diabetic seizure or epilepsy

[redbirdgirl]

My son is 16 and has had three seizures, starting November 2012. The common thread of the seizures is sleep deprivation. Today I had a doctor suggest that my son my be hypoglycemic. The doctor feels this way because we have a strong history of diabetes in our family and all seizures have happened first thing in the morning. There is no family history of epilepsy. The doctor suggested to test his blood sugar for seven days straight and see what the readings are. I am totally confused now...does this mean he might not have epilepsy but have a precursor to diabetes or could he have both? Any thoughts please. BTW,he has been diagnosed with tonic genetic generalized E with clonic seizures upon waking.

 

[Nakamova]

Option 1. His seizures are solely due to hypoglycemia. Seizures due to hypoglycemia are readily treatable. In the ER the patient is loaded with glucose via IV. The blood sugar quickly rises and the seizures stop. Patients who suffer from hypoglycemic seizures do not need to be on an anti-epileptic drug, and do not have epilepsy. If their blood sugar does not fall down again, they will not have another seizure.

Option 2. His seizures are due to epilepsy (i.e. a lowered seizure threshold). Secondary triggers for his epilepsy may include low blood sugar and sleep deprivation. Even with controlled blood sugar, he may still be at risk for seizures, since low blood sugar is not the primary cause.

 

[Nakamova]

Has he had an EEG which showed abnormal brainwaves? If so, then it's likely that he does suffer from epilepsy. In patients with non-epileptic hypoglycemic seizures the EEG between the seizures should be normal.

 

[redbirdgirl]

He has had three EEGs....one showed activity, but this was from the neurologist we didn't trust...the second one showed nothing, and we have not received the results from the third. I am just exploring all possibilities. If he does have hypoglycemia, at least may be we can control one trigger. Thanks for the responses...keep them coming.

 

[Haffgus]

My 15 year-old daughter has had type 1 diabetes for over 7 years. Her diabetes has always been well controlled with the help of an insulin pump. Her A1cs between 6 and 6.5. In late 2012 she started having seizures; all of them in the evening and late in the week, basically when she was tired. Her endo attributed them to low blood sugar, although she never felt low or tested low. After pursuing neurological testing and getting a sleep deprived EEG, she was diagnosed with generalized tonic clonic epilepsy. All 28 electrodes showed seizure activity. The neurologist said all of her seizures are from the epilepsy and not due to low blood sugar. A visit to the endocrinologist will help you determine if he has diabetes. They can do an A1c test and blood glucose test, or a urine test to see if there is sugar in the urine. I don't understand why the doctor would think he is hypoglycemic in the morning from diabetes. Untreated diabetes results in high blood sugar, not low blood sugar.

 

[Haffgus]

Another thought - After my daughter's seizures, her blood sugar would run low for the next day or two. We would have to reduce her insulin by 50 percent so she wouldn't go low.

 

[valeriedl]

Not too many years ago my grandma found out she was diabetic.

About a year ago she started having seizures. They were usually at night and she'd wake up my gerandfather shaking or come out of it on the floor where she'd fallen out of bed and sometimes with a black and blue mark on her face where she hit the night stand.

The dr put her on keppra but after a few months she couldn't tolerate the medicine. He told her to try to control the diabetes with her diet and I think she might be taking a medicine for it too. She's not taking shots though.

She hasn't had any more seizures since she's been taking care of her self better now. They never gave her a definite 'yes' that she had epilepsy.