Seeking Advice Regarding Febrile Seizure

Hi T.,

I know what you're going through, except my daughter was in middle school when it crept up. My daughter was in the shower and blacked out. Her best friend was waiting for her and after a period of time went in there and found my daughter passed out. The doctor told us to wait until she comes out of it on her own. She finally did after an hour. It was horrible. We had a swimming pool and she could never go swimming alone again. She started to have the blackouts about 1 to 2 times every 3 months. They were so far and few in between that I was constantly living on the edge not knowing when it would happen again. She would be on the couch watching tv with us, then flop, she'd just pass out. Needless to say, we saw several doctors including eurologists. She had EEG, KEG, MRI, all other sorts of wires on her.....flashing light tests as well. Most came out a bit negative and abnormal, but not enough to do anything about it. The doctor did not want to put her on any medication for seizures because he said she should out grow it. Plus he said it's not good at all to put her on seizure medication because she would never be able to get off of it for the rest of her life. About 2 years passed and nothing....then the fainty feelings started happening so we ran diabetic tests another series of eeg's and so forth......still a bit abnormal but not enough to change things. Since that time, she's about to be 17 yrs. old on Feb. 9, right around the corner. She got pregnant and had her baby 7 months ago. She's been fine, but as strange as the timing I read your email is, she scared me this morning on the way to work. She texted me and told me that she remembers taking the baby out of the crib but that's it. She felt like she blacked out. She found the baby laying on my daughters pillow but there was apple juice and milk soaking all over the bed. The baby had red eyes like she had been crying. She wasn't herself yesterday, and she feels like an exhausting tiredness this morning.......a strange feeling she's never felt. Anyway, I know this isn't much help, but on that show "Mystery Diagnosis" I saw someone who had the same exact things happen. I didn't get the name of it except that its initials were O.I. syndrom. She couldn't be around too much heat. That would bring the blackouts and migrains on. I will pray for your little one......though mine was a bit older when things began, it's still the most aweful feeling just waiting for the next one. There are so many kinds of seizures, keep doing your research and let me know if you run into anything. God bless, L. (Denver, CO)

Tracey, I feel your pain. My son has had Febrile seizures, 7 in a row, and it was the most heart wrenching thing I have ever experienced. You just have to remember all of the worrying in the world isn't going to make his life OR your life any healthier. If it's going to happen, you need to be prepared and know the steps of what to do. It is better to be cautious about it possibly happening than to be paranoid. I hope this helps.

My daughter about 20 months old at the time had a seizure that the paramedics and doctors wanted to consider a Febrile Seizure. As I told the story of what had happened to the paramedics and nurses and physicians they all kinda looked at me funny and said that yeah it was just a febril seizure. Luckily we were taken to Chandler Regional where the on staff pediatrician never seems to want to deal with anything and suggest we see a specialist. We were then taken by ambulance (after an ambulance ride to Chandler and a 12 hour wait in the ER before even seeing anyone) to Banner Desert. Thank GOD!!! Here we saw an amazing neurologist (Dr Jay D. Cook) who said it was NOT a typical febrile seizure and was unsure as to why everyone had told us it was. She did not lock up and shake, she spaced out, starting drooling and clicking, and then started to turn blue. What she had was a frontal lobe seizure. She had an EEG done also and that was found to be completely normal. The cause, Dr Cook believes, was her Hep A shot. The fever induced the seizure is what he told me. She now has a 25% chance of having another one fever or not. His advice and that of my pediatrician is to aggressively attack fevers. I don't know what to tell you to help, but Dr. Cook did say that these types and Febrile seizures are very common in children 6 and under. Which would include your son. Whether it was a typical Febrile or a fever induced seizure you may never know. I know this doesn't help very much, but sometimes it helps just to know you're not alone.

