Hello everyone,
He usually has a very difficult time from September to January anyway....we believe it may be due to a new school year (this year a new school, teachers, etc), change in weather, and the excitement of the holidays....this year even more so since we've been saving for two years to return to Disney from Dec. 23-Jan. 3! Hopefully he will remember this trip!
I've read that heat can be a trigger, and when I think back on last year before Alex was diagnosed, he had an easier time in the winter months. I've also been wondering if it could be from getting more sleep during the longer nights.
[/QUOTE]Anyway, someone mentioned their child having had a "meltdown" recently at school.....could you please elaborate a little more on that. My son had a "meltdown" at school this week too.....he got so far out of control, he could not get back under control without the help of Ativan...a trip to the ER, etc. It's been a very long and stressful week! [/QUOTE]
Alex's are triggered by frustration, embarrassment, anything that makes him angry and he gets out of control, hits, kicks, throws things, yells, won't let anyone touch him, sometimes wets himself, has a dark face and flat voice, and doesn't remember them at all or doesn't remember them as they were. Ativan is on my list to ask the new neuro we're seeing next week. We have needed it. He's 7 and small so we can still hold him down so he doesn't hurt us or himself, but that's hard to do for any length of time, and that's usually when he starts get irrationally scared and thinks we're trying to hurt him.
[/QUOTE] I understand everyone's frustration, sadness, etc when it comes to their child and all that they have to endure. I'm just wondering if these "spells", "episodes", "meltdowns" or whatever you want to call them are actually seizures??? [/QUOTE]
It took a while for us to understand and recognize them, still have trouble when they don't seem to be sudden or as extreme. The neurologist explained it to us as the strong emotion is the trigger for the seizure and then the switch for turning off the emotion does not work so when he gets angry, frustrated, scared, etc. it escalates to the point of losing control. I didn't really get this until I realized how intense his nightmares are...he falls over the cliff or gets eaten by the monster, there is no internal switch that tells him he's safe, like most people have when they're dreaming.
[/QUOTE]My son's simple partials are usually characterized by nausea, but sometimes he says he "feels weird"....like he's not himself, or he feels tingly all over, etc. His complex partials are the lip smacking, swallowing sounds, picking at things, wandering, etc. His tonic clonic are clasping his hands together, becomes very stiff and rigid, and just trembles all over....usually turning blue, then he goes limp. [/QUOTE]
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Alex throws up, gets dizzy and has nausea A LOT. He says he feels like a cartoon character or like when the satellite dish is going out. He is constantly falling so I'm looking out for atonics, and we've had one incident of lip smacking and humming.
Thanks so much for sharing. It really helps me and lots of hugs to you!
sorry for the one big quote, tried to reply separately, maybe this will work?