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Temporal Lobe epilepsy in 12 yo boy?

Thu, 08/31/2006 - 17:08
Hi my name is Sophie I have three children My middle son just turned 12 and has had trouble for quite some time. We think he may have TLE it was brought to our attention by a vigilant teacher my son has an appointment tomorrow with our prime care doc so we can get a referral to the children's hosp here in Arkansas and see a Neurologist there. When he was 2 months old he quit breathing at 3 in the afternoon I stumbled on him he was blue unresponsive pulse was barely there he was diagnosed with apnea and was on a monitor till he was 8 months between the age of 1 and 2 he had two febrile seizures he developed fine was above average never had any trouble that I can recall then at age 7 a few months before his 8th birthday he had a horrible accident rolled down a hill into hog panel fencing a wire went into his eye socket into the apex of the orbit severing his optic nerve he is blind now in his left eye and to this day has a tiny sliver of metal still in his head though they managed to save his actual eyeball (thank God) 2 months after that a closet door fell hitting him on his right temple he had to have 12 stitches I can remember much but I remember them telling me to watch him closely through the night 5 or 6 months after the accident that made him go blind his teacher informed me he was becoming a problem in class and that he must have ADD we went to our pediatrician and after an evaluation it was determined he did have ADD though I never felt quite right about that diagnosis we moved from calif to Arkansas and I decided to have him repeat third grade he had started having problems socially and third grade in calif had been so difficult for him He did ok was not on any med's or special care got through third grade ok at times it was rocky he would cry a lot space out a lot say he didn't belong I attributed it to missing calif a few times he even mentioned wanting to die that he hated his life Fourth grade was much the same at this point he was 10 and sometimes he would get angry not a regular angry but almost a rage in a near fugue state but he kept his grades up and was even accepted in the gifted and talented program. His father and I decided to put him in a private school for 5th grade. He was now 11, and it went wonderfully for the first month then I got a call that he had broken into an uncontrollable rage in which he was sweating rubbing his head over and over screaming crying and repeating over and over "I'm trying I'm trying" as the teacher and principle tried to calm him later I would find out he didn't remember doing any of that and still doesn't he went on to have a few more "meltdowns" I also began noticing that a lot he would seem to disappear even in mid sentence for a few seconds I thought it was a ADD thing or just him daydreaming things at school got bad after one HUGE "meltdown" and they asked us to come get him and he was given a 2 week "break" We found a hospital (mental health) for kids that would take him and he was assessed for 3 days they said he had ADD a conduct order unspecific and severe depression and anxiety. We found him a regular therapist and psychiatrist he has put on Lexapro and stratera things got a little better he would still zone out a lot some mornings he would wake in a bearish mood for about 2 months we had no angery "meltdowns" then he had 2 in a row the doc upped is Lexapro and he did ok for another few months in april the meltdowns started again and the school was finding itself ill equiped to handle him. He also had started having them here at home constatly complaining of headaches and stomach pains Now he is 12 and we took him out of the private school because they were threatening to expel him and we didn't want that on his record. This year he is in public school his last meltdown was about 7 weeks ago last time I caught him spacing out was yesterday Im sorry this is so long are we crazy to think this could be temporal lobe epilepsy or is my son just a problem child? Someone please help me

Comments

Re: Temporal Lobe epilepsy in 12 yo boy?

Submitted by slhmurphy on Thu, 2006-08-31 - 22:37
You are sooooooooo not crazy. Look up temporal lobe epilepsy on emedicine.com. It's heavy reading, but scroll down to the presentation section. You might recognize a lot of the symptoms. I have read a lot on epilepsy sights that sound like what you have described. Also, I am experiencing a lack of focus, along with other cognitive problems, so don't assume that your son has typical ADD. Feel free to read my blog and write me if you want to talk. Good luck, and tell yer son to hang in there...life gets soooo much better. Sam (mom of 3 including a 10 year old)

Re: Re: Temporal Lobe epilepsy in 12 yo boy?

Submitted by mom 2 three on Fri, 2006-09-01 - 07:37
Sam thank you so much for your responce! I have read so much on Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and on epilepsy in general in the last week that I could write a college paper on the subject. I figure though that the least I can do is get educated on the disorder so I can be a proper advocate for my child. I know there is a likelyhood this could be TLE or a number of other things I guess Im just looking for some support or validation or both lol Sophie

Re: Re: Re: Temporal Lobe epilepsy in 12 yo boy?

Submitted by slhmurphy on Fri, 2006-09-01 - 22:06
Oh honey, you got it! And whatever you need, look for it here! Good luck, and keep us posted! Sam

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