HI T.,
My daughter had her first seizure when she was about 18 months, it was not caused by a fever, But I thought sharing my experience with you may be helpful. She had another one three months afater the first and I decided to take a pediatric CPR class at that time, for my own peace of mind. I am the one with her the majority ofthe time and I felt it very important that I knew how to respond properly. this did help me tremendously so I could stay calm and understand what to expect, also doing some research about seizures is a good idea and keeping a journal about when they happen and how long they lasted. Our Nuerologist suggested this idea. We did not have an EEG done because of her age.When she got older I talked to her about the seizures so she could begin to recognize the signs that one might be coming and go lay down and stay calm herself, and put her feet up, this gets the blood to the head which makes the seizure either stop or not be so severe. SHe did continue to have the seizures about every three months for a few years. Her last one was at about age 6 1/2. She is nine now and is fine. The main advise I have is to go take a pediatric CPR class and learn all you can. Seizures can be very scary so staying calm is really important. IN most case children grow out of them. I wish you the best and hope your son does not continue to have any more Seizures.
S.

My first son had a febrile seizure at eight months. he is now 31 and has never had the slightest sign of a neurological problem since then. I know how scary it is. I'm a midwife and nurse and had been with people with seizures but not the same at all when it is your child. I hope this helps you to feel a litle more at ease. Talk to your son and help him to be at ease as they are so attuned to our moods.
Best of luck and check my website if you are interested. inspiringbirthstories.com
D.

T.:
My now 12 year old daughter had a febrile seizure at the age of 2. Her seizure was so severe when she came out of it, it took her days to be coherent and she was zapped. Febrile seizures are exactly what they told you and she never had one again. What concerns me is that your son is 5 and his eeg has come back midly abnormal. Please seek a second opinion. My 4 year olds blood count platelets came back "high". Her pediatrician said dont worry about it. We got a second opinion and my daughter is now being treated for fanconi syndrome. Dont settle for hospital or one doctors opinion when it comes to your baby. I will be praying and keep us updated.

T., I understand your frustration. My 4 year old has had 5 in his lifetime. The first one began in the bathtub and we had no idea what was going on,even his mouth locked down and he turned blue. He then had another 2 weeks later, several months past and another. We did see a neurologist at that time who assured us no damage had been done and he would grow out of it. At least I know what to do when they do occur. Lay them flat on the floor and make sure they are safe. Check the time and time how long it lasts. Don't leave him alone. The paramedics that helped with the first 2 were very comforting and see them all the time. Needless to say it made getting new insurance coverage tricky. If they occur now I mention to his ped. but don't make note of it in his chart. You'll remember. Horrifying!!!! Unfortunately he has been spiking fevers last week and again last night. At 7pm tonight he got as high as 104. Ibuprofen works best for bringing it down faster. But whenever he does have a fever no matter how low, we start alternating ever 4 hours Ibuprofen and Tylenol. Don't give the fever the chance.. I hope you find this helpful and that you don't experience it again. Just remember to remain calm. Good Luck

In november I also had the same thing with my 19 month old little girl. The emergency room also told me that it was a common occurance within children and that there was nothing that I could do. It turned out to be a urinary track infection. I also asked her doctor and she said the same thing. As time goes on, it doesn't worry me to much, but we did just recently have another fever and the thought came into my mind. I did some research and everything that I found said it was very normal and that unless it occurs more often then you have something to worry about. I would look it up and read about it yourself, but I totally understand your feelings.

H.

