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New to forum / new to epilepsy / new to trileptal
Sat, 01/24/2015 - 21:28Hello, My four year old had a seizure while sleeping in October, and then had one a week the past three weeks. The last seizure he had was while he was napping for his sleep-deprived EEG — we were rushed down to the ER after his seizure without being told that was protocol (scared the pants off of my wife and I) and then the doctor suggested we get an MRI, which we were able to do pretty much immediately. The MRI came back normal, and we haven't a chance to talk with the closest pediatric neurologist yet, but our pediatrician consulted with the peds' neuro and have said that he has some sort of benign childhood epilepsy.
So we decided to start him on Trileptal. He had his first dose last night and his second this morning. He was certainly much more sedate than his normal self — he's usually a nonstop ball of barely focused energy (as tiring as that can be, I love every second of it) — today he wanted to play a board game for hours and cuddle in bed reading books. Now, both of those activities were a fairly nice change from chasing him all day long, but I really don't want this medicine to slow him down or change who he is. He also complained the bulk of the day about his hand feeling numb, the doc on call didn't seem too concerned and thought that it might pass.
I haven't found much information about how little ones handle Trileptal and whether or not this drowsiness and hand-tingling might pass. Does anyone have experience with this? Any thoughts?
These past few weeks have been quite a whirlwind for my wife and I, not to mention our dear son. It sounds like his prognosis is very good and that he will most likely grow out of this — but it's still a lot to swallow and we have a lot to learn.
Thank you for your time, and thanks for being here.
All the best,
Brennan
WelcomeIt takes time for the
Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 2015-01-25 - 09:45
WelcomeIt takes time for the body to build get used to the medication and the dosages. I was diagnosed right before changing from a kid to a teen. Amy Jo did post right time is required for the levels to build and when the medications are started it will take a few weeks for your son to get used to it and the levels to build up. Medications for epilepsy are not a one size fits all dosage and medication. Generally after a period of time the neurologist wants a second visit so he can get answers to questions. Is he still having seizures? How is he adjusting to the medication? have there been any changes in his daily life style? There are others. At that visit ask questions yourself. With the answers you give the neurologist he will make adjustments to the dosages or even the medication itself. I would also suggest you get the My Epilepsy Diary. Watch the video. You have a note pad in it to note what happened in the seizure. If you give the neurologist permission he can bring it up on line and look at the graphs and other things which can help in medications, dosages and other procedures. If your son is taking medications 2 times a day make sure the dosages are 12 hours apart unless the neurologist has advised you differently. If taken at 8am then the evening meds should be at 8 pm. If taken at 10pm the dosage might cause a breakthru seizure. Like I said Amy Jo has good information too. I hope this helps...