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Oh! No! Another EEG for 2 Year Old!

Tue, 08/31/2004 - 16:04

I am so overwhelmed right now!  My 2 year old has been taking Depakote for 3 weeks and there has been no change in the number of seizures that he has each day.  The doc has increased the dose 2 times but still no improvement.  He still continues to have 10 seizures per hour.

We have noticed now that his eyes roll up and his head tips back.  (These are absence seizures.)  That is different than the staring that we saw in the beginning.

Now the doc wants to do another EEG!  The first one was a nightmare!  He screamed and faught my husband and I for 1 1/2 hours!  There is no way he is going to willingly lie down, sleep-deprived, wrapped like a mummy in a sheet for restraint, with wires on his head!

Why would the doc need a new EEG?  The other one was only 3 weeks ago!  My mind is going a thousand miles and hour!  Is it a tumor?  Is he diabetic?  I was so optimistic that the meds would work...  Please, somebody reassure me that this is normal procedure for diagnosing seizures. 

My hubby and I are teachers and we just started the new school year.  I have so much on my mind right now!  I would really appreciate any advice on making an EEG for a 2 year do-able or and hearing about experiences that you have had! 

Thanks!

KB

Comments

RE: Oh! No! Another EEG for 2 Year Old!

Submitted by amazinglucille on Tue, 2004-08-31 - 05:27

my son was 3 when first diagnosed

it was so hard to get his "med cocktail " right. i feel your pain. i was lucky to get a wonderful eeg staff. my son has had 6 eeg so far .maybe you should try getting them to put a big bed in the room and let him sniggle with you or dad for awile before the test begins. maybe make a game out of putting the wires on his head. make a ski hat with wires coming off it for play around the house . my son loved that hes a hat freak.

please dont feel discouraged it is hard to get little ones to cooperate in the best of circumstances let alone a strange enviroment. ow yea my nurologist told me the frequent eeg in the begining were to see how his brain patterns are cycling and to possible find a trigger.ask all the questions you want and if they dont answer get more forcefull thats your son no one elses make them explain whats going on. i drove calebs neurologist nuts in the begining with my notes and all but it makes you feel more in control than when you 1st start. the most important thing ive found is knowing whats going on and why.

have they diagnosed the cause yet for his seizures? it must be scary for you that he seizes so frequently, its a little diffrent for my son his last for hours at a time one siezure was 4 and 1/2 hours long.but thankfully hes alright know his cocktail is finally right , im sure they will find the right one for youe son. have they tried any other meds yet? or combos caleb took 6 months to finall stablize him.  any way i hope my suggestions work for you. please feel free to email me if you need any other advice ill give what i can based on my experiances. please dont feel alone you are not.

amazinglucille@yahoo.com

or as ive read over this i relized its longwinded and rambling but i hope to help plz let me know if it does

my son was 3 when first diagnosed

it was so hard to get his "med cocktail " right. i feel your pain. i was lucky to get a wonderful eeg staff. my son has had 6 eeg so far .maybe you should try getting them to put a big bed in the room and let him sniggle with you or dad for awile before the test begins. maybe make a game out of putting the wires on his head. make a ski hat with wires coming off it for play around the house . my son loved that hes a hat freak.

please dont feel discouraged it is hard to get little ones to cooperate in the best of circumstances let alone a strange enviroment. ow yea my nurologist told me the frequent eeg in the begining were to see how his brain patterns are cycling and to possible find a trigger.ask all the questions you want and if they dont answer get more forcefull thats your son no one elses make them explain whats going on. i drove calebs neurologist nuts in the begining with my notes and all but it makes you feel more in control than when you 1st start. the most important thing ive found is knowing whats going on and why.

have they diagnosed the cause yet for his seizures? it must be scary for you that he seizes so frequently, its a little diffrent for my son his last for hours at a time one siezure was 4 and 1/2 hours long.but thankfully hes alright know his cocktail is finally right , im sure they will find the right one for youe son. have they tried any other meds yet? or combos caleb took 6 months to finall stablize him.  any way i hope my suggestions work for you. please feel free to email me if you need any other advice ill give what i can based on my experiances. please dont feel alone you are not.

amazinglucille@yahoo.com

or as ive read over this i relized its longwinded and rambling but i hope to help plz let me know if it does

RE: Oh! No! Another EEG for 2 Year Old!

Submitted by tibet2 on Tue, 2004-08-31 - 11:43
lucille's ideas are very good ones. my oldest sat on my lap forever when it came to the dentist... and he took his "lovey". since your little one isn't responding to the depakote as one would expect, i think it is reasonable to do another EEG. meds can change what an EEG looks like. and that's maybe what the doc is looking for. maybe there was too much movement artifact on the first EEG... you can ask the doc what he is looking for and why he needs the test.... i know sometimes it doesn't seem like you can... but you can! he's your little guy! the doc isn't looking for a tumor with an EEG... he would be scanning (MRI, PET, CAT) if he were looking for that... and the word "tumor" is used for any sort of odd thing in the brain... including things like cysts... if the doc were looking for diabetes that would be blood and urine tests... has your little one had a full blood work up done? seizures can be secondary to other problems... they can be a symptom... sometimes seizures are a symptom of something as simple as gluten intolerance... i know a mom's mind races when something is amiss with her child. but stay as calm as you can... and ask the doctor what they are looking for.

RE: Oh! No! Another EEG for 2 Year Old!

Submitted by WashkuhnR on Tue, 2004-08-31 - 12:03
If when you say another EEG you mean a second or third, there are sometimes things that don't show on one that do on others, especially if he would have a seizure during a EEG. I went to a hospital and they tried to make me have a seizure, of course then I didn't. But thats not unusual. If it were me I would suggest the doctor start looking into a different medication. Depakote is a very good medication for some, but that doesn't mean it's good for everyone. Everyone is different and there are many medications. It's time to try something else. Good luck to you, Robert Washkuhn

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