Could anyone give more examples of what these are....when I observe DS in therapy - he will do a task for the SLP and she will wait for him to look and make contact with him, sometimes she could for wait for minutes as DS is looking around and not back at her - Im just wondering if this could be a starring spell?
YAY on being seizure free for so long!! (And to you too chera25!)
Mason used to have absence seizures...the only way I found out was because they caught them on an EEG...after they made me aware of what they were I realized that he was doing this staring off for a couple of seconds, it seemed like 100 times a day!
Since he has begun his meds, he no longer has these...he now only has CP & TC...I will notice daydreaming here or there and I start to worry that these are back too, but so far these are the only seizures we have been able to control!
We actually are in the middle of a med change with Mason because he is failing another med.
My daughter has Epilepsy but her seizures are Complex Partial Secondary Generalization (she's had two Tonic Clonics/ Grand Mals). Her Complex Partials have always 'looked like' Absence but lasted longer (about 45sec. vs. 3-5sec.) & we have EEG 'evidence' that they are CP & not Absence...
She's been seizure free for 4mo. which is the longest she's gone since she was a year old...
Congratulations on being seizure and meds. free!!!
thanks so much!!!
Thanks so much for all your great information....
Im learning so much from all of you....maybe more so then my PED who seems to be always in a rush.....
I already have a MRI and EEG scheduled next month - but now know what to look for in DS.
Never knew seizures could be like starring episodes - thanks again!!!
They don't look like seizures that puts a person on the ground shaking, etc. They look like the child just blanks out for a few. Kind of like daydreaming. You could call their name or wave your hand in front of their face and they don' t respond. They last seconds to minutes.absence seizures last just a few seconds...the only way you realize that they are there is bcuz they happen many, many times a day...well over 50 times a day you will see your child just stare off for a few seconds.
Complex partial are usually longer, but hard to determine unless you are catching them from the start. But they can last usually anywhere from like 15 seconds to a few minutes...again it is just a blank stare, but you should try clapping or snapping in there face, usually a child can't completely ignore this...sometimes there are things like twitching of the arm or face muscles, sometimes a tingling...there are also things called auras associated with these types of seizures...for Mason it is his smelling something that isn't there...he has also told me about I guess what I would describe as a tingling in the brain...he told me that he felt caterpillar in his head.
Because ds is looking around and not just staring at one place that makes me think it isn't seizures...but that is only based on how I see Mason and his seizures...he is just "zoned" at one thing...but you might want to just google some of the seizure types and see if anything you are describing is listed.
Absence seizure
complex partial
simple partial
auras
If I think of anymore I will come back and list them...hope this helps some...good luck and if you have anymore questions please ask!
There are many, many types of seizures... here is a good website that hopefully will help...
http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/
It's often hard to distinguish 'spacing out' from an absence/ complex partial seizure... Even with my daughter's Epilepsy dx, when she started having these cp seizures, she had to have another EEG (she's had 5), I got it on video, got reports from her therapists, etc... all to show 'evidence' that it wasn't 'just spacing out'... We were confident at the time & the drs. are confident now that we have her med. at a therapeutic level & she's been seizure free for 4mo. (yay!). But the initial proving the seizures was tough, and she already had the dx & history (but had lousy Neuro. care until recently).
I would keep a log of all his episodes, talk to anyone that works with your son to see if they see the episodes as unusual as well, try to get them on video, talk to his ped., etc. If you are truly concerned that he is having seizures, the first step is an EEG. But don't be discouraged if you truly believe he is having seizures & it comes back 'normal'. EEG's are information, but the only way to get that information is if they have a seizure during that block of time. If it comes back normal, it could just mean that he didn't have a seizure during that block of time, not that he doesn't have them at all. That's why all rest of the information gathering is so important. There are other tests that might be done as well, bloodwork, MRI, etc...
Good luck, HTH & Big HUGS to you guys! :)
ETA: I was typing as others were posting! lol Complex partials can take many forms depending on the kid. For Cassidy, hers tend to last 45sec. - a couple min. & her 'normal' is for her eyes to roll back & she's still. Though, I've also seen her eyes flutter, chew on 'nothing', just be blank, etc. but the common factor is that she's unresponsive. We've found it hard to determine with getting her attention, and I would think with as quick as absence are, even more difficult as what could look like their responding could be as they were coming out... Cassidy's never verbalized anything during or after a seizure so I'm not sure if she's aware. (I thought the seizures where they are aware were simple partials? I'd always understodd them as SP - aware, CP - unaware?) http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/about/types/types/index.cf m