Adhd absence seizures | ADHD Information
Anyone elses child suffer from absence seizures? I don't know if anyone remembers I posted my concerns about him after a head trauma and all doctors brushed me off. Well his teacher was telling me that in class she'll ask him to do things and next thing she knows he's staring out in space and clueless what she is talking about.
I'm really concerned because I don't know if it could be something he's always had, as my husbands uncle has seizures, my sister has seizures. Now possibly him. Will this affect the meds they can give him? I just have so many questions.
He goes to see a new dr tomorrow that is willing to listen to me, so I'm going to request an eeg or catscan. Hopefully it'll tell us something.
I don't have any experience about this, but I am concerned. Please let us know how he makes out at the appointment tomorrow!Yes, please keep us posted.
Be strong and objective - Dr.'s respond to that! Remember Dr.'s are people too. I just wish they would listen to parents more.
When my daughter was in kindergarten and we first had her diagnosed (with ADHD), my step-mother, who trained as a nurse but never worked as one, mentioned that she had noticed her staring into space and wondered if she could be having "absence" or "petite mal" seizures. We did mention this to our pediatrician, and he agreed to refer us to a neurologist.
The neurologist did an EEG (if I remember correctly) on my daughter. I remember we were told to make sure she was very tired so that she would be able to fall asleep in the doctor's office while the testing was done.
The results of her EEG were very strange. They did not show that she had petite mal seizures, but did show results typical of another type of seizure, which I cannot now remember the name of. I think Benign Rolandic or something like that. Anyway, she did not show any symptoms of that type of seizure.
The neurologist said that we could try medicating her for that type of seizure, even though she did not have the symptoms, but that the medication was pretty heavy-duty, so he really wasn't recommending it, and other than that he didn't recommend pursuing the matter any further.
We did not try the medication.
This is probably not too helpful to you, but I just thought I would share our experience. I would do the same as you, pursue having the testing done and see what the results are.
I remember that you had written earlier this fall. Did he end up going to a neurologist? He needs to be followed by a pediatric neurologist, for the possible brain injury, for the ADHD and now for the seizures. Only a neurologist will have the knowledge to know how these things interact and what might be causing the other. My son had a seizure last week, and the pediatric neurologist told me that the protocol for seizures is to have an EEG and an MRI. It's important to have a doc who knows these things. If you are seeing a pediatrician, emphasize that you need a referral to a pediatric neurologist. I think an absense seizure is also called an "ADHD Blink." My son did this until age 7. It's like heavy duty spacing out.
Well he will see his "NEW" pediatrician tomorrow and I'm going to ask him to please get him in to see the pediatric neurologist in St Louis. That is where he has had all of his other testing/surgeries done. So I'm more comfortable going there where all of his records and such can be together. He had the one appt with the ped. neuro, but I had to call and cancel because he ended up having his hernia/testicle surgery the very same day. And the only other day they had open for the surgery was at christmas and I didn't want to do that to him. And I wasn't crazy about going to that one, so hopefully we'll have more luck getting him in to the one at Children's Hospital.
I'm still gonna go ahead and suggest and ask his pediaitrian tomorrow if we can do any of the tests here while waiting to get into the ped. neuro dr. So hopefully if nothing else, they can send the results to st louis to be read. But I'll definitely keep you posted. Im' really worried and hope that its nothing.
I did ask him today when does he get his headaches most, and he said when he tries to concentrate at school and think. And thats when his teacher is saying that is going all spacey on her. So hopefully its nothing and inspiredbymusic thanks for your story, glad that she didn't end up needing medications. I'm really hoping he doesn't.
I did ask him today when does he get his headaches most, and he said when he tries to concentrate at school and think. And thats when his teacher is saying that is going all spacey on her. So hopefully its nothing and inspiredbymusic thanks for your story, glad that she didn't end up needing medications. I'm really hoping he doesn't.
Things that I have learned this week: a seizure is often followed by a headache, and seizure disorders are genetic.
I would think that any ped in his/her right mind would hand you over to a specialist. In my experience, they are only too happy to have you see a specialist if you have anything even remotely complicated. I cannot believe that your first doctor thought you were overreacting. Unbelievable. Good luck tomorrow. Let us know what happens.
