New today: Worried, 10-Year-Old Son having Temporal Lobe Partial Seizures?

[OhJustMe123]

My son has an EEG tomorrow and I think it is so odd that we are going to do a test to make him have a seizure. Everything in me as a mom wants to protect him from having one, not trick his brain into doing it again. He only has visual issues once a week, his particle seizures are mild and infrequent, so what if this triggers something and makes it all worse?

His pediatrician is pretty adamant about it. They also got him an appt with a neurologist next monday.

What I'm wondering is, is it possible to have TL seizures just "because?". Or is it always a mass that is causing it?

My son gets straight A's, he's a bit of genius and is an amazing soccer player. I'm terrified for him that this will change.

He just got over a severe case of the flu and last week he was having weird things come up like smells that no one else could smell and seeing "zoomed out". Then he has a real seizure after taking Tylanol for a high fever, so we put him in the bathtub to cool down his fever and he fought us tooth and nail which is not his personality at all. He looked at us like he didn't even recognize us. Then he didn't remember any of it later on when his fever finally came down.

So now we are starting tests and I hate that we have to do an EEG tomorrow. I want to shield his eyes from flashing lights anything that could make him worse, not expose him to them. It seems so counterintuitive to do this. Can't an MRI find the issue without needing an EEG

Any thoughts? Can anyone help relieve my fear for my son?
-Thank you

 

[masterjen]

Welcome to CWE!
An EEG allows the recording of brainwaves to determine if any brainwaves are abnormal and indicative of seizure activity. An MRI cannot do this, and only looks for structural abnormalities. While structural abnormalities such as masses and scarring can cause seizures, they are far less common than the so-called idiopathic (no known cause, or the "just because" seizures as you call them) causes of seizures.
Triggering a seizure helps the neurologist potentially identify where the seizure is coming from, and records the brainwaves during a seizure and if the seizure focus or type is known treatment can sometimes be more successful than if the seizure focus or seizure type is not known.
Keep track of your son's seizures and the potential triggers, what he did during the seizure, how long it lasted, does he have any warning before a seizure, what does he feel like after the seizure, etc. Help him to get enough sleep as well as to go to bed at a consistent time. Does a stressful school day bother him (yes, even geniuses can be stressed by school), and if so speak to his teachers about allowing extra time for homework assignments or for exams.

 

[valeriedl]

When I had my first seizure they had no idea what caused it, and still don't. A head injury and things like that are not the only ways that people can cause seizures and be diagnosed with epilepsy.

When I have a complex partial I black out during them. When I come out of it I don't remember anything that happened during it and sometimes even a little bit before I had it. I don't have tonic clonics that often but this happens when I have them too. I have fought with my husband when he tries to take things off of me that I'm playing with during a seizure. I walk around during some of my seizures and I've fought with him when he will try to get me to sit down.

During a simple partial I do remember what went on during the seizure but I'm a little confused about what's going on during it.

If your son is diagnosed with epilepsy doesn't mean he's going to be stupid so don't think that! However depending on what the drs say your son might have to stop playing soccer, but he may not have to.

Do all the things that masterjen said about keeping track of the seizures. This will help your dr out.

Causing your son to have a seizure during a test does sound stupid but this does help the drs find out where in the brain that might be causing the seizures. If they find out then there might be a chance to have brain surgery. If your son were to have brain surgery this won't make him 'stupid' either.

 

[cawhitern]

Welcome to CWE!
I don't have anything new to add but wanted to reassure you that inducing a seizure won't make it worse. Many children outgrow seizures. My sister, niece and nephew did.
Good luck and please let us know how your son is doing. You're in the right place for good information and support.
Cindy

 

[StonedMason]

Howdy folks

New to the forum, so if I get protocols wrong, or respond to the wrong message, in my defense am not a techie. Just throwing my 2 cents in, in agreement with the others, have been through quite a few tests, sounds like an E.E.G in combination with some flashing lights, had those and the sleep deprived variety of the same test. As all have mentioned, it is part of the process of elimination/confirmation diagnosis process, if it causes seizures or not, that result alone can help, also as others have mentioned, it helps with the treatment through clarification of the symptoms.
Have you looked into one of the seizure detection watches, no idea myself, am still awaiting mine, due next month. Just I have found 'unbiased' information, so that provided by a machine not a person, is more easily transferable between doctors, you don't have to spend hours getting to know each other before they trust the information. Lets see if that makes sense to anyone but me.

 

[Porkette]

Welcome OhJustMe,

I started having seizures when I was 10 53 now and take my word having an e.e.g along with an MRI and other tests will help your sons neuro know what's going on and what's possibly causing his seizures. I found out when I had a special e.e.g done where they flashed different color strobe lights one at a time that I was photosensitive meaning certain colors would trigger my seizures. As it was mentioned be sure to keep track of your sons seizures get a calendar and write down what time the seizure happens along with a description of the seizure take my word this helps the Dr. out a lot.
Just like your son I have simple partial seizures where I smell odd odors that others don't smell and then I see different colors after that I sometime blank out for a few seconds and I wander around not realizing what I'm doing but I will still talk to the person and answer question this is a simple partial seizure leading into a complex partial seizure. Ask your son if he gets a nervous feeling in his stomach or sees colors flashing in his eyes, if he does tell him to tighten up all the muscles in his body and make his hands into tight fists if he does this in time it can stop the seizure. My neuro taught me this back in the mid 1970's and I've stopped many seizures.
When I get a cold or sick with a virus I will often have seizures and I have been told by my Dr. that it happens because my body chemistry is being thrown off by taking over the counter meds to help a cold or whatever I'm sick with and this will cause me to have seizures. It's up to you and your family but I've gotten the most help when I started seeing a Epileptologist which is a Dr. who specializes in epilepsy. After I started seeing an Epileptologist I found out the cause of my seizures, and was put on the least amount of med to control my seizures along with having brain surgery to reduce them. Take note of the weather sometimes that can trigger seizures for some people I have found that when there's a low pressure in the weather I will often have seizures and that's because the air is more heavy which in turn affects the hormones which can lead to seizures for me.
You may want to try giving your son vitamin B12 once a day I have found it reduces my seizures a lot because it calms the nerves down.
Look at Elton John, Edgar Allen Poe, Prince, Einstein, Alan Faneca (retired professional football player) all of these people have or had epilepsy and it didn't stop them. I wish you and your son only the best and May God Bless the Both of You!

Sue

 

[Howll]

Try not to worry too much, an EEG may not, and will likely not, cause a seizure. He may not be photosensitive, nothing may show up at all. Sometimes they can record seizure activity without actually having a noticeable seizure. I had an EEG a few months ago and they noted some seizure activity but I felt fine throughout it.

 

[alivenwell]

I agree, the EEG is painless. They make you lay still, lift an arm, a leg, open/close eyes, etc. If your son is not scared of the dark, he will do fine.

If he has a seizure during the EEG, he should be on a bed where he is safe. Like others said, it will see exactly where seizure activity starts and may help them refine his medication.

For some people, a seizure response or seizure alert dog can alert you to a seizure. It might be worth researching.

 

[Hobbes]

maybe OhJustMe123 can update people on how things went this past year...