Hi there, I am the mother of an almost 4 yo boy with epilepsy (tonic clonic seizures). He had his first one when he was 2.5 yo. He is currently on sodium valproate syrup - we have it privately compounded by a chemist so it doesn't contain preservatives or colours and flavours as straight away we felt there was a negative impact on his behaviour and worried that it might be the 'extra rubbish' contained in the off-the-shelf syrup. However, the behaviour issues have continued to worsen, especially with increases of dose (of which we have had several). I am finding it more and more difficult to cope.
I want my little boy back - I don't feel I know or understand him anymore most of the time. I don't know how to keep him on an even keel. I still see glimpses of my calm, gentle, sensitive, well-behaved, empathic, intelligent, interested, chatty and fun little boy, but then his mood swings so suddenly and its impossible. Right now he seems so unhappy and dissatisfied most of the time, but unable to express it as he is so young.
He just romps about seemingly trying to make everyone else as irritated and upset and angry as he is feeling. I have two older children, so have been through the various phases of toddlers/preschoolers before, and their need to define their independence, and to challenge and to try new things etc. This seems so different. Its getting to the point where I am doubting my abilities as a parent and am fearful of taking him out anywhere because I can't be sure 'which boy' I'll be dealing with.
Has anyone else experienced aggression and/or need for hyper-stimulation (constantly needing to touch things, move, hit, scream, slam doors, break things, hurt/annoy people) when on sodium valproate?
Is the behaviour perhaps another kind of seizure? (I have so much to learn here about different kinds of epilepsy) Or is it the meds? Or the actual epilepsy itself? Or is it just age-related? The thing is, we got almost all the way through the 'terrible twos' - the usual challenges and frustrations etc - without particular incident. Just the usual issues every parent deals with. As I said, this seems different to age-related stuff, especially as it seems dose-related and is so changeable...
Anyway, thanks in advance for any support and/or information.
I want my little boy back - I don't feel I know or understand him anymore most of the time. I don't know how to keep him on an even keel. I still see glimpses of my calm, gentle, sensitive, well-behaved, empathic, intelligent, interested, chatty and fun little boy, but then his mood swings so suddenly and its impossible. Right now he seems so unhappy and dissatisfied most of the time, but unable to express it as he is so young.
He just romps about seemingly trying to make everyone else as irritated and upset and angry as he is feeling. I have two older children, so have been through the various phases of toddlers/preschoolers before, and their need to define their independence, and to challenge and to try new things etc. This seems so different. Its getting to the point where I am doubting my abilities as a parent and am fearful of taking him out anywhere because I can't be sure 'which boy' I'll be dealing with.
Has anyone else experienced aggression and/or need for hyper-stimulation (constantly needing to touch things, move, hit, scream, slam doors, break things, hurt/annoy people) when on sodium valproate?
Is the behaviour perhaps another kind of seizure? (I have so much to learn here about different kinds of epilepsy) Or is it the meds? Or the actual epilepsy itself? Or is it just age-related? The thing is, we got almost all the way through the 'terrible twos' - the usual challenges and frustrations etc - without particular incident. Just the usual issues every parent deals with. As I said, this seems different to age-related stuff, especially as it seems dose-related and is so changeable...
Anyway, thanks in advance for any support and/or information.
I took sodium valproate (depakote) when I was younger. But I didn't start on it till I was in my teens. Technically, the med is a dual purpose med. It is also used as a mood stabilizer. When I was on it, I never got too sad, or too happy. I'd suggest that you talk to the child's neurologist. The side effects you are describing sound really odd to me. Has he had his levels checked recently? 