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Parenting

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5 year old collapsed and unconscious for 15 minutes

37 replies

mumemma2boys · 19/04/2021 00:06

Hi. First time posting as couldn’t find anything similar to my situation. My 5yo ds collapsed at sports club and was unconscious for 15 minutes. The coach said he had rapid eye movement during this time but no other movement. He was taken to hospital by ambulance but they didn’t have an explanation for it and we are now awaiting a clinic appointment. The doctor advised us to follow precautions for seizures until his appointment. I’m very worried and don’t want to leave him alone as I fear it could happen again. From what I have read 15 minutes seems a long time for a seizure. Does anyone have any experience of anything similar?
Thanks in advance

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SleepingStandingUp · 19/04/2021 00:08

NO experience, just a hug. Xx

SirVixofVixHall · 19/04/2021 00:08

Bumping for you as I don’t have any advice, and it must be very worrying.

mumemma2boys · 19/04/2021 00:09

SleepingStandingUp - thank you 💛 xx

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mumemma2boys · 19/04/2021 00:10

SirVixofVixHall - thank you x

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Bul21ia · 19/04/2021 00:12

I would call your GP op for advice.

mumemma2boys · 19/04/2021 20:29

Bul21ia - thank you. I’ll call them tomorrow x

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picklemewalnuts · 19/04/2021 20:32

What a scary night!

PinkCookie11 · 19/04/2021 20:41

Bumping.

Did you manage to get any advise from GP?

weewitch · 19/04/2021 20:44

How scary Op. No advice but thinking of you and hope you get answers and that it never happens again!

HotPenguin · 19/04/2021 20:46

My son had a seizure due to an illness, it was frightening but it never happened again. If it does happen again it might be helpful to record it, as I found I couldn't answer the doctors' questions afterwards as I forgot a lot of it and I had no idea how long it had lasted - it felt like forever but was probably just a few minutes.

Ithinkitsokay · 19/04/2021 20:48

My best friends dd did this and it continued from ages 7-14 when she was finally diagnosed with something called postural tachycardia she was then given medication. Obviously I have no medical training so it could be anything and please follow your doctors advice but it does sound quite similar

CattingTime · 19/04/2021 20:48

Could he have just fainted? I fainted a lot as a child.

BrilliantBetty · 19/04/2021 20:53

Must be scary for you OP, 15 minutes seems like a long time. Hope you get some MNers along with good advice.

nocoolnamesleft · 19/04/2021 20:53

Mmmm. Sounds a bit odd. If they thought he'd had a fit, then a bit surprised he wasn't admitted to paeds for a period of observation. 15 mins sounds long for a faint. Has he at least had a ECG (heart tracing) done?

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 19/04/2021 20:54

Any temperature or suspected illnesses like flu? Those can cause seizures
Diff situation my eldest had her first seizure at 18 months in her sleep, we were referred to the seizure clinic who explained that these can we one offs and not happen again, they wouldn’t investigate until any further seizures. She had two more c5 months later within a wk of each other, anyway eegs and mris concluded impulses in the brain but no obvious reason. Anyway we are on medicine and she doesn’t have any- they may attempt to wean her off it in the next couple of months as it’s been 2years.

I guess my advice is the specialists are amazing, you will be in the best hands. Googling is slightly fruitless as there are so many types of seizures and many triggers. Good news is Childhood epilepsy tends to be around your child’s age and that they grow out of.
Easy to say don’t worry but listen to everything, write down all your questions for every drs appointment before you go.
Big hug!!!

HollowTalk · 19/04/2021 21:01

You're not unconscious for 15 minutes with a faint, though.

vannyy · 19/04/2021 21:04

Defo call the GP, mine had a febrile seizure & an ambulance took him to hospital. He was fine but it was scary, sending you strength & Thanks

LookMoreCloselier · 19/04/2021 21:09

When my son was 2 or 3 he had a one off seizure at nursery which resulted in an ambulance to hospital. Luckily the nursery was onsite at my office so I could be with him. He didn't awaken for a really long time, I think it was around 2 hours he couldn't be woken. When he did finally come round he ate my sandwich the nurse had brought me as I'd not eaten yet and then was chatting away as normal. It was so odd. They suspected it was due to a spike in his temperature.

Hazelnutlatteplease · 19/04/2021 21:12

DS had (many) temperature related seizures ("febrile"convulsionswhen he was little (18months to about 7ish). 15 mins was not too unusual. He also had a few after random minor injuries.

He then had prolonged periods of questionable consciousness 45 mins upwards that started late primary school. We eventually got a diagnosis for those too but its a fairly unique diagnosis so I wont share that one.

Its amazing what the body can withstand.

In both cases remember the first seizures/blackouts, the utter panic and being terrified. The feeling of not being able to go anywhere or do anything just in case. But that doesn't last. As time went on I knew what I needed to do, knew what signs I was looking out for and they became a part of life. You learn to live with a certain amount of risk and get quite quick at making risk assessments.

The "febrile" convulsions he did eventually grow out off (but I got very quick spotting a temperature or impending illness) and the others settled down with careful management and medication.

I wouldn't be surprised if they order an MRI and an EEG. They both seem scary but really done need to be a big deal. headphones, knowing what to expect and staying calm helps incredibly. You also might not get a diagnosis straight away. It's not unusual for a kid to have one seizure and never ever have another (DD at 6 months Hmm). If it does become a repeat event and if you have a few hospital visits, I found having a hospital grab bag with things like mobile phone charger, cup a soups , pass the pigs, colouring books and change of clothes for both of you incredibly handy. Hopefully that wont be necessary.

It's tough. But holding onto the good and fun things in life is really important

SusannaMorvern · 19/04/2021 21:22

HollowTalk

You're not unconscious for 15 minutes with a faint, though.

My teen DD is a fainter, she has CFS. She has been out for 15mins, it was the one time that an ambulance was called. If her legs are raised then she comes to quite quickly, but in that instance the person she was with didn't do this.

She also had a seizure as a 2yr old at nursery, she was out for a good while and taken to hospital, it was because her temp had spiked due to a throat infection. It never happened again.

Roadtohades · 19/04/2021 21:22

Don't just write down your questions for the doctors - write down what they say as they say it. Or, better, still, if you can, take someone with you whose designated role is note-taking everything that is said. It's so difficult to remember what was said later. Hope all is well with your little one Flowers

GrumpyHoonMain · 19/04/2021 21:26

Get his heart tested and don’t let them say no. I don’t mean to scare you but ‘sudden death’ due to lopsided heart development runs in my husband’s family and one of the signs in childhood is can be strangely long fainting spells after physical exersion.

MintyMabel · 19/04/2021 21:33

This happened to one of the workmen who was at our home's daughter a few weeks back. They ran loads of tests and couldn't find any problem.

mumemma2boys · 19/04/2021 23:12

Thanks so much to you all for sharing experiences, offering advice and for the kind words.

He did have an ecg initially in the ambulance where the paramedic suggested he may have an irregular heartbeat. At hospital another ecg was done but the doctor said they couldn’t see anything on it. I forgot about the paramedic saying this at the time so didn’t question the doctor. He had also to give a urine sample at hospital but again they didn’t find anything. The doctor said that we should take precautions for seizures until his clinic appointment as they didn’t yet know the cause. He said a faint wouldn’t have caused him to be unconscious for as long as 15 minutes.

I appreciate all responses and will look into any suggestions offered.

Thanks everyone 💛

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mumemma2boys · 19/04/2021 23:20

Forgot to add that he wasn’t unwell prior to this and has been fine since.

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