my 5 yr. old son

I'm sorry you are going through this. I hope the sleep deprived eeg gives you some answers. My daughter has frontal lobe epilepsy and her seizures only occur when she is sleeping. It took 3 eegs to finally "catch" the abnormal activity. We have a video monitor for her room and that gives us some peace of mind. Its very scary at the beginning when your childs health problems come out of nowhere. My daughters seizures started at age 6 and she is now 8 and I can tell you once you know and educate yourself about their condition it becomes easier and just another part of life to deal with. I know that doesn't really help now when you are trying to find answers. This is a great place to be and hear from other parents going through the same thing. Good Luck, I will pray for the best for your family. Please let us know what the eeg comes up with.

I am sorry about your son. My 5 year old daughter was diagnosed with Epilepsy in the last 6 months. I know how frigtening it is. My daughter has had them in her sleep. Hers manifested differently- one time her eyes were open but you can't wake her. SHe snapped out of it after about 7 minutes (which seem like 7 hours) and then she was groggy for a long time, had a headache and after going to the hospital and then sleeping a few hours, did not remember a thing. That was her big one-- we have had a few smaller incidents. Hers are often tied into wanting to vomit. The beginning is scary and finding the right doctor is so important. Obviously I am a lay person, but the books I have read indicate that just because a child has one seizure, it is possible they will never have another. If they do have another, then it is called epilepsy which means 2 or more seizures. Be encouraged that the tests came back normal because that means no brain structural abnormality. Also, know that while you may read excerpts on this web site about people never outgrowing this, there are children that do. I have my fingers crossed because my child was diagnosed with Benign Occipital Childhood Epi which has a good prognosis. There is also Benign Rolandic Childhood Epi, also with a good prognosis. This may not be your child but there is hope and even if he is not diagnosed with one of these types, you will feel grounded again with more information. The hard thing in the beginning is trying to get answers. We did not start meds after the first one. We thought because there was a normal MRI (although the eeg slowed slowing and spikes) that we might fall into the category of only one seizure. It did not turn out that way. You need to find a doctor who will really sit down with you and explain everything. OUr first neurologist was horrible, rude and arrogant. He barely took time with us and was condescending. We switched to a epilepsy specialist who talked to us for an hour and a half and then I started to feel my feet back on the ground. This is a process and you will get through it. Try to get the book by Dr. Freeman called "Seizures and Epilepsy in Childhood." It is helpful. Please write back if you have any thoughts or questions. I hope it goes well.