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Sight goes, les give way, faints and has headaches - Worried about friends 5 year old DD

18 replies

QuintessentialShadow · 29/09/2008 21:24

This is what happened.
We were on a weekend break at a cottage. Friends DD, lets call her Jane, came walking down the staircase, we heard a crushing sound, then silence. We thought she kicked a toy over on the stairs, did not think it was her falling, as it just went silent. But she did not enter the room. We then heard a cry, and went to check. She had fallen on the stairs, we found her standing in downstairs the bathroom. She was a little red on her hip, where the step had caught. Her mum consoled her, and she was up and running again within minutes.

Next morning she is up, playing in their room before breakfast. Then she stops, her eyes rolls backwards and she fall onto a nearby wall, fainting. She wakes up a second or two later. She is shakey, feels nauseas, and hot.

Later she explains about the staircase. She was walking down, then suddenly she couldnt see anything at all, she lost movement in her legs and just fell over. She came to her senses in the bathroom. It was the same thing that happened to her in the bedroom. Suddenly she could not see, she could not move her legs, and she just lost her consciousnes.

She has been complaining about headaches since. They are waiting for two appointments at the hospital, one is to investigate epilepsy, one for something else.

Has anybody any experience of this? Any idea of what it could be? I would like to know a little more so I could be of support to my friend.

OP posts:
Bowddee · 29/09/2008 21:25

Sounds like my seizures.

QuintessentialShadow · 29/09/2008 21:27

Sorry to hear that Bowdee. Do you have epilepsy?

OP posts:
dilbertina · 29/09/2008 21:27

does sound a little like epileptic petit mals to be unexpert ears. If thats what it is treatment is available and she may grow out of it. Sounds horribly frightening though - hope all turns out well and they get answers soon.

Bowddee · 29/09/2008 21:29

Yep. But I also take medication so it rarely happens. And if it is some form of seizure your friend's DD is having, there's a good chance she'll grow out of them.

RustyBear · 29/09/2008 21:30

DD lost her sight suddenly one morning in the bathroom -very scary. She was older than your friends DD though -about 13. It was due to low blood pressure -later that day she developed a rash & high temp. After that she would often faint or go dizzy when she was going down with something - once she fainted on the station platform just as a train was coming in, luckily a woman grabbed hold of her.
She hasn't done it for a while, so I hope she's grown out of it - especilly as she went off to university 220 miles away yesterday

QuintessentialShadow · 29/09/2008 21:31

That is reassuring. I have now googled petit mal. It was terribly frightening, they are of course very nervous about it. She is 6 next week.

OP posts:
QuintessentialShadow · 29/09/2008 21:31

Good luck to your DD rustybear. You must be proud (and a little lonely tonight, then)?

OP posts:
RustyBear · 29/09/2008 21:33

Both of those QS - though I did have an hour and a half in the dentist's chair to take my mind off it this afternoon....

Bowddee · 29/09/2008 21:35

Once youknow what it is, it becomes far less frightening. Does you friends DD have any indication that these 'episodes' (I won't say seizure as it may not be) are going to happen? If she does she may be able to tell someone and make sure she's sitting down 'til it passes.

Bowddee · 29/09/2008 21:37

you friends !

your friend's ! Sorry.

lou031205 · 29/09/2008 21:37

The other possibilities are syncope, and cataplexy (although rarer). Don't immediately think the worst, there are lots of benign causes for this sort of thing.

QuintessentialShadow · 29/09/2008 21:41

It does not sound as Cataplexy, she is not sleepy in the day.

She says it just happened suddenly, no warning that anything was out of the ordinary.

OP posts:
Bowddee · 29/09/2008 21:55

Check out cataplexy, it's different from catalepsy which is the one I think you're thinking of.

Bowddee · 29/09/2008 22:03

Narcolepsy is the one where the sufferer falls asleep.

Catalepsy is where the body goes rigid for long periods (?)

Cataplexy is where emotions cause the collapse.

So I was talking pants. What you've described doesn't even resemble cataplexy. Sorry!

QuintessentialShadow · 29/09/2008 22:04

I am getting confused.... Medical things has that effect on me. I was beginning to think maybe this cataplexy thing could be relevant, only that she did not have a need to sleep after the first seizure and dozed off after the second.

OP posts:
Bowddee · 29/09/2008 22:11

When some collapses due to cataplexy it is usually triggered by an emotional situation. It can be triggered by laughter for example. I thought it was unlikely as in your OP you said she was walking down the stairs. So probably nothing to trigger an attack.

Bowddee · 29/09/2008 22:12

someone collapses

QuintessentialShadows · 29/09/2008 22:44

Thanks.
At least there seems to be some plausible explanations out there. I was scared it could be a brain tumour, or something really bad. Catastrophist, me. Of course I did not voice my fears to her mum.

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