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Adult Onset with Fever
Wed, 08/27/2014 - 19:27My husband had his first seizure approximately 3.5 years ago at age 53. He had another just over 1 year ago. And a 3rd this past May, 2014. Each time he's had a fever leading up to the seizure. He was started on Keppra after the first seizure.
After the 2nd seizure, the neurologist mentioned that we should call him when my husband has a fever, something that had rarely happened in our 25 years together. I called the on-call doctor after the 3rd seizure and he called in 3 days worth. My husband had a fever for 4 days, stayed home for 1 additional day of rest without a fever, and then returned to work for 1 day before we left for vacation. He had the last seizure while we were on vacation, thankfully after a long day of driving and safely in the hotel. I gave him 2 Ativan afterwards and 1 the next day before taking him to a walk-in clinic where we got enough to last the rest of our vacation. His neurologist added Lamictal after this last seizure and is weaning on them at one half twice a day now.
Now, he's has a fever again. He stayed home Monday after waking in the middle of the night with a fever. He returned to work, but came home yesterday and today feeling blah. He had a fever again tonight. So, we treat the fever with acetominophen or ibuprofen and lots of fluids.
The neurologist thinks that these fevers may be genetic. His brother is a full-fledged epileptic with seizures after a head injury in his teens. His father had seizures beginning in his 40s due to stress and probably drinking 3 or 4 glasses of wine each night after work. He still takes phenobarb daily.
I'm so confused by the fever issue here. Is is causing the seizure? It's never anything more than minimal. Usually less than 100 or 101. However it did hit 103 before the 1st seizure only. Can anyone give me insight as to what might be causing the fevers? Any help at all? My husband is riding the bus now until he's weaned on the new Lamictal med. He's frustrated and probably as scared and nervous as I am.
Thank you so much!
Sandy
Sandy's P.O.V.
For some people all it takes
Submitted by just_joe on Sat, 2014-08-30 - 15:42
For some people all it takes to have a seizure is getting sick period. For me if I feel sick I know I need to get looked at by my PCP. If I sneeze or cough hard I call him or see him and I get medication or the next day I get pnewmonia (spelling). Anytime I an sick in any way it affects my medications. Whether it is a fever or a bad sprain. So I watch myself carefully. So yes fevers can make a person have seizures As for his brother having epilepsy because of a head injury. I can see that without any problem. His father having epilepsy may not be due to his stress or his drinking. Been there done that Stress is a trigger and for many drinking too much can also be a trigger. But the cause may not be either drinking or stress. Lamictal is a good medication and it is controlling seizures for many people. You might check with his neurologist and ask about a recovery medication which can be used to keep him from having seizures. He could use it along with his other neds when he gets a fever. They have several that are used by people who have cluster seizures. I take one if I have a second seizure which stops the clustering. The clustering caused me to get taken to a ER when all I neded was to go home and lay down. I knew what was going on but the EMT's wouldn't let me go home. Some seizures cause a person body to get hotter. Other ailmentrs can cause a fever. Sandy you are not the first nor will you be the last person that has questions and wants answers. My mother had many as did I. Most people who have epilepsy have questions. I have always had questions and at first they were not answered because I was a teen. That changed when I got here to Dallas and needed a new neurologist. Since I would be 21 in a month or 2 I was the person that found the neurologist. I have been with the same group of neurologists since 1970. For every questions they ask me I have at least 1 for them. Ask the neurologist questions Do you have any other patients that have seizures when they get a fever? Is this medicatin the best medication for his seizures? Is th dosage to high or to low? I have asked them and my oc has answered them and by doing that we have gotten my seiozures reduced and the time in those seizures is seconds now rather then the minutes they used to be.. I hope this helps and he gets seizure free