Help anyone please! My beautiful and gifted 10 yr. old daughter was just told today that the eeg she had last Thurs. showed she had seizure activity. She use to have petite mal seizures 5 yrs. ago and they just stopped , but just recently she had a grand mal and I took her to a pediatric neurologist who had the eeg done. They put her on some chewable meds which I will pick up tomorrow. I don't know what they have prescribed yet, but am very concerned about any side affects. The stories I hear are very frightening. Is there any homeopathic remedies out there at all to help control the seizures? She is so scared that the meds will hinder her school work and she has worked to keep a 4.0 gpa all thru elementary school. Please post any info you may have that will help relieve my mind. This is all so very new to us! Thank you and God Bless each and every one of you!
I have Complex Partial Epilepsy, and my seizures changed at age 11 to Simple Partials during the day whereas I had been having them only during sleep up to that point. Since hormones as well as growth do have an effect on seizures, I figure that I was nearing the beginning of Puberty. They changed again at age 14 to Complex Partials. Diagnosed at age 14, as a Freshman in high school. Has the Pediatric Neurologist given her a diagnosis yet? You mentioned Absence (new name for Petit Mal) seizures first, but then a Tonic Clonic (new name for Grand Mal)more recently. You do need to be given a correct diagnosis, and the doc should discuss this with you if he hasn't already done so. Also, he needs to thoroughly discuss the med he prscribed incliuding the side effects. There are side effects and some do affect mentation and short term memory ability. I went through high school and college on meds and still made good grades. I would suggest that you get the correct diagnosis, the correct med for her type of epilepsy and give it a try. You do not want her seizures to continue if at all possible since they can worsen over time. If you give the med a chance and it doesn't work, ask the doc about the other options. There are other options available depending on her individual case. A very many docs will no offer other options and will not refer her to an Epilepsy Specialist even though the meds he has prescribed are not stopping her seizures. If you do give the meds a try and they do not stop all of her seizures, Do find a good patient oriented Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. There she will receive more specialized care provided it is a patient oriented Center. Not all are. Ask her doc where the seizures are originating? What lobe/s? There are dietary modifications and other treatment modalities that some parents have found helpful as well as adults. It all does depend on each specific case. Some have found that acupuncture helps. Before we get too far into alternative treatments, Do give the meds a try, but get a correct diagnosis for her specific type of seizures an also get their starting point. Getting the correct answers to these questions is so very important. Many people are misdiagnosed and do receive the incorrect treatment for their true diagnosis. Remember, that the goal of epilepsy care is NO seizures and a good Quality of Life. You seek both. Do keep us posted. Tattoo
I understand what you are going through .
My daughter was diagnosed with epilepsy nearly a year ago .
J is still not fully diagnosed and taking three meds at the moment , we are still trying to control her absence seizures .
I was told about her meds and their side effects and I was worried at first and didn't know what to do either .
I just starting J on Lamictal (the scary one) this week and we are keeping a close eye on her .
I was taking J to a paediatrition who was not very informative about anything ,when I asked questions I never got a reasonable answer , so I am now taking J to a neurologist .
We still don't have a diagnosis but we are well informed about medications and anything else we need to know , and I feel more comfortable with this doctor .
I would call your daughters neurologist and ask for more information about medications and side effects and let them know you are hesitant to start medications until you are properly informed about them .
I wish you all the best and I will say a prayer for you and your daughter .
Cheryl .
Why don't you hhave a diagnosis? The neurologist prescribed a specific medicine, but doesn't know what diagnosis he is treating? That shouldn't be. Maybe I am not sure what you mean by 'fully diagnosed'. If a general neurologist can't come up with a diagnosis but is treating with meds, what makes him think that med he prersecibed will help? Shot in the dark? I used the term Specialist n my above posts. I am not talking about a general neurologist. I mean an Epilepsy Specialist, an Epileptologist, who has done advanced training, or Fellowship, at a Comprehensive Epilepsy Center beyond his Neurology residency. The general neurologist is the starting point, and I would never allow ANY other type of doc to treat epilepsy. The only thing they have to offer is a bottle of pills even though it may not be the med needed for the diagnosis he is trying to treat. To play around with the wrong meds and have no accurate diagnosis can do Harm and waste the patient's life! Tattoo
Thanks Tattoo ,
I had no idea of the difference between a Neurologist and a Epileptologist ,I thought a Professor of Neurology would be as good as you can get , as far as a diagnosis goes .
I will call our Epilepsy association and ask about a Epileptologist .
I understand what you are saying about diagnosis and meds , and believe me I am really frustrated and I am wondering exactley the same thoughts .
Yesteday was a dreadful day she had so many seizures , it was very hot and heat is one of her triggers .
The peadiatrition that I mentioned in above posting , I left because I wasn't confident with him and his inability to answer my questions .
This is what happened ,
He filled out a form for a health care card that I was applying for and posted it back to me . He had put on the form that she had complex partial epilepsy , when I read this I freaked ,I was told by him on our visit after the EEG that she had petit mal and would outgrow this .
So I rang and asked why he had put different on the form and what was her diagnosis , he stammered and stuttered and said that the EEG was showing other seizure activity , I was confused and shocked and said "oh so she won't outgrow these seizures ". And the reply I got was " not to be so pessimistic ."
I only wanted the truth so I would know what to expect .
So I called the epilepsy association in an absolute mess and told them what happened and they recommended the Professor we are now seeing .
After reading your post you have helped me decide to ring J's neurologist and ask for a diagnosis ,and if I dont' get an answer I am going to ask them what do they think they are treating her for then .I have had enough of this .
It is only early days on Lamictal and it may work ,but I'm sick of waiting .
And after yesterdays day of seizures I am so angry .
I will let you know what happens .
Cheryl .
Help 10 yr. old daughter just diagnosed ! 
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