What type of seizure did my son have?

[Starburst]

Hello to everyone. I pray that you are all well.

I have a son who was born with epilepsy, and he is now about 2.5 years old. So far, all of his seizures have taken place while he is asleep, but this week I have noticed two incidents while he is awake. Basically his entire body will vibrate in an unnatural way. When this took place today, he seemed awake but a bit spaced out. He was sitting and did not fall. However, every few minutes, his body would vibrate. I took him to lie down on the bed, and he continued to "vibrate" every few minutes. Then suddenly he started talking and seemed fine and did not vibrate after that.

Does this sound like a seizure? If so, does anyone know what kind? I have seen these vibrations while he is asleep but not while he is awake. He was actually asleep right before this took place, but we woke him up to eat dinner. So I don't know if he was actually in the middle of some type of seizure activity while asleep and then we disturbed him.

Also, he is taking both Keppra and Topamax and we just increased the dose of Topamax about 3 weeks ago. If anyone has thoughts on this, I would appreciate it so much. I myself feel quite shaken up as this is the first time I have seen him experience something like this while awake.

Sorry to post this twice in both the nursery and kitchen, but I wanted to have different perspectives from both parents and people who have seizures themselves.

 

[chmmr]

I'm not sure what it would be so i'm no help there, but the one thing i would say is to make sure you try and video tape it if you see it happen again. My daughters neuro always suggests videotaping anything that i am suspiscious about so that she can review it. I hope you get it figured out!

 

[qtowngirl]

well if it is a seizure (no way of knowing for sure without seeing the doc and/or having tests), there are a few possibilities. these come to mind...

Simple Partial- in the motor category (did his vibration seem jerky?):
Motor – A simple partial seizure with motor symptoms will affect muscle activity, causing jerking movements of the foot, face, arm, or another part of the body. Physicians can diagnose which side of the brain is affected by observing which side of the body experiences symptoms (left brain controls right side, right brain controls left side).

Myoclonic- is a quick jolt such as a leg or foot kicking out (considered more rare tho to jolt continuously, so if he went on for minutes straight this may not be a possibility).

Clonic-
During a clonic seizure, the individual’s muscles begin to spasm and jerk. The elbows, legs and head will flex, and then relax rapidly at first, but the frequency of the spasms will gradually subside until they cease altogether. As the jerking stops, it is common for the person to let out a deep sigh, after which normal breathing resumes.

Complex Partial-
Patients experiencing a complex partial seizure may stare blankly into space, or experience automatisms (non-purposeful, repetitive movements).

to me a complex description sounds similar. best of luck and keep us posted

 

[chmmr]

What type of seizure does he typically have starburst? Is it at all possible that he was feverish during that time? With my toddlers they have very occasionally gotten severe shivers ( that's what I bought of when you said vibration. I'm not sure if that's what you meant?)

 

[N Sperlo]

Did the "vibrations" seem like repetitive motions or convulsions?

That may be a hard questions to answer. Like chmmr said, record it and show it to the doctor. It could be many things. Your only good answer will come from the doc.

Good luck!

 

[Starburst]

Thank you for your responses. I did not think to videotape the incident, but that is a good idea and something I will keep in mind for the future.

He usually has myoclonic seizures/jerks while asleep, but lately it just looks like his whole body is shaking. It is sort of like "shivers" with some electric element, sort of like those cartoons you see where someone plugged his finger into an electric socket and got shocked. At first I thought he was shivering due to the cold weather we are having, but then I saw it happening every couple of minutes. He did not have a fever. The confusing thing (to me) was that he seemed awake, but I felt like he was really in a state of sleep.

In any case, I know I have to ask the doctor about this, but I do appreciate you giving me some things to contemplate before I am able to speak with him.