Absence Seizures for Teens ?

[CindyGillmore]

My son, 13, tried Ethosuxamide and had bad side effects. The other one they suggested is Depakote. Ive heard bad things about that one. Currently he is not on any meds for his seizures. His are only absence seizures.


Anyone see Dr. Mostejalean at Childrens Hospital Oakland ?

 

[Hobbes]

Ethosuximide and valproic acid are the two first line drug choices for absence. My daughter was already taking lamotrigine when we found that she had atypical absence and it is working so far for her (absence/myoclonic, still reports infrequent partial like events even though the lamotrigine was initially prescribed to treat partials). That is generally a less helpful choice although more common with difficult to treat absence. I would think valproic acid is a less scary option over lamotrigine. All AEDs sound pretty scary. But when they work life is so much better.

 

[Bernard]

I've mentioned it many times over the years, but my wife completely eliminated her multiple, daily absence seizures with EEG neurofeedback. She still has issues with seizure activity, but not with absence seizures. YMMV.

 

[Hobbes]

I think that is a limited option for a lot of kids. I know our 9yo is unlikely to participate, no offense. Kid is against working with pain specialist to learn self relaxation techniques, going to any doc has been difficult this past year. Although the EMU was mostly ok (no IVs!). And it isn't covered by insurance here.

 

[Porkette]

Hi Cindy,
I took Depakote for many yrs. along with mysoline (primidone) and it worked great reducing my absence seizures. The only thing I didn't like about the drug is that I had to have blood tests done often because the drug can get into a persons liver but so can many seizure meds. The biggest side effect I had from the drug is weight loss. I lost 70 lbs. in 4 months because the drug can cause anorexia where a person can either gain or lose weight. I would still eat like normal but the Depakote burnt up all the calories like crazy. The 2nd thing about the drug is that you can get a sunburn really fast. I was at summer camp and outside with sunblock on but I still ended up getting sun poisoning one time and that's no fun. I will say though as far as reducing and controlling my seizures it worked great. I wish you and your son the best of luck and May God Bless the Both of You!

Sue

 

[acshuman]

Absence Seizures Being Affected by Self-Confidence

CindyGillmore,
I was diagnosed with Absence Epilepsy when I was 11yo. I never let my E cause me to feel like I couldn't to do anything. Doing this can be something that can give a young person the self-confidence that they need in themselves to counteract their E.
I have met many people over the 50 years I have had E who have told me how they literally withdrew from society after they received their diagnosis of E and they then saw a rise in the number of seizures that they had to deal with.
When I kept doing everything I wanted to do I was on teams and putting myself out in the view of everyone. When I did this the people who were teammates or the people who saw me all of the time realized that I was still do anything that a 'normal' kid could do even if I had E! This allowed me to NOT have to think about my E constantly and thinking of other things instead of my E put me at a much lower level of stress(relaxed NOT uptight). This feeling of being able to do everything the other kids could do allowed me to be much more relaxed.
You know how a person being stressed can lead to more seizures. The feeling of being relaxed and confident can also lead to fewer seizures IMO. I say this because This is what happened to me! :clap:

ACsHuman

 

[Nakamova]

Some folks have found success controlling absence seizures with the Modified Atkins Diet (a less restrictive approach than the ketogenic diet). It's best attempted with the help of of registered nutritionist or dietician.

http://www.atkinsforseizures.com/