dd2 had febril convulsion and its been really traumatic

[melsy]

Sorry if I sound nuerotic but it was the most terrifying thing to see as I really thought she was passing away. The vision of it keeps repeating over and over and over. Ive had past history of PTSD and the big thing was one of my lo's passing away.This has really been hard.

This is the background on what happened posted by NBG for me and pasted from PN board :

DD2 had a fit about 2am tuesday morning.
She was rushed to hospital by ambulance and wired up and given oxygen etc.

They've done some tests, so far they have found out she has very bad tonsilitis and ear infection and urine infection I think.
They're still awaiting more tests.

As far as I know they kept her in last night too as her temp was still going up and down and wouldn't settle.

And this on wednesday night ;

Were finally home,it seemed to take hours for her temp to finally come down to normal, despite her being lethargic and sleepy they thought it best to bring her home and keep dosing her alternatively with calpol and nurofen and start penicillin. I feel weve lived in a very strange bubble for 2 days.

My little brave one suffered fibril convulsion brought on by a rapid increase in temperature. Normally caused by infection they still are not sure what it is, but have said most probably tonsillitis and ear infection. Its been a strange and very frightening experience ; with the convulsion , emergency room antics with repeated unsuccessful canuler insertion and then being back in a ward only 1 floor up in the same block were I had dd1 (the place that caused my ptsd). She was very brave , but its made her seem really vulnerable and teeny.

We have to dose her regularly , during the night also and hope she doesnt spike. Ive been told she could fit again , but that it is less common.

I know ruminating wont help , but I keep feeling the need to talk about it over and over. I just want to get passed the anxiety , but its proving really hard and the fact that shes all lolopy and sleepy all the time is upsetting , despite knowing its normal.

Oh melsy so sorry
No wonder you feel anxious.
If it's any consolation when i was a toddler i had febrile convulsions which were caused by an ear infection.
wishing your dd well very soon

I'm sorry to hear this, no wonder you are anxious, it must have been v upsetting. Hope she is better soon. I can tell you not to dwell on it, but I know I would be the same. Take care of yourself though and if you can, try to distract yourself so you don't think about it too much.

melsy sorry you've had to go through this, can't imagine how frightening a convulsion is...

I know its not any help but my DS had pneumonia and a 4 day hosp stay last year, and it really knocked me for six, I still don't think I've recovered from it- it makes you so anxious and pretrified something is going to happen.

hugs x

oh, and meant to say, you're not neurotic- your NORMAL.... or were both neurotic...lol

So Sorry. Ds (3.4) has had 3 febrile convulsions. Norma lly they don't continue after age 5. Understand how upsetting it can be.
We understand and you are NOT neurotic.

Thank you all for your words of support. Its good to know Im not a crazy person to feel like this.

She woke up about half hour ago and seems a bit happier ,had her penicillin (with a fight), had some milk, has eaten some lunch and is enjoying some mango , so at least she still wants to drink and eat.

Its also good to speak to others who have experienced the same , oblomov how do you get through 3 of them . I hope I never have to experience it again , but you never know.

After a visit to GP this lunch time,(she has a rash , which they feel is either slight reaction to penicillin or virus) , the GP said that from now on, whenever she gets a cold or anything and she goes slightly warm, to medicate her as soon as found as a preventive measure.

sympathies -both my dds have had convulsions, dd2 has had a febrile convulsion recently. I keep a supply of paracetamol suppositories especially for children - these are very easy to use and can bring the temperature down very quickly.

Melsy, you have my sympathies. DS2 had one on the first night of our holiday two years ago. He and I spent the night in Torquay hospital. Same thing, caused by rapid temperature rise due to infection. He was absolutely fine the next day and hasn't had one since. Took me a while to get the image out of my head, though. DH is epileptic and we were really scared DS2 had inherited it but febrile convulsions are completely different and very common in under fives. Still distressing to watch, though.

Melsy, I know how you feel, My DS has had two and they were the scariest moments of my life. You will feel anxious for months, it's natural and the memory will fade but I have to admit it took me a couple of years and I still can't talk about it now really without getting choked up.

I don't do hugs as a rule but I think you probably need one!

Also, forewarned is forearmed (or something)!! What I mean is, now you know she's had one you can go all out to prevent another one when she is ill next time. Get a Braun ear thermometer and keep a fan in her bedroom to whizz on when she's hot next time. Also the doc at the hosp said tepid baths are really the best thing to bring down temps.

All the best.

Hi melsy
Our DD had two as a baby/toddler. They are indeed the scariest thing you have ever seen and I really feel for you. When you are sititng there with your child going blue, you can only fear the worst! I hope it helps to know that there is no direct link to epilepsy. It looks awful, butn we were told they are actually not harmful.

