Petit mal/Absence Seizures

My son has Gran Mal seizures. His neruologist informed me that the brain wave patterns that happen when he's been asleep for an hour are the sort that cause Gran Mal seizures, although they can occasionaly occur at other times. Lack of sleep CAN trigger seizuers. My son also has trouble falling asleep, and is often restless in the night. To help lessen his tossing and turning I have him sleep in a sleeping bag. It's helped a lot. I also make sure he poops right before going to bed and that's helped too. After a Gran Mal seizure he is often disoriented and upset, understandably. I suggest that when you tell you daughter to do something and she doesn't that you see if she's staring off into space. After a seizure, rather than diciplineing her, she should be comforted and reassured. You shouldn't pretend that nothing's happened. She knows something is going on, so she needs you to teach her what is happening and how to handle it. Not being in control of one's body is terrifing, especially for children. I always tell my son how brave he is after his seizures and teach him to feel empowered.
It does get easier once they get the right medication.
:Hugs:

My son has suffered from seizures and know what you are describing. My son I can tell when he is "absent" because he gets very quiet (obviously). When he is quiet I check on him to see if he is just busy with something or if he is having a seizure. He is also deaf so it is more time consuming to check him when he is quiet because he is a lot. He is on daily medication two times a day for seizures and he also has a medication for during the seizures if they last longer than three minutes or if he has short seizures over a long period of time. The body goes through a lot when it undergoes a seizure, which can explain the emotional aspect. After my son has seizures he does get quite tired, but also has some difficulty sleeping. Doctors have told me that there is a slight link to having the brain and body overstimulated at a young age to result in seizures. When this happens my son has night terrors. Write down all of your questions and make sure to ask your doctor everything. Be prepared for them not knowing why the seizures are happening also. Sometimes they just happen due to so many reasons that there is no one right answer. Good luck!

Hi C.,

I have a 20yo daughter who has had petit-mal and partial-complex siezures since she was 2 and a 30yo cousin who has had petit-mal since she was about 6. They are nothing to be worried about as long as they are treated and controlled. Let me know if you would like to talk off-line and I will give you my phone #. I know it is scary but it is definitely manageable and many (not all) children grow out of them. Listen to your neurologist and give her all the love you can. She is probably scared and needs to try to understand what is going on with her body.

T.
____@____.com

Hi C.,

My son started having seizures when he was 9 years old. I took him to many specialists and homopathic. He was tested for food allergies and found that his body had problems breaking down sugar and when he had an over load of sugar his body would give him a signal before he would have a seizure. There are many reasons why individuals have seizures. It is different for everyone.

I have my son sleeping on a magnetic pad and he sleeps better. Sleep is very important. He used to get moody before I put him on the magnetics.

If you would like more info let me know.

Good luck.

N. Marie

My son was 9 when he had his first Absence Seizure. To this day they still do not know what caused it. Thank God he has been seizure free now for 20 months, but he is still on the anti-seizure medicine and has regular check ups with his neurologist. He did have nights where he did not sleep well and his had restless legs. One way I was able to tell if he was having a seizure was to get right in his face and yell his name. His eyes would move and look at me, but then they would immediately look away. Then my husband and I talked to him about his seizures and what they were like and what he felt when he had them. He was a few years older than your daughter, but she may be able to communicate how she feels when one is coming on and what it is like. I can understand your not wanting to talk to her until you meet with the neurologist. It is a frightening experince and also a helpless one. I think one of his triggers was his tonsils and adenoids. His primary doctor ordered an overnight oxiemtry and found out his oxygen level was low during the night. Come to find out he had abnormally large tonsils and adenoids. They took them out and he has been doing great since, but up until that point it was a nightmare. I hope that some of this information helps. I understand where you are coming from. Hang in there and I will keep you all in my prayers.

My Dad has been an epileptic since he was around 10 years old. He is now almost 60... Usually his seizures (gran mal, and petit mal) are under control with medication. However, sometimes he has had breakthrough seizures which can be pretty scary, for him and everyone else. If you are looking for more information, you might try looking up the Epilepsy Society of California, or just Epilepsy Society on the internet. Also there is the Epilepsy Foundation which I think is headquartered here in the Bay Area. Just a thought... if you do try to talk to her about what has been going on, she might be able to better prepare you for your visit with the neurologist. It might give you a chance to "interpret" her child answers or statements about how she has been feeling to the neurologist and maybe get a more accurate diagnosis. Good luck. Our thoughts and prayers are with both of you.

Parents Helping Parnts in San Jose used to have a seizure sub group -- www.php.com
It's probably still going on.

Find the on line check list for autism.
Then, you can find some info about vaccine induced illnesses (epilepsy among them ) at: www.vaclib.org

My baby got autism from vaccines and I know many kids who got seizures from shots.

good luck and please inform yourself. Also more info at:
www.generationrescue.org and www.tacanow.org