Daughter with Seizures

[Ltessler01]

My 11 year old had febrile seizures… ( 3 ) from age newborn to 4…. Wasn’t on any medication, hit puberty and had a grand mal at age 11…. She has been on Keppra for 5 months and in the morning, before her dose- if she doesn’t have food- she seems “off or ditzy and forgetful” …… would you say that is more of a metabolism issue blood sugar issue or do you think she’s having potentially a partial vocal seizure?!

 

[Bernard]

Hi Ltessler01, welcome to the forum.

Impaired cognitive function could be evidence of a post ictal state indicating that she had a seizure. It could also just be that she has a blood pressure or blood sugar issue when she gets up first thing in the morning. If you suspect the former, you might broach the subject with her doctor and see if her situation merits an overnight sleep study/EEG to see if she's having seizures at night (or late morning). You could also just ask if splitting her Keppra dose (half at night, half in the morning) might be wise to maintain a more even blood serum level.

 

[Porkette]

Hi Ltessler01,
Welcome to CWE! I'm sorry to hear that your daughter is having seizures. I started having them when I was 10 yrs. old and
when I went through puberty that was a hard time because the hormones were changing so much that it would trigger seizures
for me. Take my word it's the Keppra that's making her feel ditzy and often when a person has seizures there short term memory
isn't as good as it was. Start giving your daughter zinc 25 mg. once a day that helps stop seizures and cut her back on the carbs
and starch foods and have her start eating foods high in fat this will build up ketones in her body which will reduce if not stop her
seizures it's called the ketogenic diet. Also keep her away from Nutra Sweet that will cause seizures like crazy because it causes
to much electrical activity in the brain.
Start keeping track of your daughters seizures and write down on a calendar what time she had the seizure along with the type of
seizure she had by doing this her Dr. may see a pattern in her seizures as to what days of the month or what time of the day/night
she has them more frequently. If your daughter like peanuts have her eat some of them that will help with the hormones changing.
To find the correct seizure med for her have her neurologist do a DNA test on her they will just draw some blood and get some
salvia from the inside of her mouth and that will go to the lab where they will be able to see the amount of enzymes in the liver
along with her body chemistry and then her Dr. can match that up to the best seizure med for her with the least side effects or
it will show if she is drug resistant like I am. I wish you and your daughter only the best and May God Bless the Both of You!

Sue