husband had his first seizure approximately 3.5 years ago at age 53. He had another just over 1 year ago. And a 3rd this past May, 2014. Each time he's had a fever leading up to the seizure. He was started on Keppra after the first seizure.
After the 2nd seizure, the neurologist mentioned that we should call him when my husband has a fever, something that had rarely happened in our 25 years together. I called the on-call doctor after the 3rd seizure and he called in 3 days worth. My husband had a fever for 4 days, stayed home for 1 additional day of rest without a fever, and then returned to work for 1 day before we left for vacation. He had the last seizure while we were on vacation, thankfully after a long day of driving and safely in the hotel. I gave him 2 Ativan afterwards and 1 the next day before taking him to a walk-in clinic where we got enough to last the rest of our vacation. His neurologist added Lamictal after this last seizure and is weaning on them at one half twice a day now.
Now, he's has a fever again. He stayed home Monday after waking in the middle of the night with a fever. He returned to work, but came home yesterday and today feeling blah. He had a fever again tonight. So, we treat the fever with acetominophen or ibuprofen and lots of fluids.
The neurologist thinks that these fevers may be genetic. His brother is a full-fledged epileptic with seizures after a head injury in his teens. His father had seizures beginning in his 40s due to stress and probably drinking 3 or 4 glasses of wine each night after work. He still takes phenobarb daily.
I'm so confused by the fever issue here. Is is causing the seizure? It's never anything more than minimal. Usually less than 100 or 101. However it did hit 103 before the 1st seizure only. Can anyone give me insight as to what might be causing the fevers? Any help at all? My husband is riding the bus now until he's weaned on the new Lamictal med. He's frustrated and probably as scared and nervous as I am.
Thank you so much!
Sandy
Sandy's P.O.V.
Stress and lack of sleep was
Submitted by sandysandmeyer@yahoo.com on Sun, 2014-09-07 - 20:47
Stress and lack of sleep was a huge problem for my husband. This and the fever were what caused his seizures.We had a new development this week. My husband had a huge reaction to the lamictal and was covered in a rash. It affected his mouth and face, but not his breathing or swallowing. He stopped taking it. Over the weekend it got bad again and we went to the urgent care clinic. He got a steroid shot and a steroid dose-pack. On top of the benadryl, he started taking Pepcid as well because that's another thing that helps. He has some thrush, but it's getting better. So, we have a new med (zonisamide) for him to start once the rash improves. And the fun continues...