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6 yr old daughter having seizures

Wed, 05/10/2006 - 00:53
Hi I'm new here. My name is Michelle, I have 3 girls (17, 6, and 4 yrs old). My 17 yr old was diagnosed adhd age 7, ODD age 13, and then Bipolar at age 15. My 4 year old has asthma. My 6 year old is having seizures. I'm sorry this is long. Talking helps me clear my mind and helps me to think straight. Get things in order. Cameryn is 6 and her first seizure (that I know of) was a febrile seizure at age 4 which lasted several minutes (10-15). Her eyes were open and her legs stiffened all out straight like a board (and they literally felt like a board). Her arms folded in to her chest and her fingers looked as though she had terrible arthritis and very stiff also. Took her to the ER and they checked her out and sent us home marking it up to high fever seizure. The next seizure that I 'realized' was in June of '05. She normally pops out of bed and wakes quickly. This particular morning she got up slow and was just kind of slow moving, slow thinking, not verbal. I was getting frustrated because we had to be to her psychiatrist appt. and she just wasn't moving and seemed kind of dazed but moving slowly. I guided her to my computer chair and she sat down I sat down a few feet away and looked at her and first she was picking at what would have been her sleeve except that she had a short sleeve shirt on, then she had this blank stare, sitting upright, and she could not hear me calling her or flagging my arms for a couple minutes. She suddenly wet herself and looked down real confused and dazed. Afterwards, She couldn't find the words to objects (bales were pencils, cows were erasers, etc...) and while in the car became very restless and kept unbuckling herself moving from seat to seat and very chatty. When we got into traffic she asked 'where all these people were going' a couple times, and then 'where were all these people taking us' a couple of times. She wasn't quite back to normal for a couple hours. I had been noticing confusion, repetitive questions, time lapses and memory loss in the past year especially recently (last couple months). Also many behavior problems, hyperactivity, restlessness, oppositional, constantly sneaking out of the house on her own day and night. I've called the police to find her on 3 occassions since she was 3 years old. Friday, I had her to a child neuropsychologist (initial visit) he wants to run a EEG (24 hour). I have been researching and reading and reading about seizures and I feel AWFUL because there have been SO many signs long before now that I marked off as other things. One night she woke up clearing her throat for an abnormal amount of time and then started smacking her lips (sounded like she was eating, and then rubbing her fingers together). I thought she was dreaming. This lasted 2-4 minutes and then she laid back down and went back to sleep. Another time I now recall when she woke up and was laying down but pedalling her legs. Again I thought she was dreaming. Many, Many times looking back there was clear confusion, oddities that were overlooked. The past year she was seeing a counselor and psychiatrist for possible ADHD or Bipolar. He had prescribed Clonidine to help slow her down because it is a blood pressure medication that has a calming effect. That helped slow her down and sometimes it helped her to get to sleep. She is up a lot in the night. Sometimes she pops out of bed at 2 am, 3 am, 4 am, etc...rearing to go for the day. Sometimes it seems she requires very little sleep (4-5 hours).

Comments

Re: 6 yr old daughter having seizures

Submitted by txrhb1 on Mon, 2006-05-15 - 08:23
Hi Michelle, My daughter is now 23, and was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 9. I was re-diagnosed w/epilepsy at age 47, so I certainly understand how you are feeling. I was originally diagnosed at age 19, but didn't believe it, and missed many, many signs of it over the years. I am glad to hear you have taken her to a child neuropsychologist, and hope you get some definitive answers. Sometimes, it's a bit of a long road to get a proper diagnosis, but don't give up. Anytime you have questions, post them here on this site - there are many wonderful and caring folks who will respond. ((( hugs ))), Barbie *************************************** "We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can fly only by embracing each other." -lucian de crescenzo

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