Looking for advice - brother had first seizure 4 days ago.

[Kaysera]

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice. My brother is 11 years old with a diagnosis of autism and learning disability. He had an absence followed by a tonic clonic seizure 4 days ago - this was the first time he has had a seizure.

We realised that the week prior to the seizure Ben was licking his lips a lot, and seemed to be pushing his tongue against the inside of his lips and pushing his lips out to the side with his teeth. We hadn't worried about this at the time as due to his autism he has many unusual mannerisms/habits and simply presumed he's picked up a new one. He continued to lick his lips a lot throughout Saturday (the day he had the seizure). He stopped this from sunday onwards however we noticed him doing it a little tonight.

He is unable to explain the sensations he experiences due to limited communicative abilities with his autism/l.d. I have been looking up to find out if his lip licking could be related to seizure activity and am unsure whether to contact the doctor.

Can anyone advise?

Thanks in advance

 

[Nakamova]

Hi Kaysera --

I moved your post to its own thread, so folks could welcome you and respond.

Lip-licking or smacking can be a kind of Complex Partial seizure. (Other symptoms of this kind of seizure are automatic involuntary movements like chewing, fidgeting, walking, etc.) It would be a good idea to check in with a doc to see if your brother is at risk for further seizures. There is a high incidence of seizure disorders among people with autism, so it's worth getting him checked out. Did your brother go to the ER after the grand mal? Was he put on any anti-seizure med?

Best,
Nakamova

 

[Kaysera]

Hi Nakamova,

Thanks for moving my post across - I wasn't sure how to start a new thread myself. He did go to the ER and was monitored overnight though wasn't put on any medication. They are arranging an appointment for an EEG in the next week - 10 days to scan for any abnormal activity. I think I will ring the doctor today to let them know he has started licking his lips again just to chat it over. Thanks for your reply,

Kaysera

 

[Bernard]

Hi Kaysera, welcome to the forum. :hello:

Thanks for moving my post across - I wasn't sure how to start a new thread myself. ...

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f26/cwe-101-newbies-9257/

I think I will ring the doctor today to let them know he has started licking his lips again just to chat it over. ...

Very good idea. It's quite possible that he's been having undiagnosed complex partial seizures for some time.