Teenagers and epilepsy - some help please!

[OhWhatNow]

Teenage DD just had a seizure at home - she has had a couple before at school but this is first I've seen myself. Am waiting call back from doctor but from our last conversation think she will be going on medication. She had her first fit 4 years ago, and I think 4 or 5 since - 2 this year. Questions for anyone who knows:

• She had a brain scan when she had her first fit and an EEG while watching flashing lights, neither of which showed any abnormalities - is that usual that the scans seem OK?

• Any problems with medications?

• How do they decide what to give - what sort of medicines are they? (Tablets? Liquid?)

• Does it stop any activities eg adventure camps etc as she loves Scouts, climbing, mountain biking, dry skiing, theme parks etc

Just any tips would be useful - I don't know what to expect.

Thank you

bump

Sorry i am a bit short of time at the mo but will wrte more later.
DD1 is 15 and just (hopefully ) grown out of epilepsy.
Like you i suddenly had to read up on everything i could.
The more info you can get the better.
I would suggest you ring your gp or practice nurse in the morning and ask for the phone no. of an epilepsy nurse specialist.There will be one attached to your nearest big hosp.They are a huge support and wealth of information.
Join epilepsy online support (if you google it under uk only it will come up )There is a helpline also on the website that you can ring if need be.
My dd we got to realise was mostly affected by tiredness and hunger.
There are lots of different meds out andi would urge you to persevere until you find the right one for your dd.
I`ll be honest some of the side effects of the med were yukky but we got it right eventually.
Once well controlled your dd can carry on pretty much as normal.Epilepsy on line has some good support for teenagers. Sorry its a bit waffly but have to take dc to dance.
Take care

My sister had epilepsy in her early teens and gradually outgrew it by her late teens. She actually had a seizure whilst she was having a scan and it still didn't show anything so it can happen. She was never affected by flashing lights but being over-tired or too hot (eg in shops) could sometimes be triggers. She took tablets and didn't really have any noticable side effects although she was warned that it was essential to consult a doctor before starting a family (wasn't relevant in the end as she'd outgrown it before it became an issue) because some of the drugs can cause things like cleft palate.

Um, what else? Well, it never stopped my sister from doing anything. She was always the tomboy, out rollerskating or charging about on her pony. Mind you, that was some time ago, I'm not sure what the situation would be now re: school trips and things, now that we all have to be insured up to the eyeballs. My sis lived a pretty normal life, I don't remember her missing out on any activities although my dad did take the lock off the bathroom door as a precaution!

Thank you for the advice. We have told DD not to lock the bathroom door, and up until now have told her not to use PC or videogames when we were out as previous fits were at school when she had been on an older-style monitor. Laptops/flat screens don't seem to bother her as apparently they don't flicker or the rate is so fast it doesn't cause problems. Her school has been really good - they let her use a teacher's laptop for all computer-based lessons now.

Today was a worry though as it was the first time it didn't seem triggered by a screen - she had only just gone up to switch the telly on and hadn't even got as far as puting the DVD in. Now don't know whether I should leave her alone at all until medication sorted which will seriously hack her off next week as it's half term and she'll have to follow round her little sister where we've planned to go round to her friend's!

Mooshy - if you're back later - what are the yukky side effects? Concerned as she is in her SATS year with mocks in a few weeks, and she really wants to do well particularly as she was struggling in Maths and just got a really good result in her last test.

I would keep a close eye on her until she is more stable with the right med.
To begin with my dd was very sick with it and sleepy too.
As for the math-dd was exactly the same and i read somewhere that a lot of epilepsy sufferers struggle with maths and there is a reason behind it but cant remember what .
As for her exams you can get some sort of help with extra time and or marks with a medical note.Not sure how it works but hopefully someone else on here might.
It did take a good year tbh to get the right med ect.I wouldnt let your dd go swimming atm or do anything which might put her at risk if she were to have a seizure while doing it.eg. no climbing high bars at school ect. How old is she. Does your gp know she is having seizures still ? Has she had an mri scan. My dd is much better now.She has had to make little changes so she can continue to do all the things teenagers do, but she cant stay up late or miss meals.Nature kind of took over because she takes herself of to bed most nights early and shell be violently sick if she misses a meal.School trips were my biggest worry but she just had 2 weeks in the south of france no worries.Her friends were good and didn`t keep her awake late ect.
I really hope your dd is better soon.Epilepsy is very managable and with the right support and med she should be fine.
You def need to find out what type she has and if applicable why ?

Thanks mooshy - we are awaiting a call back from the doctor (the paediatrician at the hospital). She had one MRI scan when she had her first fit, and an EEG last year. Both came out normal - don't know if I should ask them to scan again as she has had more fits?

We have no idea what caused it - no know family history, no injuries to the head. She was 7 weeks prem and spent some time in hospital then with problems with her heart rate but no breathing problems and not on a ventilator. Doc didn't think that would be significant. Guess it's just one of those things.