Puberty and Myoclonic jerks

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy Forums

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy forums - a peer support community for folks dealing (directly or indirectly) with seizure disorders. You can visit the forum page to see the list of forum nodes (categories/rooms) for topics.

Please have a look around and if you like what you see, please consider registering an account and joining the discussions. When you register an account and log in, you may enjoy additional benefits including no ads, access to members only (ie. private) forum nodes and more. Registering an account is free - you have nothing to lose!

T

tink1967

New
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Hi

I have a 15 year old boy with special needs who is having testosterone injections, but since he has been on this his jerks have increased and are developing into abscenses. The information I am getting is that due to the change in body mass it could be affecting his levels even more.

Is there anyone else who has experienced this themselves or with a family member who can offer any support on how the jerks change or affected them in their teen years.

Thanks in advance

Tink1967
 
Hi Tink1967, welcome to CWE!

Testosterone tends to have an anti-seizure effect, so it would be unusual for it to be causing the change in your son's seizures. Are there any other factors that might be playing a role? Is your son on any anti-seizure medication for the jerks/absences? Is he on any other medications or taking any supplements?

best,
Nakamova
 
Hi again,

He is on Lamictal 100mg twice a day and Topiramate 125mg twice a day which has just been increased to this in the last 3 weeks. He is also on growth hormone (which he has been for several years now), Hydrocortisone for Adrennal Insuffieciency 24 mg over the day, Thyroxine 75mg a day, Nitrofuintoin long term antibiotice for reccurrent urine and ear infections and the Testosterone injections of 0.6mg that was also increased in the last 3 months.

His jerks are stronger and he now has periods of floppyness and abscence. Its very frustrating as he cant tell us whats going on so its all a guessing game.

Tink
 
With multiple meds it can be tough to figure out what's causing what. But since metabolism changes during puberty that could be one factor affecting clearance of his meds. Thyroxine can lower seizure threshold and can make absence seizures worse, so that could be playing a role as well. As he had levels tested for any or all of his meds recently?
 
He had his Thyroid tested in April, and that was fine along with glucose etc. He's only ever had the jerks up till recently so its baffling as to what is causing it all, or if it is all combined that is causing the problem. They have this afternoon suggested doing an up to date EEG to see whats occuring and to now see a Neurologist. Lets hope this throws some light on the situation.

Thanks for your input it has been nice to talk to someone about all of this.
 
Has his dose of Lamictal changed recently? It can worsen myoclonic jerks in some people (but in others it can help; go figure). It worsened mine when I reached 200mg.
Medication can be a frustrating road of trial and error. Hope you get things figured out soon!
 
Hi again,

They have not changed the Lamictal for over a year and even then it was a small increase. I think the body mass change caused by the testosterone increase has caused the inbalance but the occurance of absences now is a bit of a worry.

We are now seeing the consultant in two weeks so maybe a new plan then.

Thanks again

Tink1967
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom