Shudder Attacks

I have not heard of this before, I but I do suggest that you don't mess around with anything that seems involuntary! Start with a call to your pediatrician and see if they want to see him and/or recommend you contact a pediatric neurologist. It may just be nothing, but why take that chance??

Also, my cousin's husband is a neurologist and when they were here visiting a few weeks ago, he was saying that they can now take a skin biopsy and find out a lot about what's going on neurologically that way. It sounds strange, but he said it was pretty fascinating that they can look at the nervous system now through the skin and sometimes find things they don't pick up in brain scans.

Hi K.! Is he potty trained or just in diapers? If he is in diapers he may just be peeing! Shivering is actually a sign that your child is going to or is urinating. So, you could start by asking him if he is going potty or checking his diaper.
I would do that before worrying about seizures.
I hope you find an answer!

Could just be the pee shivers! I first noticed them when my son was sitting in his high chair too! I was worried. My mother-in-law was visiting soon after we noticed it and saw him do it in his high chair. I said did you see that?!? She half-laughed and very nicely said he just peed :) As always though...do what makes you comfortable to figure out what your son's shudders are from. Take care!

Please call your doctor and get his/her advice.

I definitely agree with Tammi. If you think its an involuntary action you should call your pediatrician. Despite popular belief a seizure doesn't always present with violent involuntary muscle contractions of various muscle groups, sometimes they can provoke very subtle body movement such as the big toe flexing, or a person may seem out of it and then suddenly "come to". I would see the pediatrician, just to be safe.

I'm 30 and this happens to me from time to time, since I was in elementary school. I suddenly get an overwhelming feeling like I need to move my upper body, it's hard to explain. I have a sort of shudder, like I'm shivering, then I'm fine. Sometimes it's just my arms. If I try to ignore it, it gets overwhelming. I joke with my husband that it's like restless leg syndrome, just only my arms. It happens just every now and then. I spoke to a neurologist a couple years ago about it (I was actually there for something else). He did an MRI and a ct scan which both came back normal, so he just shrugged it off and never gave me an answer. It is an irritation, but I don't seem to have other major problems related to it. I do also have bells palsy, but that is a whole other thing. I would suggest you take him to the pediatrician and discuss it. He may give you some ideas and things to look out for. It could be nothing, or it could be something like seizures.

My daughter did something similar at around 2-1/2 years. Although my daughter does have seizures, when I had her evaluated for those particular "shuddering" episodes with an EEG, they determined that those were in fact NOT seizures in her case and that they were totally normal. If it becomes something that is becoming more frequent or you notice other symptoms such as staring off into space where you can snap your fingers in his face and he doesn't blink or the shaking becomes localized to only one side of his body, then you might want to get him evaluated, but odds are, as kids' nerves and muscles are growing and developing, they're going to do little twinges and twitches and it's probably nothing to worry about. Keep everyone posted!

There are diferent types of seizures common in children. You should talk to your pedeiatrician they can order some simple non painful test that can verify if there is a more serious problem even passive mal seizures can do brain damage if left untreated so it is important to get this checked. I have a child that also had a similar problem.
R.

Dear K.,
I pray that you have notified his doctor and are making appts. to get him checked! It sounds a bit scary to me! I pray that you will have him checked now, before anything can happen from these shudders. I will also pray that it is just a passing thing! May God truly bless you all!!!
Sincerely
Kathy N.

RELAX- My son had them & they are COMPLETELY normal!!

Do some research online, still go see a Dr to be sure - but they are very likely OK! Especially since you notice them most in the High Chair. My son is now almost 2 1/2 is fully potty trained, knows the alphabet, counts, speaks in sentences & does NOT have a seizure disorder.

I am not saying you should not get him checked- but all of the other posts would have scared ne to death- so I wanted to share from someone that went thru it :)

Dear K.,

Get your son in to see his doctor right away. People think of seizures as flopping around on the floor, eyes rolled into your head, etc.... Those are the most severe seizures. Some seizures are so mild they are almost indectable. Left undiagnosed and untreated they will continue to get worse over time, posably causing damage and always running the risk of injury.

It may be nothing at all, but you do need to get seizures ruled out, or if it is, get treatment for his sake. I wish you the best, and please let us know how it turns out.

hi there my daughter does this and i believe its her way of dealing with teething pain..

Hmm.. it can also be turrets. I know that there are physical cases of turrets, where someone can have a certain involuntary shake or movement. Just a suggestion, you never know.

my son, almost 3, does have seizures that are now controlled on meds, but at the age of 22 months he started some shaky stuff that made me take him to the dr and see what was going on.
i'm not saying push the panic button but do take him to the dr to have any seizure activity ruled out.
D.

Hi, K.. He could be cold, actually, or swallowing something cold. He could be swallowing something that didn't go down his throat the right way, in other words, gagging slightly on what he was trying to swallow. He might not like the taste of what he was eating, but he ate it anyway because he was hungry.

He might have a sore throat that doesn't hurt enough yet for him to cry about it, or he could have swollen tonsils that get in the way of swallowing easily. Swollen lymph glands in the neck can do this too.

He could be tickled by something, too, like when an ant crawls on your skin. Sometimes when a child pees in his diaper, it tickles as the pee is coming out. He could be trying to keep himself awake instead of taking a nap -- sort of a startle reflex, like the times when you find yourself dozing off when it's not a good idea to do so.

If he does it a lot, I would definitely have him checked out. If he does have a seizure disorder, he could be having mini episodes. A seizure doesn't have to include the eyes rolling back in the head -- it could be a moment where the brain has a little problem, then it jumps back to normal.

I do hope it's nothing, but you are right to wonder about it.

Peace,
Syl

I would definitly have a doctor check it out. try to keep a journal of what is going on when it happens, is it food related, noise, bright lights, just woke up, recent sugar to try to see a pattern. If your doctor blows it off, ask for a consult with a neurologist just to be sure. Parents have a sense about things and notice more, trust your instinct and get it checked out. It could be mild seizures, the beginning of terrets syndrome ( sp?) or something else.

Contact your doctor, ASAP. It could be something mild or innocuous, but why take the chance that it is not?

If you have a video camera at home keep it out and handy between now and the doc visit... and if you see it again try to capture it on video. (Don't wait until you do to see the doctor! - just keep your cam handy until your appt). Sometimes actually SEEING what is happening is far more helpful than a description. Also, while it is fresh in your mind, write down any information you know/remember during and preceding the event:

how long the event lasted;
what he had for lunch/dinner that day;
how he slept the night before or the naps that day;
what he was doing when it happened and just before it happened;
his personality that day (different than any other days?)...

anything you can think of that might have any relevance. It is better to have more info than the doc asks, than not enough...
God bless.

ok, it sounds like it could be little seizures. you need to have some blood work done on him right away. a very common syptom of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is mini seizures. the problem is that the blood sugar drops below normal (70) and brain damage can acually start to happen under 40 and can cause mini seizures. please have his bsl's checked immediately. my daughter was born with hypoglycemia and many children go untreated because it is so uncommon. but the results can be tragic. it is a simple finger stick to find out.