I found that the only thing I COULD do to keep my mind at ease was to monitor his fever by taking his temp regularly whenever he felt warm.
His fever spikes tend to come at the same time of day - midmorning for him - harder when it's in the middle of the night.
He too had a period of about 6 months last spring/summer that were plagued with a series of ear infections - if you ask me, it was one bad one that never got completely well... but nobody asks the mother...ANYWAY...
Anytime our boy got a fever above 101, I gave him Tylenol AND Ibuprofen. Neither would bring his fever down alone, it had to be both.
We got a chart of how much his body could process at any given time. Our pediatrician was really helpful. She made sure we didn't give him more than his body could handle, but that we were able to medicate him around the clock when the ear infections hit so the fever never got to the seizure level.
It became crucial not to give him fever reducers when his temp was below 101 - 99 and 100 are temps where his body needed to be to fight infection.
By keeping it lower than that, we were stunting his immune responses. But, anything 101 or over, we medicated immediately. He stopped having the ear infections after the string of them ended, late summer. More importantly, he stopped having the fevers causing the seizures.
We still monitor him very carefully.
Anytime the fever goes up, we get out those 2 bottles and the syringe. We still give him the more concentrated infant drops, even though he's 2 and above the weight where you can start giving the children's - the infant drops are less likely to be spit out or make him gag.
also - our docs all stressed - hydrate hydrate hydrate - that's his body's way of keeping cool and without the liquids, the fever will not come down.. even with meds.
pedialyte and breastmilk were best as long as he could keep them down.
Anytime he would pull at his ears, I would take him in to have them looked at - finally we bought an otiscope at walgreens for 20 bucks - not the fanciest, but helped me know when it was an ear infection. getting the jump on them helped a ton. knowing when it wasn't an ear infection helped alot too.
hang in there.
hopefully this will pass...
IF NOT and he has epilepsy - you'll find a way to cope. He'll find a way to deal with it.
You'll ALWAYS worry... it's your job.
You're doing fine, just don't let it make you crazy.

hopefully it'll pass... if not, you can do it - lost of moms have children who are wonderful, productive, contributing members of society who have seizures.
HANG IN THERE!!!
s

I realize this was posted years ago but it sounds just like my story! My son is 4 and just had his first seizure last weekend. The doctors believe it was a Febrile seizure but couldnt find the cause of the fever. They did and MRI and a spinal tap and everything came back good. We go see a neurologist next month just to make sure it's nothing more since he's so old. Luckily my son was in my bed the morning that it happened. I havent been able to sleep and think about it all the time. Did your son ever have another one? I noticed my son has started grinding his teeth at night since his seizure but I'm not sure if it's related.

Hi T. I know this response is a little late, but I wanted to share with you that 2 of my sons have had febrile seizures/convulsions around the age of 1 & 2. We just recently had a bout of the flu that hit all 4 of my boys at the same time. That was real hard because I had to keep a close watch on all their temps(& remember who had tylenol or ibuprofen when etc). Their temps will shoot up real fast, like in 3 minutes. Each can not have a fever over 102.5(except my 13 yr. old) I use the temporal thermometer so I can take their temps when they are sleeping without waking them. I basically sleep with the thermometer in my hand in case anyone stirs. Needless to say it is a very light sleep. Anyways it does take about 30-45 minutes for the fever reducer to kick in. Until then I oil them down with essential oils of lavender &/or peppermint oil(these are miraculous & will bring the fever down, but do not have a lasting effect...maybe 15-30 minutes).I keep a crock pot on warm with wash cloths in water that I interchange so I can sponge them down till the medicine works. Anyways I believe you will find peace in this just by educating yourself & knowing that their are others who share your burden. I pray it is not something that you will go thru again. If it is from a fever you should be able to avoid it by staying on top of his temperture.
Happy to share,
S.

My son had a febral seizer at age 7. They then increased in frequency and unaccompanied by fever. Long story short, we didn't' realize they were seizers right away. He was nine at first EEG which showed nothing abnormal but Drs. wanted to treat with meds right away. WE refused due to the fact that they couldn't diagnosis cause or show cause to treat with such extreme measures. We asked for another opinion and became as expert as one can, with the aid of the internet. Ultimately he did receive Keppra (not used for kids at the time) even though it had been 10 months since he had had a seizer. He was on meds two years, the meds did not require blood tests, all EEGs remained normal, and he has been seizer free now for a long time.. many years. We know that he is prone to them though. His case is NOT normal. It was a frightening experience. What I really want to share with you is that you are not alone and read as much literature as you can and seek the least invasive and dangerous treatment for your child that is still growing and developing. My husband and I had to fight not to treat until the Docs had something substantial to treat for.. that was a hard place to be. The meds they use to treat epilepsy are strong (can cause irreputable organ damage). Continue to be your child's advocate and read. I wouldn't be too hard on your dr. I'd be happy that s/he doesn
't want to start your child on a regiment of extremes without more cause.

