Absent seizures

[Firstbaby1234]

My son is 3 and a half and goes to a school nursery, this morning the teacher pulled me aside and has said she has noticed him having blank periods and mentioned going to the gp for absent seizures which I have booked an appointment for tomorrow. Does anyone’s child on here have absent seizures that could give me some more information on?

Have you ever witnessed it at home?

Most children reported as having 'blank episodes' do not have absence epilepsy - if it's raised as an issue in nursery good to discuss it with GP and they can refer if needed (videos are often helpful) but don't jump to any conclusions.

@JellyBellybutton i have but only when he is tired which is what I put it down too, @Unseenentity yes we are going to the gp tomorrow.. I had never heard of it until the teacher said

My DC (aged 5) was diagnosed with it in Feb after starting to have absences in November. At first I thought I was imagining it but they quickly became more frequent and noticeable. GP was great and referred to neurology straight away and we got an appointment a few weeks later. If he’s having them at home start taking a diary and get them on video if you possibly can. My DC’s were very brief but started to get a bit longer (5 seconds) and more clustered, tiredness seemed to be a trigger but she had absolutely no idea it was happening.

My DC had an EEG to allow the formal diagnosis of Childhood Absence Epilepsy (CAE) (luckily she had a seizure during the EEG, it can be hit or miss if they do).

She’s now on medication which is amazing at controlling them and she’s not had one since starting, she will stay on it for 2 years and if seizures-free we will wean off and see if she’s grown out of them which is what happens in most cases. It’s very rare it progresses to a grand mal seizure. We’ve had to do a care plan for school and they have been good at supporting her prior to starting the meds. The Children’s Epilepsy Nursing team have also been a great resource for us, they even did a home visit.

I hope everything goes well going forward for your little boy.

@Ethosuximibe ah thank you for all the information! I hope your DC is okay! I have never heard of it before, will see what the gp says tomorrow