seizures - with screaming/gargling/choking sounds?

[hazeyjane]

Ds has been having these episodes since he was 1. They happen when he is sleeping, at first we thought it was a seizure, but ds's consultant thought more likely that he was choking on pooled saliva.

They don't happen every night, but have become more frequent. It is usually late evening and maybe once a week at the moment.He wakes screaming, staring, bloodshot eyes, clammy to the touch, his neck and throat distended and one vein very very bulgy in his neck, he is screaming but it is a very strangled scream and very gargly, one side of his mouth tends to be drawn down, he is normally very floppy (low tone), but during an episode is stiff and difficult to hold - dh described him as being like someone drowning.

It lasts up to 15 minutes, and is very frightening. As I say his consultant said it was probably choking on pooled saliva (he dribbles a lot), and we dealt with it as such - holding him downwards, massagging and patting to try and get him to swallow.

Now his consultant is wondering whether it could be a seizure, and has ordered an eeg.

But is it possible for seizures to happen like this, with screaming and only at night? Also how does an eeg work? I guess he needs to have an episode for it to show us whether it is a seizure or not.

Hi Hazey. If I knew how I would link to my old thread about DD's "funny turn" but actually having read that through it sounds very different. She did have one strange episode which the neurologist has described as "possibly epileptic" but only because she had had a previous episode which was without choking but with a jerking arm which he thought was epileptic. Also she had an abnormal EEG which suggested epileptic activity.

The EEG she was asleep through some of as they sedated her and I had kept her up late and then got her up early for it. They showed her lights then kept monitering her for twenty mins hwile she slept.I did not notice any kind of unusual anything going on but they still picked up the epilileptic activity in her brain so I don't THINK they have to have an episode for it to show up but I know it is very inexact with EEGs (and epilepsy diagnosis tbh).

the episode she has when she seemed to choke went like this- she said "I tired" and lay on the floor and seemed to pass out for a few seconds, she went very pale and started making choking noises, her stomach/chest was clenching a lot as she choked and her eyes seemed to roll back.

As I said, the neurologist only said possibly epileptic for this, as DD has a genetic condition which can lead to electroloyte imbalance which could cause some odd behaviour if she is ill but on that occasion she wasn't, just slept for three hours on and off after and was very floppy.