Due to the nature of my son's seizers we also pulled him out of school for almost 5years to home school. I had to quit work too. They sent us to many specialists and ran different kinds of EEGs. We live in a remote area and neither son or I could maintain work or school with all the appointments that required hotel stays in the city. Nothing definitive ever came out of all those tests and yet he is still labeled as an epileptic.

I think our story is unique and I'm so thankful for its outcome and as time passes I worry less and less, but I have friends with different outcomes that deal with the issue of epilepsy .. they lead productive and happy lives! Best wishes to you! Read all you can get your hands on.

Hi, T.,

My son has never had a febrile seizure, but he has a Periodic Fever Syndrome in which he usually gets high fevers every 2-3 wks (for nearly the past 2 yrs); he is now 3 yrs old. We belong to a discussion group in which many parents have experienced febrile seizures. What those parents do is aggressively treat any fevers with Ibuprofen/Tylenol/lukewarm baths to slow down the onset of fever, and hopefully prevent a seizure in a child susceptible to it. I can't imagine how scary that episode was for you.

Hope this helps,
J. Harvey

Dear T.,
As I have a sister who had seizures most of her life, I can attest to how difficult it is to witness someone you love have a seizure. They are scary...no matter how many times you've seen it. And although she was older when she had them, seeing a child have one is that much more heart wrenching. I can tell you however that a second opinion here would not be a bad idea. Not that your child did not see a good doctor, but a second opinion couldn't hurt. I think finding a good child neurologist would be a good place to start...and you might be able to find a few resources from the Epilepsy Foundation. That's not to say your child has epliepsy...but the Epilepsy Foundation has wonderful resources on seizures, neurologists, etc. Their website is epilepsyfoundation.org. At least if you see another doctor who might confirm what the first doctor said, then that might put your mind at ease. If not, then maybe you can also get the answers you need from the second doctor for your child and how best to treat your son and ultimately, help him and your family.

Hi T.. I'm a pediatric nurse and I can't imagine how scary it is to witness your own child have a seizure. I think your neurologist has given you the best advice. Anti-seizure medications come with side effects... they should only be used if your son indeed has a seizure disorder. I'm afraid you will only know that if he does have another seizure unrelated to fever. My advice is to educate yourself on seizure first aid as well as anyone your sons spends extended periods of time with. I would also discuss this with your son's teacher and/or school nurse, just so they have a heads up. Although very scary to watch, you can keep your son safe until medical help arrives. Even in the hospital we don't get too excited or intervene with a seizure until a child has been seizing for longer than five/ten minutes and/or has respiratory distress.
I'll be praying for no more seizures!!

How do you live a normal life w/ such vague and uncertain information?

You just do and consider the alternatives like anti-seizure meds---if you keep pushing they may just put your son on meds or put him through a CT scan unnecessarily. Many of these meds cause learning delays and is it worth putting him on the meds even though this may be the only seizure he will ever have in his entire life?!? The nervous system is not mapped out and medicine is a practice not a science---If we knew more, things like Alzheimer's would be a thing of the past. It would be best to wait and see if the problem recurs and gain more information about your son's seizures and what triggers them. There is a very good chance your son has had seizures in the past, this is just the first one YOU SAW. Seizures ARE scary to watch but staying calm through the event will be the best thing you can do for him.

