Community Forum Archive
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.
8 yr. old son with seizures
Mon, 04/03/2006 - 01:08Topic: Parents & Caregivers
I am so glad I found this site. My son had his first seizure in July. We were scared out of our wits when it happened. He had a "Grand Mal" seizure before waking up one morning and happened to be in his sisters room and she ran and got us. He has had a 4 more since then and was started on Trilyptal after the second one occured. He has had a battery of tests run on him including a sedated MRI, and EEG, plus a CAT scan. They don't come up with any reason for the seizures. With the exception of the first seizure which happened in the morning but he was in bed "asleep".......all the others he has been in bed either asleep or going to sleep. He feels them coming on and will stagger to get to me or his Daddy and then hit the floor and go in to the full seizure. The last two have lasted in excess of 5 minutes and the last seizure we used the Adavant dissolving tablet in his mouth. The only big difference we noticed in this seizure as opposed to the others was a significant paralysis on his left side for 45 minutes or so.
So we are new with this and it is so frightening but I finally feel in a little more control when it happens and can stay calm and do what is necessary to keep him safe and get him through it. He wants to talk about it a whole lot and we try to minimize it and I don't know if that's best. I guess we don't want him to feel like he is so different than anyone else and that there is something wrong with him.........but for him.......it seems to give him a feeling of having something "special". How do some of you handle this?
Comments
Re: 8 yr. old son with seizures
Submitted by rootbeergirl16 on Mon, 2006-04-03 - 22:28
Welcome to the site
My Daughter is 9 and was Dx in october of 2005 her Sz have only hit her as she is going to sleep or in that twilight waking state. I wish I had some awsome words of wisdom to share with you I can tell you with time your fears will ease alittle. I know that for us we talk about things alot in our little family my daught also has Cerebral Palsey and we talk about the fact that you have something different from someone else is not so different at all because we are all different some of it shows on the outside and some you can only see from the inside. I think sometimes for kids the unknown is more scary than the known. As a parent it is sometimes easyer to down play what is happening makes it easyer for us to deal with. Anyway I know you will find lots of info and support here if you would like you can always contact me thru the link on this site I wish you and your precious son and the whole family much peace and happiness and tell your son there are lots of kids out there just like him and we think that they are all special including him.
All the Best Pam
Re: 8 yr. old son with seizures
Submitted by alex2dunes on Thu, 2006-04-13 - 11:28
Hi, i just read your post and we are still soul searching on what is best!
my son is now 7 and was diag. at about 3.
he had the staring kind with alot of eye blinking to meny to count in a day, and only 1 grand mal that we are aware of!
even though we are slowley taking him off keppra now he is aware that he could have this happen again!
but i think he needs to become awre of his own body and our family sees him taking the meds, they need to feel comfortable too and what to do for him! right now he's scared, but we gave him the choice if he wanted to wait or test it out, our goal is to see if his seizures come back. the dr.s say 2 years are a good time to try with this kind of seizure, but i heard you should wait for 4 yaers.
We gave him the choice because we want him involved in his treatment and deep down my path is I'll be as honest with him, and i want the same back from him! So far this is working for us.
The only thing is i have told a few of our neighbors and they really want nothing to do with him, and his so sweet. If i had to that over again i would not metion it again!
just keep it to our family it's true that people put a lable on a person for a disability!
Re: 8 yr. old son with seizures
Submitted by tchaide05 on Mon, 2006-04-03 - 21:45
Me and you are in the exact same position right now. almost to a T. my 8 year old daughter had her first grand mal in July also. unknown to us she had been having partial seizures for a while, but nobody thought anything of it. She had am MRI and an EEG, and both came back normal. so we don't know why either. She had her first one around 3 in the morning. luckily, she was in our bed so we discovered it almost immediately. She had her second one in February at 5 am and then another one at 10:30. She has also been put on Trilyptal for the seizures. so far it seems to be working but I have notice a little bit of a behavior change. I am not sure if it due to the meds, or the typical 8 year old attitude. Would love to hear from you please feel free to email me. My daughter is actually dealing with it pretty good. I have read books and surfed the internet and she sometimes reads my books so that she can get an idea of what is going on. Have you talked with his school? I am finding out that they have been a great source of information for me. She just says that she has epilepsy but it is being controlled by medicine, no big deal really, I think I am more worried than her. LOL again please feel free to email me. My email is MicheleLehman24@aol.com