: seizures vs stimming

[Guest guest]

,

I talked with my SIL the nurse with seizure disorder herself who

also uses homeopathy about what you described in your daugher. It

took us a few days to hook up. I told her we were wondering if it

was 'stimming' behavior or anything close to possibly being a

seizure.

She said that what you described sounds very much like petit-mal

seizure (not grand mal) and actually similar to what she has or

does. She said it was common to fixate on one point with the eyes of

face while some other part of the body twitched, vibrated, or went

back and forth. With her it was one leg that sort of went on its

own. She advised to see a neurologist right away about this because

seizuring like this can cause more damage over time so they try to

get it under control right away. I asked her about testing (MRI,

EEG) and she said that those may be indicative of a problem but are

not definitive. They are only helpful if the person just happens to

have a seizure at the time the test is being run. If this happens it

helps the doctors pinpoint what part of the brain is 'activated'.

But catching this during a test is usually lucky, so don't count on

it. She said her tests always came up negative.

I asked about puberty affecting seizures because I have heard it can

make them worse. She said that hormones can have a big effect on

seizures and it was correct that they may either start in puberty

(where there weren't any before) or they can get worse. She said her

seizures seemed to be better for months on end, and then get worse

for months on end...they tended to fluctuate at different times in

her life. And this is common. Oh...and stress can provoke seizures

too. And aspartame or other neuro-stimulants of any kind.

She said another trigger for her was repetitive motor motion. So if

she was watering the flowers and waving the garden hose back and

forth, back and forth...this activity provoked seizures. Her family

noticed this when she was young and so she wasn't allowed to do

watering or housework with repetitive motor motion.

I ask about the meds. She said meds can be very helpful (Depokate,

Tegratol, the other common ones), but that adjusting the dose at

various times over life as the seizure activity even increased or

decreased. Or try different ones.

I asked her if any of the homeopathy would help (she only goes to a

traditional doctor when she has too). She said no. This is one of

the times you should go to a traditional doctor for an appropriate

medicine. She said homeopathy usually work much slower over time and

particularly with seizures and children you want to get it under

control and stopped as soon as possible. It also doesn't have a

track record with seizures because this is based on neurological

misfirings.

She also said that when you go to the neurologist, it is extremely

important to be as specific as possible in describing the seizures

so they can treat it appropriately. Write out these things:

1. How is she acting before the seizure starts.

2. How is she acting after the seizure ends.

3. How is she acting during the seizure.

4. How long is it (as exact as possible. If it varies in duration,

write down how long and how short of duration)

5. Where is she when this happens (outside, store, inside, watching

TV, eating dinner, reading)

6. What parts of her body move and how do they move (ex: eyes stare

at floor, left leg starts tapping with the heel, other leg and arms

are still)

7. Does she talk or make sounds during this.

8. Does she respond when spoken to during this.

My SIL said this very detailed description is what they need to go

on.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions, write me and maybe I can

remember something else she said.

.

P.S. I asked her what was the difference in epilepsy and seizure

disorder. She said they are the same. Epilepsy was the older term

which people try not to use now due to stereotypes and stigmatism

associated with that term.