Hey T.,

I had febrile seizures. I'm 34 now and they started when I was 1 and was on meds for 2 years. But this may make you feel better. A couple years ago, my dad and sister both had seizures 2 weeks apart for no known reason. Well, they have never had another one. They had never had one and what the neurologist said to you is what they said to them. Enless they start having more. Then if he does, he just goes on some meds or you can look up natural alternatives and try to figure out why he is having them. Unfortunatly, I think vaccines are to blame for a lot of neuro stuff. Anyway, good luck to you!

My son had a febrille seizure at 4 years old. It was scary it happen in the middle of the night he had the flu and woke me up to go with him he felt like he had to puke and then had a seizure in the bathroom. it was a mild one. I have seen worse my neice also suffered from them her whole infantand toddler life ever fever she got she had a seizure. But it common up to 6 years old they should stop after that if it is just febrile sezures if it is more serious then it will continue into the adolesent years and most likely will becoem more common. My advice is to go ahead and see if you can get a second option just so you feel better and please try to live your daily life as natural as possible and just watch when your son is not feeling well. I know it is hard I went throught he whole EEg and head Ct with my son. If you stress and then it will make it harder on him. I hope this helps a bit. I will pray for peace with you and health for your son.
B.

Dear T.,
We adopted a daughter from India and she was very mal-nourished therefore developmentally delayed. She had these type of seizures until she was about 7. Always resulting from a high fever from Pneumonia or Sinus Infection, etc. (she was sick a lot). She also had an abnormal EEG (we heard if it's done within 2 wks of a seizure that it will have sparks of abnormality) showing that she had a type of epilepsy called focal seisure disorder and wanted to put her on medication. We opted out realizing that seizures wouldn't hurt her and we could always give it to her later if she continued to have them. Well, she grew out of them and we never had to put her on meds. I'm really glad we waited. She's doesn't do well with meds. ie. especially antibiotics. I agree with your doctor to wait. As long as your child is not doing dangerous activities like riding a bike or swimming for example where it would be dangerous to have a seizure. Hope this helps. My e-mail is ____@____.com.

Hi T.,

My 4 year old son had a seizure last summer and we were told it was a febrile seizure, however within a few hours of coming home from the hospital he had another, and then another. His MRI's, EEG's and all other tests came back normal. So I can completely identify with your concern. Witnessing a seizure is extrememly scary because you don't know if they are getting oxygen. It has been seven months now, and we still have no answers as to "why". However our neurologist has been great at listening to our concerns and helping us. Our son is now on medication to keep him from having seizures. He also has emergency medication that can be administered in the event of a seizure that goes over a few minutes. The good news is that after going through 6 stays in the hospital, trying different medications and many many sleepless nights of just watching him, he is doing well, able to go to preschool and function as a normal little boy. As hard as it is to not worry about the future - you have to kind of make a plan of what you will do in the event of a seizure, and then just keep doing everything in your life like normal. You have to keep it normal not only for your son, but also for yourself. It is also really important to ask for support from friends and family.

My son was 2 when he had his first febrile seizure, and I heard the same thing. "Oh, don't worry, its nothing...he probably won't have another seizure." He was taken by ambulance, even the firemen and ambulance EMTs took it lightly. I, too was frustrated.

He did have another febrile seizure, and another and two within 24 hours, which I was told wouldn't happen.

He has had a total of 5 seizures and is now 11. His last seizure was when he was 7 years old.

Originally, I was told they outgrow the seizures by age 4. I think they need to update their statistics.

After his 5th seizure my pediatrician started alternating Tylenol and Advil every 3 hours when he had a fever. As well my son was prescribed Valium to take only when he was at risk of having a fever. I would give him 3 separate doses of the Valium when he was looking like he was coming down with an illness or signs of fever (red cheeks, droopy eyes, glossy eyes--the signs only a mother know)

From that point he has not had another seizure. As a mother watching your child seize is one of the most heartbreaking and traumatic things to experience, especially when the medical field treats it as "no big deal." Stay strong and speak with your pediatrician about some preventive measures when he is ill.

