Hi an other newbie.

[lil-z]

:wave:Hi I am only 25 & I have a 3year & 7month old son & a 1year & 6month old son, My eldest son has ahd fits(seizures) since he was 10months old I kept getting told it was febrile convulsions & that they wouldnt do any thing untill he was 5 so i had to wait another 2 years but now hes just been diagnosed with Epilepsy :clap:... hence me joining you all here,now I've got one problem.......I have been given the choice to have him on medication because of the side effects!!!! onder: The medication is Epilim & the side effects the doctor said about was the liver problems it could cause & the aggression as these are most common aparently.... this is the most toughest decision I've ever had to make as I dont want to not medicate him & for him to keep fitting & hitting his head every time he goes down as he is only 3, or do I medicate him & risk him getting a liver problem when he is older???? Also the aggression could be a problem as he is in nursery at the moment & I dont want him to be a "billy no mates" because hes a nasty little wotsit.
His fits have been more frequent since they first started as he had his first one in june 2006 then again in October & again in december but since september 2008 hes had 5 episodes of grand-mal seizures & 3 episodes of petit-mal seizures so it seems to be getting worse. my other son is very confused when all this happens as its not a normall day to day thing for him to see so please help me if you can,:adore: all comments are welcome.
Sorry to go on but hey the more you know the more you can help.x.:tup:

 

[epileric]

Hi lil-z & welcome:hello:

There's a lot of parents here whom I'm sure can see your point of view better than me as I'm the one with epilepsy. When I was younger I was on epilim (valproic acid) for many years. You have to remember that liver problems & aggression are possible side-effects. Despite being on it for over 10 years my liver is in fantastic condition according to my neurologist (just had the tests done). I never perceived myself as aggressive but that''s my own self-perception. Others might not agree.

All medications have some side-effects. It is all a matter of seeing what meds effect your son the least & balance that with which help his seizures the best. My personal advice would be to try the medication & closely monitor his emotions and liver to see if there is a change & whether it's enough of one to worry about.

There are a lot of posts here about using diet & lifestyle to help seizures & lessen or eliminate the need for medication. I'm sure Robin will eventually share her experiences with diet. She can say more than I can about that.

For now make yourself at home, check out the nooks & crannies on this site or even go to the padded room & vent your stresses there. This is actually one of the most comfortable places I've found.

 

[skillefer]

Hi lil-Z! Welcome to CWE. As epileric said, there's no such thing as a safe med. Heck, even asprin can cause problems. I've been on meds for over 20 years, and all my organs are still doing good. Now, that being said, I think that you should know that there are other treatment options. These include the GARD diet, vitamin supplementation, EEG Neurofeedback, etc.... If you're lucky, your doc will be willing to let you try the options. First, look into the options and see what you think will work best. Get copies of the info and take them to the doc. Ask him about them and see what his opinion is. Some docs prescribe meds because their patients are looking for a quick fix, and then that's just the rut that they get into. But if you were to ask their private opinions, they'd advocate at least trying the options. So make sure that you and your son's doc are having a dialogue...not a monologue.

 

[RobinN]

I am curious if these seizures began after vacinations?
Does your son have any intestinal problems?
Any other neurological issues?
Possibilities of allergies?
Have you ever looked into making nutritional changes?

 

[carlasmoore]

Welcome Lil-z, It will take time to find the right choice for you and your son and I agree all meds have risks. All you can do is evaluate to the best of your ability. Everything has risks and precautions and most we can't avoid so don't let the possibility of side effects determine what could still be the better choice for your son. He may have a more fulfilled life with the side effects if the medications help control the seizures and gives him a better quality of life. God Bless you

 

[lil-z]

Thank you very much for all your comments & opinions, they are all helping me all are welcome,

He has no allergies that we know of & he is all up to date with his vaccinations well hes to have his pre-school booster on monday, i got a letter through today with a date for his 24hour EEG which is on 15th April so that was very quick & ive got to wait up to a couple of months for his MRI scan. Im thinking of trying him on the medication & if nothing changes or he changes for the worse then he can come off them...basically a trial period. the doctor did say a trial period will be about 2 years as it could take a year to get the meds at the right dose for him, do you think this is a good decision ?????

Feel free to ask any more questions as you need to know stuff in order to help me.
Thanks again.x.

 

[RobinN]

I ask these questions because there can be allergies to foods with no known symptom other than seizures. There is a community of parents that have seen regression or seizures following vacinations (not all immediately though either) I believe my daughters speech was delayed due to her immunization and another setback due to her boosters. All my children have auto-immune issues. Certainly something to consider and make note of.