Our DD never had any after the age of 2 and is now a happy, healthy 7-year-old.

hi
very scary - my DS had a FC over Easter
It totally freaked my DH out who was holding him at the time
What you are feeling is "normal" - good advice from your GP about dosing her as she as she gets a fever
My DS can spike a really high fever very quickly as well ...
Hope you are all over the worst of it now

DS11 has had about 20 febrile convulsions the last one a year ago when he was 10.5. DD 9 had 4 in about a year when she was 3, but seems to grow out of them. DS history of FCs is very rare (most doctors haven't heard of Fc's over 5)
Yes they are very scary but there is a wonderful quote in Toddler Taming which I have posted on here before

"The short fever fit does not damage the child only it's mother's nerves."

I should have been given shares in nerofen and calpol

There is a genetic link to Febrile convulsions, unless there is a family history it is unlikely that she will have any again.

And meant to say hope she is feeling better soon. Would say the children don't really remember anything about them.DS always sleeps for a long time afterwards.

Oh Melsy, how terrifying! NHS direct told me that febrile convulsions can occur once the temp reaches 39.3 (dd had a temp of 40.4 at the time, but thankfully didn't have fc).

Your reaction sounds perfectly normal to me, and I'll throw in another hug for you!

Really hope that she's back to her normal self very soon.

Hi melsy, I know what an awful thing this is and you will keep replaying it over in your mind. What helped me was a course I went on recently was run by an ambulance chap and he said he has seen most things, as you can imagine. But he said the most terrifying thing he still remembers was his friend having a seizure when they were 13. I felt relieved that I wasnt overreacting (ds2 has had epilepsy since he was 1.1, is now 2.4 but I STILL feel sick remembering his first one). Keep talking through how you feel, and dont feel apologetic about it. You are still in shock and it takes a while to get over xx hope LO is ok

ahh belgo didnt know u could get supposetries unless at hospital, bet shed still scream having that put in.

mummudoit , that was a good way to start a hols ,its like they know !

Kbear et al , its true I will be anxious for a long time after now. IM on edge and just phoned a friend who didnt know what happeend this week and just started shaking and crying again.

How am I going to find more control with this? Ive done so much already to deal with traumas and this is such a test of it now.

ohmygawd christywhisrty 20 , thats gotta be soo overhwleming I cant imagine & that toddler taming qoute is spot on !

UD & ruby, kinda a relief to speak to u guys having been through it too.

crazylazydaisy you are right about it playing over and over again, I keep seeing her facial expression (totally strange look and top lip over the bottom) , also it felt like time slowed down and also sped up. I can hear the sound she made and I have to take in a breath every time.

I do think I should go on a course now , as I felt soo blank and stupid and it upset me as Im normally the sort to read all about all sorts of maladies and bodily problems, I just didnt have a clue and I was angry with myself.

I will say though that I think her temprature has broken now and despite being covered in a rash thats blanched shes being herself a bit more.

ds3 had one and I thought he was dying as well- I sounded a loony on the phone to the ambulance. He hasn't had one since (his was in November). The hospital told me to use the 6+ calpol with him (he's 2) although usually I just use nurofen as it seems better at keeping temps down.

melsy - I used the suppositiories when dd2 was losing conciousness, they are very easy to use and she doesn't scream.; By the time she was in the ambulance her temperature had come down to 38°C from over 40°C, and she was starting to come around. I really don't understand why they're not used in England.

I felt a right wuss afterwards btw- a number of my friend's children have epilepsy. God knows how they're not all basket case!

DS3's were caused by an ear infection. he'd had one which he was getting over so I'd decreased the calpol but then the other ear got infected cauing the spike.

As I was on the phone to the ambulance I could see ds1 trying to drink out of the calpol bottle!

you seem much more calm about it all than me belgo, has she had one before? They are a good idea especially in this situation. She screams when I do the syringe way , Im thinking of getting the medicine dummy ??? as it will be sooo much easier that way, (well if they are like the ones she has already).

Totally understand your fear. When dd2 was just under one year, she had a febrile convulsion brought on by a very nasty urine infection. We spent 4 days in hospital, 2 of them not knowing what was wrong. It has always stayed with me and she is now 4.5. I think it's perfectly natural to feel traumatised because you are actually thinking the worst when this is going on and the stay in hospital is awful and the fear of it happening again.

Time really is the healer and the memory will fade for you as the years go by but I think it's good to accept that you may feel shaky about it from time to time - that's part of being a loving Mum and that's OK.

By the way, dd never had another fit.

melsy - my older dd has stopped breathing with convulsions six times, so when dd2 had her convulsion I know what it was and tried very hard not to panic. I was a bag of nerves afterwards for a week or so, especially as dh was out of the country.

Melsy, its so horrible isn't it.My sons both had these (although not dd) and they are very frightening but like another poster said, very few children continue to have them by school age. I think they are most common under 2 years. I'm with Belgo on the suppository front - definitely the quickest and easiest way to get pain killers into a child. I still use them occasionally with my younger 2 (5 and 9) Hope you are a little calmer now.