My pediatrician put everything in perspective for me and made me feel like he really cared and was concerned about our situation. (Unlike so many other hospital workers, ambulance, firemen, etc that acted like it was no big deal.) The pediatrician spoke with a neurologist in detail after my son had all the tests, eeg's etc, and decided that the Valium would be the best option, since I didn't want to put him on anti-seizure medication every day. The solution that they came up with for my son worked great and was a great relief for me, who was terrified to sleep at night, because I thought he might have another seizure.
I am just starting to sleep through the night without having to check on him, and it has been many years since his last seizure.

The pediatrician told me to continue giving the Valium until my son was 9, but I have given it to him at 10, and the pediatrician said he doesn't blame me and supported my decision to continue the Valium even though he is 11.

Watching your child have a seizure is very frightening and as a parent it is a HUGE deal. There is very little information out there on Febrile Seizures, so speak with your pediatrician and know what to expect if it is to happen again. There really isn't anything that can prepare you for this experience. Know that there are others out there that have walked in your shoes and gotten through the tough times. Be strong & Good Luck. J.

Hi T., My son is now 35 but he also had seizures that began at age 5 or 6. He had taken a hard blow to his head from a baseball bat when the kids were playing baseball. I like you was very scaired and thought he was dying when he had the first one. The hospital also wanted to tell me bring him back if he has another one, but since he had to walk to school I insisted on more. His EEG was also a bit abnormal, so the doctors started him on Dilantin. It was a bit difficult at first to get the levels correct as the medication made him sleepy while at school. After he reached age 8 or 9 we weened him off the meds and he never had another seizure. They do grow out of them after time. Good luck with your son!

Hi T.,
I wouldn't treat for seizures after just one. My husband had two grand mal seizures in his 20's and so did his father. We've been told that seizures can happen to anyone and that it doesn't mean that it will happen again or that they have epilepsy. Neither of them had another seizure after those two isolated ones.
That said, when our son had his 4th grand mal seizure and it was his 2nd in just a few months, he did begin taking Dilantin. We found out that he actually had been having seizures as a child, but they were petite mal and drop seizures (misdiagnosed as fainting spells). He has only had two seizures since starting on the Dilantin and that was when he tried to wean off the meds. He's 24.
If you do start on meds at any time, ask a lot of questions about side effects. Dilantin can affect bone density. It also makes you feel sorta groggy.
But if your doctor and the emergency room doctor don't feel it necessary to start meds now, then I wouldn't. They will recommend meds as soon as they feel they would be needed. Regardless of what the EEG shows (my son's eegs all came back normal), this might well be an isolated incident, in which case, starting meds with side effects wouldn't be the best idea.
You've got a great pediatrician who insisted on an EEG and now, at least you know what a seizure is like so you would recognize it.
One thing my first aide/CPR teacher advised me: ALWAYS call 911 when someone is having a seizure.
Best wishes to you!
T.

Hello,
My son has had a couple of febrile seizures. It is really scary. The first time, i didn't know that's what it was and I called 911! He was just one at the time. From the research I've done, they are not so uncommon, but it's true they usually happen in younger children. It seems like it could happen to anyone if you get hot really fast. I wouldn't worry too much about it unless it happens again unrelated to a fever (like your doc. said). Good luck.

