Again, I will answer each question below it so it is clear.
On 2/8/2011 6:27 AM, Janet Formichella wrote:
> 1) My son seizures almost always begin on Monday or Tuesday at school
> between 7AM and 7:40 AM. What do you make of that? He also has an occasional
> seizure on a weekend afternoon. But the majority are at school early in the
> AM. Can school anxiety trigger seizures? Could something during his sleep be
> causing the AM seizures?
Definitely could be stress. Also, is he eating breakfast every day? If
it is possible for you, go observe his class for a day or two. The
school cannot restrict you for observing, as long as you are not
disruptive. Just sit and take notes, what is happening that your son
reacts to strongly, or has a seizure during/after. This may help you
discover what is causing this pattern.
> 2) My husband thinks the seizures could be cause by watching too much TV
> /videogames/computer time on the weekends. If he had a photosensitive type of
> seizure would they occur while he was viewing these things? Or could they occur
> 12 – 36 hours later
All of these things can cause it, depending on what he is
watching/doing, and how close he sits to them. Be careful not to let
him play games that involve fast changes in screen shots, too much
constant movement, or watch tv shows that do the same. I am fine
watching tv, but certain commercials are terrible for me because of the
effects they use. Also, even riding ina car can be a trigger for some
people because of the constant motion, stopping/starting. For example,
when driving by trees, it causes a light dark light dark patter on the
eyes, like stripes. This kind of thing caused me all kinds of problems
until i got glasses designed for light sensitivity.
> 3) He sleeps in on the weekend. He sleeps less on school nights because he
> has school. He never appears tired in the AM. My husband thinks we shouldn't
> let him sleep in on weekends to keep every day the same. Would sleeping in
> cause seizures
Lack of sleep is a seizure trigger for most people. Allowing him to
sleep on the weekends is not the problem, it is the lack of it on
weekdays. As a matter of fact, all the sleep he does on the weekends is
likely due to the fatigue he feels because he isn't getting enough, and
this will slowly cut itslef down if he sleeps more during the week. You
may need to sit down with your son and simply explain to him that for
his health he needs to go to bed sooner.
> 4) I am keeping track of his seizures – time, type, day of week, length
> etc. I work at his school every other day. I even keep track of whether I work
> that day (Most of them occur when I am not working although he completely
> ignores ne when I am there) Should I be tracking food and hours slept as well?
I would track hours slept for sure, food may become helpful as he may be
triggering to a certain ingrediant, it happens. Also, track what he was
doing through the day, especially noting what he was doing right before
the seizure. You would be surprised the patterns you are nto aware of.
Just be prepared to be a bit surprised by things like, say, how much tv
he watches, we dont always realize what it adds up to in the end.
> 5) In answer to your question, My son has his seizure med levels checked
> often (Trileptal and Depakote). He also takes Magnesium, Riboflavin, MAxalt
> melt and Zolfron for migraines and vomiting. He takes Adderal for autism and
> ADHD,He takes clonidine for sleep and he takes Zoloft for anxiety. The levels
> of these meds are not checked. I think he is walking pharmacy experiment. Last
> summer I wanted them to wean him off of the medications under hospital care
> while videoing him and monitoring him with EEG to see where in the brain the
> seizures were occuring. They said that hospital would not cover observation and
> he could go into status elepticus and it would be too dangerous. He had a sleep
> deprived eeg a few years ago and he is scheduled for another one in a week or
> so. Is there other blood work he needs?
If they have not done a long term video EEG monitoring, and wont
consider it, you need to find an epilepsy center near you. THey will be
able to this without problem, and likely will want to since he has been
uncontrolled this long.
> 6) The doctor did give me the packet on the VNS but there was no
> information as to the percentage of success.
Success depends on several factors, and varies based ont eh seizure
type. Do a google search for "VNS success rate" and you will find some
information.
> 7) My son was tested for gluten/casein sensitivity when he was first
> diagnosed with autism. He showed no sensitivity, but we tried the restricted
> diet for a while anyway. We never saw any improvement with the diet and
> stopped. Are there particular food that do trigger seizures?
> Would they show up immediately or the next day
I don't know much about this area. Sorry. One thing int dieet I will
say is to make sure his salt and water intake are ok. Some kids react
strongly to an electrolite imbalance. It is easy to check, just
increase his water intake and add a bit of salt to his food for a few
days. See what happens.
> 8) Can anxiety trigger seizures. What other triggers are common?
Anxiety, lack of sleep, stress, light sensitivity are all ones you've
mentioned and tend to be the most common. The particular stresser
varies widely, and that can be found with your journal. It is also
possible for sound to be a trigger, it was for me before surgery. I am
still sensitive to sound but don't have seizures due to them. Also
changes in routine or environment due to the stress it causes, and I
would imagine this is even more true for someone with autism.
Kelly
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