His dr called about an hour before his appt and rescheduled monday at 4:15 due to an emergency. So I have to wait through the weekend but I guess its better then waiting a week :). Anyway will update as soon as i know something.Met with his dr today and he is sending him to have a catscan done. It could be seizure related or it could be caused from his adhd. We'll go from there after that. petite maul is not an absence seizureMy son is nine years old. When he was three, his eyelids would quiver for about 5 to 10 seconds. His speech would slow down if he was talking. If not, he could not respond until the petite maul seizure was over. He fell from the second step on a ladder onto the concrete driveway. This, along with the family history for seizures on my husbands side contributed to the seizures beginning. My son took zarontin, and them lamictal. His seizures have always been very easy to control and thankfully, after several years of being seizure free, his neuro. weaned him off of medication July 1, 2007 and we have not seen a seizure since. Along with the epilepsy diagnosis, he also has problems with attention deficit. His neuro stated that a lot of times the two go together. He had a lot of problem completing work, and would miss details especially in math. We started him on Strattera(25mg) and it has made all the difference in the world. We have also had a full neuropsychological exam just to make sure. Thankfully, everything was good. So we know that it is a little attention deficit, and not a learning problem. Do insist that you see a neurologist first, and then go from there. Good luck. [QUOTE=NoTellin]petite maul is not an absence seizure[/QUOTE]
Not to be a PITA
, but they are the same. Petit mal is the old name for it. Here's a Mayo Clinic link:http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/petit-mal-seizure/DS00216
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I will also be seeing a neurologist for my brain.
That's good. It's the right place to start. Good luck -- I think that you are still a teenager, right? Do you have support?
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well they just called and said the ct scan was normal and that that was good news. so i asked her what the next step is, because the dr told us that even if it comes back either way it doesn't necessarily mean anything. so i'm wondering why bother with it? anyway, she said she didn't know that i would have to schedule yet another appt to find out what is next. i'm not going to mess with it, i'm just going to take him to the neurologist and see what he says. i'm done dancing around it all.
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Good for you. Glad the CT was OK. That does rule out some things.I am 23 years old and I have mild mental retardation,adhd,depression,dyspraxia,sensory integration disorder,ptsd,deafness,panic disorder,and communication disorder and other special needs also. I have some support.
I live with my mom and dad.
That's true. Is it possible that the adderall was causing it? His teacher said today, that she hasn't noticed it hardly at all since they switched him back. We've seen it a couple of times right after they switched him. I don't know, just trying to figure things out. I hate not knowing whats wrong with my baby.
No news yet, she said they should have the results this afternoon before they go home. She will definitely call me to let me know when they do get them.
I have slow speech and i act slow down sometimes and yesterday my speech was very slow.
I will have to have my brain tested and scanned to see if there is something wrong with my brain and see how is my brain activity.
my vision keeps going dark and i am afraid that i will not be able to see if it keeps going dark.
my attention and concertration shifts and get parts of conversation.
stare in space and when i listen and i am staring don''t get alot of the conversation,
i was asked if i accidently took someone elses medicine and i said no
and asked if anyone has hurt me? and i said no
I was asked if i am hearing voices and i said no
i was asked where i was at ? and i said first doctor office and then i said therapy.
my speech was slurred and i speak very very very slow.
it was a weird thing that happen to me.
I was asked questions. also checked my eyes, and my heart beat and did a re-evaluate to see if there is something they can do.
I feel now that i run the therapy session for me yesterday. I wish this didn't happen.
My behavior therapist was talking to me and notice i was only getting only part of conversation and he could tell i was not following what he was saying.
I will also be seeing a neurologist for my brain.
People think it might be absence seizures. I been having this problem for along time.
He had his ct done today. The dr office told me to try to give them a call tomorrow around 11:30 and see if they have gotten the results back yet. Crossing my fingers. I don't know why but i'm worried.
He was a trooper during the ct though. Wasn't sure how well he would just lie there, but he did great.
brtsqd339428.6398032407well they just called and said the ct scan was normal and that that was good news. so i asked her what the next step is, because the dr told us that even if it comes back either way it doesn't necessarily mean anything. so i'm wondering why bother with it? anyway, she said she didn't know that i would have to schedule yet another appt to find out what is next. i'm not going to mess with it, i'm just going to take him to the neurologist and see what he says. i'm done dancing around it all.
We were told by the pediatric neurologist that stimulant medications don't cause seizures. He said that you would have to take a massive amount to cause a seizure (i.e. illegally, as in street drugs). I am beginning to wonder if there is a link between ADHD and seizures in general. Our neuro said no (although they epilepsy is linked to specific learning disorders), but it does seem like a lot of people around here have to deal with seizures. It makes sense that if your brain is a bit mis-wired, you could have ADHD symptoms. Also, with your son's concussion, that may be a further concern.
A CT scan is used to rule out pretty major problems. My guess is that your son will have to have an MRI next.
Thank you, that helps alot. So the neurologist would be the better route to go from here on out then, right?