What does it mean to be "well controlled"?

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underapileofbooks

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My son (9) is new to seizures. He is on leviracetem (spelling?) generic Keppra. Our neuro gave us a pamphlet that says to call if a "well controlled" child has a seizure. There is no info about how long you would go without seizures to be considered well controlled. Thoughts? Thank you!
 
underapileofbooks

Sorry to hear about your son, the thing is "well controlled" might mean something different for your son. Let me try to explain if I am having 10 seizures a day and then go on medication this brings it down to 1 seizure a day that is considered well controlled by doctors and by some of us. You will have a much better idea yourself because you know the number of seizures already, you know how he show act ect and from all this you will understand. This does not make things easier for you and for that I am sorry. But you have to keep trying and do not forget the seizure diary.
 
A good general time span is 6 months. If your son has been seizure-free for 6 months and then has one out of the blue, that would be a reason to call the neuro. But if there's any doubt or confusion in your son's case, go ahead and give your his neuro a call -- it never hurts to ask. :)

There can be different standards for this based on an individual's seizure history. For legal (driving) purposes, states require anywhere from 6 months to a year. To consider the possibility of tapering off medication, neurologists prefer waiting at least 2 to 5 years.
 
I consider myself well-controlled because I haven't had a tonic-clonic recently. I have partials daily, but as they're more a nuisance than a problem I don't count them.
 
Set a threshold yourself. If the seizure seems different or it scares you for any reason, call the doc. An even better suggestion is to just ask the doctor when he needs to be informed.

If your son has seizures every day, a month without seizures could be considered good control. It's all relative.
 
This is a very great question, as I too wonder the same thing from time to time. For me, I too use the 6 month rule. If I'm having auras, but don't have a seizure I'd count that towards the 6 months.
 
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