Autistic kid having Epileptic attacks

[becool]

Hi Guys

I have a younger brother.He is 13 years old and is autistic.He has epileptic attacks say once in a month or in about 2 months.We have been giving him Tegrital Solution from the past 3-4 years,2 times a day.My brother does not go for an EEG.When the doctors put the EEG recording wires or whatever they are on his head he just removes them.
Yesterday morning he had an epileptic attack.The doctor said that the solution is not strong enough,so he changed the medication to Tegrital CR 200 mg.Each tablet contains
Carbamazepine IP 200mg
Colouring agents:Iron Oxide Yellow,Iron Oxide Red and Titanium Dioxide IP

He prescribed 1 tablet in the morning and 1 at night.Is this prescription fine?
Tonight i noticed him restless.Is it ok?Does this medicine have any kind of side effects?

Since my brother does not go for an EEG.Is there any other alternative?

Regards

[Nakamova]

Hi becool --

Good for you for taking care of your brother and being proactive about his care. If it's clear that your brother is having seizures, then it may not be absolutely necessary for him to have an EEG. I recommend you talk to his doctors to see what options there are for getting a successful EEG (sometimes it works while the patient is asleep), and also what the doctor is looking for in terms of results.

Often when there's a change in dosage there can be side effects as the body adjusts. Your brother's restlessness may be a result of the recent increase in meds. Unfortunately, everyone reacts differently and unpredictably to the epilepsy meds, so it's hard to say for sure. If you can, keep a journal of your brother's condition and medication. Keep track of seizures, and also changes in med doses, any thing that seems to be a side effect. If a side effect becomes problematic for your brother, then his doc may need to try something else.

A number of folks here have found that special nutritional approaches and neurofeedback can help with seizure control as well as autism. You can search the archives here using the Search tab at the top.

Best,
Nakamova

[Bernard]

Hi becool, welcome to the forum.

He prescribed 1 tablet in the morning and 1 at night.Is this prescription fine?
Tonight i noticed him restless.Is it ok?Does this medicine have any kind of side effects?

Since my brother does not go for an EEG.Is there any other alternative?

All epilepsy medications can produce side effects, but everyone has different tolerances/experiences. Most epilepsy medications have what is called a "therapeutic range". Epilepsy drugs do not work like aspirins or fever reducers - ie. acting right away after ingestion. Epilepsy medications are metabolized into the blood stream and must reach (and maintain) a certain blood syrum level in order to be effective. Doctors can use a blood test to ensure that the dose your brother is taking is metabolizing into the right blood syrum level (too low and it doesn't help control the seizures, too high and it can be toxic leading to increased side effects).

You might find this thread helpful:
Epilepsy 101 - Part FAQ, Part tips and advice

[becool]

@Nakamova

Thanks for the reply.Will surely maintain a journal.Ok will read the archives.Actually the doctor gave him sleeping pills about 3-4 years ago,so that he can have an EEG when my brother is asleep but my brother didnt sleep at all in the hospital.Is there any other alternative?


@Bernard

Thanks for the reply.The doctor didn't take any blood or any other test.Is it necessary to do so?

Its been 3 days that we are giving him that medicine.Its not restlessness,its like that hes drunk or something.His eyes were red and it looked like that he had not slept in days.Is this some side effect?We gave him the medicine in the morning and we are thinking of giving him the liquid that we gave him for the past 4 years,at night and in tomorrow morning and get him checked up with the doctor.Is it ok?

Regards

[Bernard]

... The doctor didn't take any blood or any other test.Is it necessary to do so?

If you suspect that the increased medication is responsible for strong reactions/bad side effects, you (or your parents) can ask the doctor to take a blood test to make sure his blood syrum levels are OK.

[Loopy Lou]

hey there, welcome to CWE

I work with adults with learning disabilities, about 75% are autistic. Nearly all of these people have epilepsy or have had seizures at some point in their lives. When i looked into, apparently epilepsy or seizures is fairly common to someone who is autistic.

Last time we had to take someone to hospital for an EEG, she wouldn't have the EEG done either. It took about 6 visits to the hospital to even get her in the room because it was strange and it scared her. I think we tried pretty much everything.

Eventually she was diagnosed with epilepsy through keeping a diary of anything that happened which was outside her normal behaviour patterns (staring, unusual repetitive movement etc), and of course any tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures. Plus, when she started on Sodium Valproate the seizures got a lot better.

It did take quite a long time though. Best of luck to you and your brother x

[becool]

@Bernard
Thanks for the reply.Ok will ask my parents.
Like i wrote in my last post that it looks like as if he is drunk after we have started giving him the tablets.Do you think thats a side effect?Also is there any alternative for EEG?

[Bernard]

Like i wrote in my last post that it looks like as if he is drunk after we have started giving him the tablets.Do you think thats a side effect?Also is there any alternative for EEG?

Yes, it's quite possibly a side effect.

EEG measures brain activity. I'm not sure about alternatives. Maybe a fMRI, but I'm not sure.

[becool]

Hey Thanks Loopy for the reply
Its great that she is fine now
I am sorry i didn't understand the tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures part?Can you please tell me what are those?And please throw some light on behaviour patterns that we have to record?
Regards

[becool]

@Bernard
Thanks again for the reply
I just gave my brother the liquid solution of Tegrital,will get him checked tomorrow

[epileric]

EEG measures brain activity. I'm not sure about alternatives. Maybe a fMRI, but I'm not sure.

An MRI is more like an x-ray in that it will give a visual of the brain. It won't measure brainwaves at all but it was through an MRI that the cause of my seizures was discovered.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functio...onance_imaging

The problem with an fMRI is that they are extremely claustrophobic so it might not be too much easier to give him one.

[becool]

@epileric
Thanks for the reply
I dont understand you said MRI won't measure brain waves,but it was through an MRI that the cause of your seizures was discovered.How?

[Loopy Lou]

Here, you might find this interesting to read. The "Clinical Observations" and "Diagnostic Studies" bits.

http://www.autismuk.com/index12.htm

Also, here is an explanation of the different seizure types, if that will help.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seizure_types

I hope those links help some!

[epileric]

It was through the MRI that they were able to see a lesion on my brain because it gave a picture of my brain (see link).

It still didn't measure the brainwaves (output) of my brain which is what an EEG does.

[becool]

@Loopy Lou
Thanks for the reply
I just read the headings from link 1,i think i read that information on some different page.Will read it in detail with link 2.Please throw some light on behaviour patterns that we have to record.

@epileric
Thanks for the reply
I am sorry i am not able to see the link of the image of your brain.

Regards

[epileric]

@epileric
Thanks for the reply
I am sorry i am not able to see the link of the image of your brain.

Regards

The link isn't to my brain (that's personal lol) it gives a good explanation of what an MRI is.

Can you see the link here?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functio...onance_imaging

[Loopy Lou]

What i mean is that you need to look for your brother doing anything strange which he doesn't normally do. The link i gave you with the seizure types on it will give you some things to look out for.

[Loopy Lou]

Eric - yup, your link works :P

[becool]

@epileric
Ok he he

@Loopy Lou
Aha classification of seizure types,got it

Any other guidance,advice will be appreciated

Regards

[epileric]

Any other guidance,advice will be appreciated
Regards

My personal advice would be to check out the rest of this site. There are a few parents here with autistic kids so you might find some good information. You might want to look at the top of the page & use the "search" button. You can do a search for autism,(also try autistic) or whatever other things you need to know about.

Also keep us updated on how your brother is doing.