Another weird "episode"

[RockerMama]

My 6 year old, who has been experiencing some unusual sensory episodes, started squeezing her hands at the store. She said that this happens sometimes.... She said her hand feels like it NEEDS to be squeezed, and then the other one feels the same way. She also said it feels like she doesn't have hands.

We were out at the store, so no way it would have fallen asleep or anything. This has totally thrown me for a loop. Does it sound like it could be part of sensory seizures or simple partial seizures?

[kim89506]

The hand issues may have nothing to do with the seizure itself. I began having absence seizures when I was 9. I remember saying that "my stomach hurted". Although there was no physical pain in my stomach I would always grab it and says it hurted prior to a seizure. I would also have this feeling or aura that something bad was about to happen. This too would always precede an episode.

[amlowe]

I was *just* reading about this... I guess I can't link, as a newbie here, so I'll cut & paste--

Parietal Lobe Epilepsy
What is Parietal Lobe Epilepsy?
Parietal lobe epilepsy is a relatively rare form of epilepsy, comprising about 5% of all epilepsy, in which seizures arise from the parietal lobe of the brain. Parietal lobe epilepsy can start at any age and occurs in both males and females equally. It may be a result of head trauma, birth difficulties, stroke, or tumor, though the cause is unknown in 20% of patients.

Where is the Parietal Lobe Located in the Brain?
The parietal lobe is located just behind the frontal lobe and it plays important roles in touch perception, the integration of sensory information and in visual perception of spatial relationships among objects (visuospatial processing). In the language dominant side of the brain (the left side for most right-handed individuals), the parietal lobe is also involved with language, planned movements such as writing, as well as mathematical skills.

What are Parietal Lobe Seizures Like?
Since the parietal lobe involves the processing and integration of sensory and visual perception, seizures originating from the parietal lobe can involve both sensory and visual sensations. Seizure duration varies, from a few seconds in some patients to a few minutes in others. The following are the different types of symptoms associated with parietal lobe seizures:

Somatosensory Seizures: These are the most common type of seizure in parietal epilepsies. Patients with these types of seizures describe feeling physical sensations of numbness and tingling, heat, pressure, electricity and/or pain. Pain, though a rare symptom in seizures overall, is quite common in parietal seizures, occurring in up to one quarter of patients. Some patients describe a typical “Jacksonian march”, in which the sensation “marches” in a predictable pattern from the face to the hand up the arm and down the leg. Rarely, a patient will describe a sensation in the genitalia, occasionally leading to orgasm.

Somatic Illusions: During a somatic illusion, another common symptom of parietal seizures, patients may experience a feeling like their posture is distorted, that their arms or legs are in a weird position or are in motion when they are not, or that a part of their body is missing or feels like it does not belong.

Vertigo: Patients with parietal seizures may experience a sensation of movement or spinning of the environment, or of their body within the environment.

Visual Illusions and Hallucinations: Patients with visual illusions report a distortion of visual perception: objects seem too close, too far, too large, too small, slanted, moving or otherwise not right. A patient with hallucinations describes seeing objects that seem very real, though in fact they do not exist.

Language Disturbances: Rarely, a patient with a parietal seizure will report difficulty understanding spoken words or language, difficulty reading or performing simple math.

This is info from the NYU Langone Medical Center's website. I thought the part about language disturbances was especially interesting, since you said your daughter has been diagnosed with APD. Could be that you miss these symptoms because they are confused with the APD symptoms.
http://epilepsy.med.nyu.edu/epilepsy...-lobe-epilepsy

[RockerMama]

I was *just* reading about this... I guess I can't link, as a newbie here, so I'll cut & paste--



This is info from the NYU Langone Medical Center's website. I thought the part about language disturbances was especially interesting, since you said your daughter has been diagnosed with APD. Could be that you miss these symptoms because they are confused with the APD symptoms.

WOW!! That is soooo right on. I am going to read more and see. I called my daughter's Dr, and talked to the nurse. She said the Dr said to call the neurologist. I have a call in to them. I HATE to bring up outside info, I think some Drs take it wrong. But since she dismissed it so easily last time, I am willing to bring this to her attention. WOW, I just can't believe how exact that is. THANK YOU!

[amlowe]

Right? It sounds dead on! She must be a genius to be faking it, huh?

I know what you mean about hating to bring up outside info. I usually say something like " ...a friend mentioned such and such, and initially I dismissed it... but then, I decided to read up on it just out of curiosity... and you know, it actually sounds very similar to what's going on here..." if you pose it as, can you rule this out for me, or should I be concerned about this specifically? It comes off as you looking to them for answers, rather than like you have the answers.

Are you getting in to see a new neurologist? Or the same one? Either way, good luck mama!

[RockerMama]

Right? It sounds dead on! She must be a genius to be faking it, huh?

I know what you mean about hating to bring up outside info. I usually say something like " ...a friend mentioned such and such, and initially I dismissed it... but then, I decided to read up on it just out of curiosity... and you know, it actually sounds very similar to what's going on here..." if you pose it as, can you rule this out for me, or should I be concerned about this specifically? It comes off as you looking to them for answers, rather than like you have the answers.

Are you getting in to see a new neurologist? Or the same one? Either way, good luck mama!

I think that is how I am going to phrase it! Although I am tempted to say "Since yooouuuu didn't want do your job...." LOL, jk!

I think the same neurologist. We saw my daughter's regular pediatrician on Monday, and she suggested we track things for a couple weeks. I figured I wouldn't get much further with a new neurologist without tracking the stuff anyways, so that has been what I have been doing. Now with this stuff, I know if she completely blows it off, I will be on the phone right away to a new Dr. The trouble is that the neurologist is in the only pediatric neurology practice, and it *supposed* to be the best. So I will have to hope that a regular neurologist would be willing to see her, if only to give a second opinion.

[amlowe]

Sounds like you have a good plan! Keep us posted!

[RockerMama]

Oh my goodness. The neurologist FOUGHT me on it. She tried to say that my 6 year old not being able to feel her hands was NORMAL!! Well, small miracle, we got the ok for a 24 hour eeg, but it won't be for a month or so. At least it is something. I am not saying this is what she HAS to have, but the Dr is saying it can't be this because it is affecting both hands, and not just one.