Petit Mal Seizures (Absence Seizures) Working on the Next Step for My Son

Petit mal seizures are seizures, and they don't need to be grand mal to be indicators of something wrong with your son's brain. It's vitally important that you get him to a neurologist and have a full work neurological work-up and MRI of his brain done. Seizures will prevent him from learning, you don't know how often he's been having these and for how long. Recovering from the seizure is different for each person, but he won't be focused on what's happening in class. As a rule this isn't something you control by diet, we're talking anti seizure medication, dependent on the cause of the seizure and what dosage is needed to prevent them. Depakote, neurotin, trileptal, decadron.... there is a long list of anti seizure meds, but they are prescribed based on need and cause. These seizures will prevent him from driving, operating machinery as an adult until he has them under control. You should be cognizant of his activities, like riding his bike, skate boarding... anything that requires concentration..both physical and mental, to keep him safe. Making sure that he gets adequate sleep every night is crucial, as exhaustion can bring them on. Again, you need to make sure that there is nothing causing the seizures like a brain tumor or cyst. Epilepsy is something that can be controlled and treated like the chronic condition it is. See a neurologist as soon as possible.

As a person who has lived with Petit Mal Seizures for over 22 years, I can tell you that most of those medications initially made me "out of it" for up to 4-6 weeks while my body adjusted to the medication. It's a foreign substance entering your body, and it takes time for your body to adjust to it.

My parents homeschooled me 7-8th grade because of how stressed, and overwhelmed, partially due to going off some medication for Epilepsy. I am a big proponent of this option, it gave me time to regroup, have a fresh start, and there are TONS of online programs that give me high school credits, and I still graduated from High School.

Let me know if you have ANY other questions.

Peggy,

My son's oldest brother was diagnosed with this when he was about 6 yrs old (about 18 yrs ago) and he actually grew out of it when he was a teenager. His doctor put him on medication for it and they stopped. When he is "staring" that is when he is having a seizure, he is basically "zoning" out when he is having these seizures; experiencing a lapse in awareness. People have been known to have 50 - 100 per day. The reason your son may not be very interested in activities is because he is upset / scared by what is happening to him and doesn't understand what is going on. Once my son's oldest brother was on the medication he did just fine in school and in sports, it was wonderful to have him always around and not just "in and out".

Absence seizures aka petit mal seizures can usually be controlled with anti-seizure medications. Many children outgrow absence seizures in their teen years, though some may eventually develop grand mal seizures.

From reading your question it doesn't sound as if the doctors have prescribed any medication for your son and I don't understand why because these type of epileptic seizures are dangerous, even if they don't appear to be.

Many medications can effectively reduce or eliminate the number of absence seizures. Finding the right medication and dosage can be complex, requiring a period of trial and error. Taking the medications on a regular schedule is crucial to maintaining the proper drug levels in the blood. Most children can discontinue anti-seizure medications, under a doctor's supervision, after they've been seizure-free for two years.

A person with absence seizures may elect to wear a medical bracelet for identification for emergency medical reasons. The bracelet should state whom to contact in an emergency and what medications you use. The school your son attends is aware of his condition; however if he has any coaches, attends any activities outside of school, or plays with friends at their houses, it would be a good idea to tell the other adults in his life about the seizures and what to do in an emergency.

I know this is a scary time for everyone involved and hopefully soon your son will be better and behaving like any other pre-teen boy :)

1GrayWolf
www.workathomeunited.com/kld

Hi Peggy,
I have a friend whose daughter has Absence seizures and she controls these by having a very low carb diet. Other options along with a dr. could be seeing a naturopath, homeopath or acupuncturist. Best wishes.

In addition to the great advice given so far, I wonder if he wouldn't benefit from a break for a while by being homeschooled - there are some great online programs. Just an option, I don't know your son and there could be reasons why this would make things worse, again I don't know, but I thought I would throw out another option.

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He is acting like that because he is suffering emotionally... and at his age, he probably feels like a "freak" because of his medical condition and his lower school performance in comparison with others... and his social life at school is suffering as well.

Isolating himself... is a big red flag. And he is quiet and introverted... and turns inward instead of expressing himself.
Yes, these are red flags too..... he could get depression, or worse. I read of a girl recently that even killed herself over being bullied.
You also need to take bullying seriously... since other kids at school are not treating him well... and he doesn't have friends... and his teacher says he "was totally out of it" at school. Does the Teacher KNOW he gets seizures???? I certainly hope so. Or she may treat him negatively too.

You NEED to do anything supportive for your son..... get him some Therapy... maybe find a support group just for kids who are going through seizures etc.
He NEEDS to know, that he is NOT alone... that he is not weird and a loser. Because, that is how he feels now. He is very self-critical (as many teens are)... and it really affects his well being.

Next, if he is getting Bullied at school... you need to do something about that and talk to the Teacher/principal.

He cannot get "fired up" about anything... because he is depressed. AND he has a medical problem which he does not understand. So being in his shoes is VERY hard. He needs someone that can relate to him, and validate him.

All the best,
Susan

My little sister had the same thing starting when she was 10 or so. She was so confused about what was wrong... the diagnoses was a relief. She was on depakote (sp?) until she was in college and has not had a seizure since. She thinks it was coinciding with puberty/hormonal. My parents put her in a private high school, i think that helped her start over again.

Peggy - my daughter suffered from seizures at a very early age. I am not sure what testing was done or what meds/if any he is on. We had an amazing staff at Barrows (Dr. Kerrigan is our neuro - ###-###-####). My daughter's seizures were from a brain tumor - but was still considered epilepsy. Educate yourself (beware of internet, sometimes it can be scary) and find the RIGHT doctor for you and your son. We literally went to 3 neurologists before we found a comfort level.

I am so happy that you have found a diagnosis for him - as hard as it is - you are now on the road to helping him!! Please let me know if i can help out at all.

T.

Bless you Peggy! I can't imagine how you must feeling.
I have googled and found some websites on nutrition...
Please take a look at these..
ALWAYS have hope, and yes diet can do amazing things :)

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f32/gluten-fre...

http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/treatment_ketogenic_diet

I've not experienced this myself, but I have a friend whose young son has been seizure free for a year due to diet change. He is strictly on a ketogenic diet. It's a lot like the Adkins diet, very high protein and no carbs/sugar. Here is some info.http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/treatment_ketogenic_diet

It would be a complete lifestyle change and it may require everyone in your house to change what they eat in support of your son.

It sounds like your son may need some confidence boosters. It could come from you, the parents, but I don't think counselling or group therapy would hurt. Does he had a hobby that he loves? I would get him to focus on getting good at something so that he enjoys. That doesn't mean sports, just anything that gets him excited. Maybe your husband and his brother could urge him to get out and do more with them? Getting him to express himself may be difficult, but there are ways. Maybe give him free run of his bedroom. Take him to a paint store and have him pick out how he wants his bedroom, then let him do whatever he wants, even if you hate it, pretend you love it!

The adolescent years are difficult for everyone. In a few years he may come out of his shell and become the light in your family's life! Good luck!

Hey, I'm 16, and I also have seizures. I was basically the same way when I was little only I caused a few more fireworks. I'm on tagertol, and that's mostly for the staring part so I don't go into a full seizure. Then I'm also on topamax, and that helps with the full seizures. I think we've finally got this figured out and I haven't had a seizure in 9 months. Hope this helps