Dear T.,
I wish that I had some amazing answer to help you out. All I can do is share my own experience and hope it helps you. My daughter is 2 and has had seizures since she was 4 months old. We have gone through the same thing that you are with the uncertainty. For my daughter it had nothing to do with a fever or illness. We have no family history of seizures and it wasn't a febrile seizure. After two years, many EEG's, MRI's and countless seizures, there is absolutely no explanation. This is not to say that your child will have anymore seizures or have any further problems. People can have one seizure and never have one again. The uncertainty and the waiting can be overwhelming, especially to a mother! And above all you just want to know why it's happening and what the doctor's can do. The best thing that I can tell you is to keep going with regular life and not let this hinder you or make you afraid. I know it's hard after you have seen your child have a seizure. I can honestly tell you that after the countless ones I have experienced with my baby that I still worry when the next one will be. And like the doctors have told you, there isn't much they can do until he has another seizure. My husband and I deal with our daughter's seizures as best as we can. The hardest part is not knowing why she has them, but the doctors are doing all that they can and I have faith them. If you have any questions about anything regarding seizures please feel free to contact me. Even if you just need someone who understands. Trust me when I say that I have felt what you are right now, but worrying doesn't really make it better. One seizure doesn't mean your life has to change or stop. Just learn more about seizures and know what to do in case he has another one. Being prepared even if you never need to be will help. My email is ____@____.com Take care.

Hello T.,

My daughter, now 7 years old had her first febrile seizure at around 18 months. I have never been so scared then when I saw her stiff throwing her arm,grinding her teeth and foaming at the mouth. I would watch her like a hawk when ever she would get a slight fever or anything. She ended up having a total of 5 siezures her last being around the age of 3 1/2. She had numerous test, from EEG to spinal taps. It is rare to have that many as the body learns to adjust the older the child gets. I had to trust my gut feelings and learnt to regonize when a siezure was coming on. What seemed to work is alternating between moltrin and tynenol every 4 hours. Reason being, or at least what I was told is that if a siezure was going to happen it would happen within the first 24 hours of a fever. It seemed to do the trick.
Hope that helps. Hang in there

Hi - this is not advice, just a personal story. I had febrile seizures as a kid, I believe possibly up until that age but definitely when I was a baby/small toddler. I was given Phenobarbitol as that was what kids were given by doctors at that time. I can understand why my parents allowed the doctors to give it to me (seizures are scary) but the drug did discolor my teeth permanently. (Small price to pay, probably!) Both my daughter and my son have had febrile seizures--both when they were around 1-2 years old, in my recollection (they are now 5 & 7). While the seizures were very scary, we did not medicate them or anything--neither during the seizure or after (when I say medicate--I mean with some anti-seizure drug, etc.) That was the advice we were given by a great ER doctor we respected, and it also happened to coincide with something I had read about in a very good book that I highly recommend: "How to Raise a Healthy Child, In Spite of Your Doctor" by Robert Mendalsohn, M.D. From that book I learned that febrile seizures are usually benign, even though they can be very frightening. I will say that each time it happened (it happened twice with my daughter and once with my son), we called emergency just to be on the safe side. The first time it happened we went to the hospital with my daughter. They did just the basic stats tests on her (blood pressure, etc.) and then observed her (she had already been fine before the paramedics arrived at our house and also did basic stat tests on her). The second time my daughter had one I called the ambulance just as a precaution and they came and checked her out and stayed with us until she was fine. Then I took her into our regular Dr. for a follow-up (again, just as a precaution). When our son had one I knew what to expect, but again, just to be on the safe side, I went with him in the ambulance to the hospital. He did have a severe earache at the time and the other ER doctor (a different one that the one I mentioned above) wanted to do all kinds of stuff--give him an antibiotic shot, some other kind of drug and also do a spinal tap!!! I called my regular doctor and he recommended the antibiotic shot only, because of the earache. Both my daughter and son are fine now, haven't had a seizure since then. All their seizures were triggered by a combination of either fever spiking (my daughter - from a virus) or fever spiking with earache (my son). After they had their seizures, I remember being worried whenever they had fevers and we were really on top of their fevers after that (checking them regularly, etc. and if they were above a certain level, I can't recall exactly how high--I went with our pediatrician's advice, then we gave them either Tylenol or Motrin to "control" the fever in order to avoid the spiking.

