The Epilepsy Community Forums are closed, and the information is archived. The content in this section may not be current or apply to all situations. In addition, forum questions and responses include information and content that has been generated by epilepsy community members. This content is not moderated. The information on these pages should not be substituted for medical advice from a healthcare provider. Experiences with epilepsy can vary greatly on an individual basis. Please contact your doctor or medical team if you have any questions about your situation. For more information, learn about epilepsy or visit our resources section.

Please help

Thu, 05/07/2015 - 12:29

Hi there,

My 4 year old daughter started having dizzy spells a few months ago - she would scream she was dizzy and run to me and dig her head into my chest absolutely terrified.  It would only last 10-20 seconds, but it terrified her and when I asked her what it felt like she said everything was moving around.  After they became more often - we went from pediatrician, to cardiologist to neurologist.  The neuro first thought it was benign paraxysmal vertigo but wanted to do a sleep deprived EEG just to "rule everything else out."  Well... skip ahead about a month after the EEG (and hardly any more dizzy episodes -its like they have almost totally gone away!) We go in yesterday for her EEG results.  Apparently there was one big spike during her EEG.  So the neurologist said with the one abnormality and her "dizzy spell" symptoms.. he is diagnosing her as epileptic and feels they were seizures.  Even tho they were short lived, she was completley coherent of what was going on..able to run to me and/or scream that she was dizzy in a panic.  They want me to start her on tomamax, but I said I would rather not yet since they seem to have almost disappeared entirely, but agreed I will pick up the medicine and if she has another, I will start it.  My question is..I am having a hard time feeling these are seizures and trying to research if this is a normal thing that can happen during seizures.  *I very well could just be in shock or denial).  Has anyone experienced this as their seizures or know of anyone who has?  I would greatly appreciate any and all responses.  Thanks is Advance!

Comments

To start with there are many

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 2015-05-07 - 14:42
To start with there are many different seizures, A person can be fully conscious in some and know whats going on. She could have been out of the seizure when she started running to you.The EEG is a brain wave test showing where in the brain impulses are coming from. You posted the neurologist said the abnormalities. Abnormalities could be spikes or waves. So the neurologist saw electrical impulses going off wrong in her head.Now as for someone having dizzy or weird feelings in their head it does happen. It happened to me many times but I paid no attention to them since they lasted a few seconds, Kind of like a weird feeling in my right hand lasting a few seconds. Doc had 2-25 different EEG's all came back normal. It wasn't until I had a grand mal and a weeks testing that anything was found. spinal tap and another test which would be an MRI didn't show anything. The last test was another EEG in which I fell asleep in. BINGO it showed abnormalities. By knowing where they were coming from the neurologists then went back to all the other tests and checked closer in that area. Well they came up with a diagnosis of Grand Mal, Petite Mal and Focal Motor epilepsy. Petite mal seizures would be absence seizures and they last seconds and look like the person is day dreaming. A focal seizure would be like a simple partial today and it too looks like the person is day dreaming.In my seizures that are simple partial I know what's going on. I see hear and understand what is happening. I just can respond at that point. A few seconds later and I respond as if nothing had happened. Basically I can have a seizure while standing in front of you and unless you knew what to look for you would know nothing about the seizure I had.It is better to get her on meds then wait for her next seizure or episode. I say that because the longer one waits the stronger the next seizure will be and they will get more frequent.I hope this helps and she gets seizure freeJoe

Thank you so much for your

Submitted by 76dragonflies on Thu, 2015-05-07 - 15:18
Thank you so much for your response. I never even thought that the dizziness and panic could be the result after the seizure.  The EEG was a sleep deprived EEG as well - but I am not sure where in the EEG the spike was (whether it was while she was awake going thru the flashing lights, etc or when she slept for half hour after that)  I am picking up her medicine tonight. Her neurologist had said it was fine if I wanted to monitor her more before giving her the medicine because the spike wasn't significant enough to cause them panic or fear... BUT... reading this.. I sure don't want to wait for something worse.  I just needed to hear that a fully coherent "Dizzy spell" could in fact be (or be from) a short lived seizure.  Thank you so much for your response.

Thank you so much for your

Submitted by 76dragonflies on Thu, 2015-05-07 - 15:36
Thank you so much for your response. I never even thought that the dizziness and panic could be the result after the seizure.  The EEG was a sleep deprived EEG as well - but I am not sure where in the EEG the spike was (whether it was while she was awake going thru the flashing lights, etc or when she slept for half hour after that)  I am picking up her medicine tonight. Her neurologist had said it was fine if I wanted to monitor her more before giving her the medicine because the spike wasn't significant enough to cause them panic or fear... BUT... reading this.. I sure don't want to wait for something worse.  I just needed to hear that a fully coherent "Dizzy spell" could in fact be (or be from) a short lived seizure.  Thank you so much for your response. (sorry.. trying to get used to this forum thing)

Sign Up for Emails

Stay up to date with the latest epilepsy news, stories from the community, and more.