I´m new and scared. My 17 yr. old daughter just had a eeg done this week due to overactive behaviour nights and extreme tiredness during the day. It showed peaks that concern the ped.neurologist. Tomorrow a sleep eeg is scheduled, next week a MRI. She doesn´t have seizures during the day. I´m scared and have been reading so much in internet. What if she has a brain tumor, or.... I´d appreciate any help! Live in Germany.
Hi, I´m new and would like to introduce myself.
- Thread starter Julie
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epileric
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Welcome Julie
I myself have had epilepsy all my life but there are a lot of parents here who have children with it.
I'm sure it is scary not knowing what is causing the seizures but remember that having seizures doesn't necessarily mean one has a tumour. Quite often the doctors can't find a reason for the seizures.
In the meantime you're very lucky to have doctors that are being so thorough with their testing. I wish more doctors were like that.
I myself have had epilepsy all my life but there are a lot of parents here who have children with it.
I'm sure it is scary not knowing what is causing the seizures but remember that having seizures doesn't necessarily mean one has a tumour. Quite often the doctors can't find a reason for the seizures.
In the meantime you're very lucky to have doctors that are being so thorough with their testing. I wish more doctors were like that.
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Hi Julie, welcome to CWE.
I'm sorry you're going through this, I know it's tough and scary. If your daughter is having seizures, it could be due to a variety of secondary and primary causes. Sometimes it's just a matter of having a low seizure threshold, and then a combination of triggers that push you over. A teenager tends to have a more volatile metabolism in terms of hormone, nutrition and sleep, so that could be playing a role here. Keep in mind that most seizure disorders are of unknown origin, and the majority don't involve tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures.
The EEGs and MRI are standard to help confirm or rule out a seizure disorder. You're doing the right thing by looking for more information, but try and take a deep breath, and don't get paralyzed by anxiety about worst-case scenarios. (I know, I know, it's hard to turn off that worrying part of the brain). This forum is a great source of information AND support, so I hope you feel free to ask for advice and comfort as needed.
Best,
Nakamova
I'm sorry you're going through this, I know it's tough and scary. If your daughter is having seizures, it could be due to a variety of secondary and primary causes. Sometimes it's just a matter of having a low seizure threshold, and then a combination of triggers that push you over. A teenager tends to have a more volatile metabolism in terms of hormone, nutrition and sleep, so that could be playing a role here. Keep in mind that most seizure disorders are of unknown origin, and the majority don't involve tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures.
The EEGs and MRI are standard to help confirm or rule out a seizure disorder. You're doing the right thing by looking for more information, but try and take a deep breath, and don't get paralyzed by anxiety about worst-case scenarios. (I know, I know, it's hard to turn off that worrying part of the brain). This forum is a great source of information AND support, so I hope you feel free to ask for advice and comfort as needed.
Best,
Nakamova
Thanks for taking a moment and writing back. Here in Germany, it´s after midnight and it´s not good to worry at night. Early tomorrow morning I´m supposed to wake my daughter (after 4 hrs. of sleep) so that she´ll be sleepy for her sleep eeg at 1pm. On top of that, we´ve got to go to the dr. to have blood taken (no breakfast). Sounds like a party to me! Ha! But seriously, don´t want to complain. There are certainly worse things.
Hi Julie.
I am sorry to hear about what you are going through. I have been living with epilepsy for most my life but I was diagnosed about 10 years ago after I had my first grand mal .
I also have 2 little children, and luckily, both are healthy and do not show symptoms - but I would be as worried sick and terrified as you are if they were to go through what I do.
On a side note. There is a lot of information on the Internet, some true, some false, and most importantly, we are human and very complex and there is a very very slight chance that what you read online will have any relevance to your daughters' case.
Try to listen to what the doctors say and if you don't feel comfortable with a doctor, then switch doctors and find one you feel comfortable with. Neurologysts are many and they come in lots of forms and experience levels.
Those tests that your daughter is going through are just that. Tests. And They are pretty standard. If she has a tumor, the MRI will show it for sure. But before you start to worry yourself sick about that, I will leave you with a story from my experience.
When I was younger, I had this old family doctor. And I had this lump and I went it to see him. And I asked him if it's cancer and his reply was, "what, is that the best you can do? you weren't able to find anything more tragic than that?"
Try not to worry. Do the tests and see what they say. They will probably find nothing. A lot of seizure disorder cases are unexplained and they cant see or figure out why they happen.
Best of luck.
I am sorry to hear about what you are going through. I have been living with epilepsy for most my life but I was diagnosed about 10 years ago after I had my first grand mal .
I also have 2 little children, and luckily, both are healthy and do not show symptoms - but I would be as worried sick and terrified as you are if they were to go through what I do.
On a side note. There is a lot of information on the Internet, some true, some false, and most importantly, we are human and very complex and there is a very very slight chance that what you read online will have any relevance to your daughters' case.
Try to listen to what the doctors say and if you don't feel comfortable with a doctor, then switch doctors and find one you feel comfortable with. Neurologysts are many and they come in lots of forms and experience levels.
Those tests that your daughter is going through are just that. Tests. And They are pretty standard. If she has a tumor, the MRI will show it for sure. But before you start to worry yourself sick about that, I will leave you with a story from my experience.
When I was younger, I had this old family doctor. And I had this lump and I went it to see him. And I asked him if it's cancer and his reply was, "what, is that the best you can do? you weren't able to find anything more tragic than that?"
Try not to worry. Do the tests and see what they say. They will probably find nothing. A lot of seizure disorder cases are unexplained and they cant see or figure out why they happen.
Best of luck.