I don't know about seizures for your aged kid, but if you have a doctor that you trust, who has experience in seeing kids with seizures, she or he will probably give you similar advice to what we got. Also, there are many ways to "manage" (I kind of hate that term, but can't think of a better one!) fevers--anything from bathing them with tepid cloths to using herbal baths to using drugs like Tylenol/Motrin. Your doctor (the trusted one) can give you all kinds of ideas. Best of luck! If they are in fact febrile seizures, it can be challenging situation, as far as I understand it is NOT a life-threatening one

Yes it a frightening event watching your child have a seizure febrile or not. It is odd for his first to be in his later younger years according to everything we have learned but there are cases. Our oldest daughter has febrile seizures, how we live with it? well at firs it was scary then as time went it goes t the back of your mind when she had her second one well now it is in the middle of our minds. We watch her closely when she is getting warm we take her temp and if it is above the range our doctor told us we give her Motron then Tylenol according to directions and we have been in the clear so far. About the seizure activity coming back mildly unnormal only time will tell. My younger sister has grand maul siezures and well it is something medication helps for the most part to keep under control but scary all the same.
Good Luck God Bless
A.
www.romance2nite.com

I've had 2 seizures in my life. 1st at age 14 then again at age 16. the doctors could never find the cause. I noticed a common thing was blood was involved in both. 1st lady cut her finger off 2nd nurse messed up drawing my blood & made huge mess. Due to the fact i had them far apart & had not experienced any since i am not medicated. i did explain to my husband what to do if i seize & everyone knows if your bleeding stay away from me. then you live your life worry when your son has more stressing now wont help & it really can just be a floock.

Seizures are scary, no question there. As a parent, you panic at the thought of something like that happening again and you focus more on the what if's. You have to realize that yes, the what if's are real but if you let that possibility be "in control", you will stress and your son will sense it. It's not good.

I have a 9 year old son who at the age of six had a massive stroke. It happened out of the blue and no one has been able to tell us why it happened. Every test under the sun was done, with no concrete answers. For a good two years, every time he said he had a headache, my heart stopped. The chances of him having another stroke are certainly increased, but if I focus on "what if" it is so counterproductive.

Knowing what to watch for, and being productive with preventative issues will be your best friend. Watch him for fever. At the first sign, stip him down, keep him cool and monitor his temp.

One thing I learned from my son's stroke is that he does not want to be treated differently than his brother just because I switch into panic mode everytime he has a headache. I have to let him live a normal life, do the things his peers are doing (although I'm drawing the line at football, no more head injuries please!). Time does make it easier. As with any traumatic experience, you have to learn to live with it and not let it control you. Find a space for it, put it in the box and close the lid. You know it's there, you can pull out that box and sift through the information when ever you need to, but when you're done, put the box away.

Best of luck to you, I know how hard it is to go day to day with the uncertainty of your child's health hanging over you.

T.,
I understand your situation completely. My middle son (now 15) starting having febrile seizures when he was about a year old, ALONG with non-fever related seizures. He had several febrile seizures up until he was about 10 or 11. (The docs told us he would "outgrow it" by age 5...ha!) He has not had any febrile seizures since then, but he can spike a fever in nothing flat...for NO reason. We have just learned to look for the signs. Jacob has been known to go from 98 degrees to 105 degrees in under an hour. It was not until elementary school that we finally started getting some answers and treatment for him. Jacob has an "undetermined" seizure and tremor (his hands shake all the time) disorder. His seizures range from abscent seizures (where his eyes will glaze over or roll back into his head for a moment or two) to full grand mall seizures (on the floor, shaking ferociously). He had his first seizure in school in 4th grade, luckily he had a teacher that knew the signs and knew what to do. (Most of his seizures happen at night.) In 8th grade, other students found him wandering the hall completely incoheirent following a pretty bad seizure. He has been on numerous medications including Topamax, Keppra (at one point at the same time as the Topamax) and his current medication Lamictal, which seems to be doing the job. If he doesn't take it, he gets very "fuzzy" and confused.
Please don't hesitate to email me privately. (____@____.com) This is a topic I have been dealing with for almost all of his life.
H. F