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edb

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Hi everybody,

Maybe I should have opened a new post but I found this discussion here and hope to get some answers...
My 5 yo daughter has just been diagnosed following an episode of convulsions and I was wondering if low blood sugar was the trigger because everything points to it ... I am also a bit confused about the fact that she has now 1-2 absences a day, always in the morning after she wakes up; she had not had them before but were caught on the EEG that was done following this convulsions episode and I think that is how she has been diagnosed.
Can absences be related to low blood sugar?
What can I expect further? Sorry, I am new to this, we don't have any family history related to seizure disorders and I am trying to get as much info as I can...
 
Welcome to the site

Low blood sugar is a common trigger of seizures (one of many). All triggers are associated with seizures of all kinds. Low blood sugar can trigger a partial seizure (petit mal) in one person & a tonic/clonic (convulsive) in someone else.

Everyone has their own triggers & some are pretty unusual so keep a lookout for other things that might trigger seizures of all kinds in your daughter.
 
Have you tried to keep a seizure diary for her?

This would keep track of the things she eats, excersice/activity, things she drinks, bed times, wake up times, medication doses and times and of course any noticed seizures.

You can then enter this information (say once a month) onto seizuretracker.com, and it can help you find some patterns to it.

Have you had her tested for diabetes or hypoglycemia? what about celiac?
 
Thank you very much for the answers! It is really good to talk to someone about this!

She will have blood tests in about two weeks and an MRI in 3 months...yes, I started a diary for her, too. I just looked into the celiac and it does not seem to fit, with hypoglycemia though I can almost check every sign. In the ER her glucose test came back "very low but in the normal range" they said...I've read about this, too and I feel like we should investigate more on this.

Logic would be that if we control her blood sugar she would be absence free but I know it cannot be that simple ... my daughter's teacher said she grew out of hypoglycemia by the time she was 7. On the other hand, they say that ~70% of children with absences can outgrow them by the time they are 12...

There are so many thoughts going through my head right now; I guess we should wait for her tests to be done but I can't help thinking of "possibilities". She's never had any health problems, it was a shock for us to find out she has epilepsy.

One more question...she is on Valproate, started with a very low dose and is increasing it over four weeks. When is this supposed to have full effect, right from the beggining or at the end of the four weeks?

Again, thanks a lot for listening and answering!!! If there is anyone with a similar story I would really like to hear it! Also, any advice on how to deal with this would be very much appreciated!
 
with the valproate, I would talk to her neuro or the pharmacist. Everyone works on a different dose. For instance, she may have great seizure control at 100mg while it could take me 300mg. so full effectiveness varies from person to person.

One thing I have learned is that E is not all cut and dry, and doesnt fit neatly into pretty boxes tied with pretty bows. statistics with E are very hard to follow, as there are plenty that fall outside the statistics. I am 20years old and I have absence seizures.

I would definitely get on that hypoglycemia testing. and try the testing into celiac anyway. again, there is a huge correlation between gluten allergies/intolerance and neurological ailments like seizures or ADD etc.
 
Oh, thank you very much Rae!!! Have you had them since childhood? Are they under control? Sorry for so many questions, you might have answered these already to someone else...
My biggest fear is that my daughter's absences are going to increase in frequency, right now they are very brief (2 sec) and occuring in the morning; we see them because we basically follow her everywhere and keep her busy playing with one of us...today she said something about some "black lines", that she needs glasses like her grandma but is waiting for them (the black lines) because it's fun ?!? could this be an aura or a seizure itself?
 
I believe I have had absences since childhood, but never taken in to get them checked out. just told that I never paid attention to things, when I swore I did. I got diagnosed in October 09 after landing in the hospital in grand mal status (seizures that dont stop). I had several seizures before this, but never went in to get them checked. I knew they were seizures so I figured I didnt need anyone to tell me that.

as far as the black lines. they could be simple partials (which are a small seizure. also called auras, if a bigger seizure follows, such as a grand mal or complex partial.) that would be my guess. I get lights and what looks like glitter . I see coloured snow and wonky coloured lines. I also smell things that arent actually around. like burning rubber.
 
Ok, it looks like they didn't bother you too much for a long time then...this is encouraging actually!
I get really scared when I see my daughter daydreaming maybe because I don't really know what to expect. She is in pre-school but we thought we better keep her home for now ... I could go and sit in class with her but I am afraid to do that too.
I cannot believe how our lives changed in only two weeks!!!
 
Yes,
it can feel like the carpet has just been pulled out from under you, but the important thing is that the smaller ones do not seem to bother her.

I would have kept in preschool *but thats just my opinion* as sometimes absence seizures can cause a bit of a learning delay when it comes to paying attention. just because her mind is elsewhere while trying to spell or read etc. the earlier the head start the better. again, thats just my opionion.

does she twitch at all?
 
Welcome, edb!

I'm so sorry to hear your daughter isn't feeling well. Hard for her, hard for you. Your daughter has both convulsions and absence seizures? Did your doctor say what type of seizures the convulsions are?

You are a great parent looking into blood sugar, diet, etc. while waiting for tests. Because you are jumping on this right away, she has a better chance of getting rid of the seizures for good.
 
Hey edb --

Even if your daughter's glucose numbers come in at the "low/normal" range, that doesn't mean that she's not being affected by low blood sugar. Everyone has a different threshold.
 
No, she does not have any of the other signs...just staring/daydreaming, the absences are very short (2-3 seconds) and they happened mostly twice a day so far, in the morning. Her pre-school is an afternoon program so with this pattern she could be ok, it's just me that I am so afraid of everything now...maybe when I see she's doing ok after the first four weeks on medication I will try and let her go to school.
Thank you very much for your replies!
 
Thank you very much for your comments...it really helps!

She only had convulsions once after vomiting the previous night (that's how we ended up in the ER). We thought she fainted and fell down few stairs. She had another episode of vomiting two days after, this time with staring but without convulsions ... We were told that she had an absence during the EEG ( I guess the pattern was clear on the recordings) but the diagnosis is just idiopathic epilepsy. She clearly has the absences now. We were explained that whenever someone has two seizures it is called epilepsy.

I was watching few movies with tonic-clonic and other types of convulsions but they don't really resemble my daughter's; she did not get stiff at all, did not have rythmic movements...I don't know

Yes, that's what I was thinking when hearing "very low but normal". Only I didn't know at that time that low blood sugar could be a trigger for the seizures. Then I found some info but I did not know if absences could be related too, or just tonic-clonics...

Thanks again for your time!
 
The majority of epilepsy diagnoses are idiopathic (that is, of unknown origin. A known origin would be something like a traumatic brain injury, or scarring from surgery).

And the majority of seizures aren't the kind that involve convulsions. Everyone associates epilepsy with tonic-clonics, but in fact it's more common to have a seizure disorder that involves the "subtler" symptoms like spacing out or, experiencing a strange sensation.
 
Nakamova said:
And the majority of seizures aren't the kind that involve convulsions. Everyone associates epilepsy with tonic-clonics, but in fact it's more common to have a seizure disorder that involves the "subtler" symptoms like spacing out or, experiencing a strange sensation.
Click to expand...

I didn't know that...but I didn't and I still don't know many things about epilepsy. I looked for those movies to try and sort out what kind of seizure my daughter had.

I really hope the medication will work, I'll try to feed my daughter well and make her have a nap during the day...I don't know what else I can do, is any of you taking vitamins? Maybe I should talk to her doctor about nutritional suplements.
 
Thank you!
I'll be browsing around for different info for some time I guess...
 
Hi! Low blood sugar can trigger seizures. ( I should know...they trigger mine. ) If your daughter is having them first thing in the morning, then you might want to consider having her have a high protein snack before going to bed. Notice, I said protein...not poptart. My hubby still tries getting me sweets, and it's hard trying to explain that even though you'd think that low blood sugar would mean I need to have more sugar, that in fact, it means the opposite. So try giving her a protein based snack before bed. Something like nuts, or two boiled eggs and some carrot sticks.

Also, you might want to send snacks with her to school. ( The school will usually let her eat it if she has a note that you give to the school nurse.) I have to eat every two hours to keep my blood sugar stable. So I'm forever snacking on a piece of fruit, veggies with peanut butter, nuts, cottage cheese, yogurt, string cheese, whole grain crackers and such. Don't let her get to the point where she's "starving" and her hands are trembling. That means her blood sugar is dangerously low.

Also, you might want to notify the school nurse on the off chance that she has a seizure in school. ( I do on occasion...and I'm the teacher. :) It's easier on the staff if they know that a seizure is a possibility. And let them know how you want seizures handled.. Do you want them to call you or the ambulance first?)

Also, another thing to consider is that many times hormone fluctuations can trigger seizures too. So when she gets ready to go through puberty, you may end up seeing seizure activity too.

I know...there's alot to think of right now. But just remember that you arent' alone..and that your daughter will be watching to see how you react to the seizures. Just like toddlers learn how to react to other things, how you react to her seizures may effect how she ends up feeling about them. :) Also, just because she has seizures does not mean that she cannot go on and lead a totally productive life. :)
Many of us here have advanced degrees, careers, loving marriages/relationships, and loving families. Try to think of the seizures like other medical issues like asthma or diabetes. Something to be dealt with. :) Yeah, it might limit her ability to do certain things, like go swimming by herself. But hey, it's more fun to swim with other people around anyway. :)
 
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Thank you very much for your post skillefer!!! High protein snack before going to bed is a very useful information...shame on me, I didn't know that. Just like your husband I thought she would need more sweets. The "food alphabet" is something I still have to learn...are you controlling your seizures with food only?

My daughter is in pre-school, only 2.5 hours a day and they have a snack break so everything should be fine for now...

Again, thanks a lot for your post!!!
 
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