Temporal Lobe Abnormal EEG

[Nancy1978]

My 6 year old son was referred to a Pediatric Neurologist because his kindergarten teacher noticed times when he "zoned out" in class back in September.  He had an EEG that showed abnormal activity on the left temporal lobe.  At home, we have not witnessed "zoning out" spells, but have witnessed moments of serious confusion, where he has forgotten things like names, number and letter recognition, or even his birthdate. Other wise, his physicals are completely normal. He doesn't get overly tired or have any pain.  The teacher also has record of these confusing times in his daily school journal.  These confused episodes occur 2-3 times weekly at school and probably 3-4 times a month at home.  He is scheduled for an MRI soon but the doctor wants to medicate now because she fears he may suffer brain damage from such frequent spells.  Sounds like there are lots of side effects to anticonvulsants.  Is the risk of reactions and side effects worth the possible damage control from the possible seizures?  I need some guidance.  Any help would be appreciated.

[Linda0224]

I too, have seizures like your son.  But I get feelings of deja-vu.  Afterwords, I have trouble with the memory, spelling, numbers, writing.  Sometimes it lasts a day or so.  They are referred to as 'Deja Vu' seizures.

Lamictal works great for me.  My neurologist slowly built me up from a minimal dosage, to a larger one - due to risks involved, such as the rash.  He wanted to see if I developed any negative side effects.  Out of all the medicines I've tried, Lamictal works the  best - and no negative side effects.

I also have a horrible intolerance to the Sun  - I absolutely hate it, and prefer overcast days.  I posted a question regarding deja vu seizures and intolerance to the Sun, but I never received an answer - the name of the post was 'I hate the sun!', back in October.  I wanted to see if the two were related.

Hope this helps!  The Lamictal works very well.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

There are two types of seizures you can consider. Temporal lobe seizures can be simple or complex. Simple seizures are when the child is aware of the surroundings and complex, when he is not. If the teacher means "unconscious" when she says "zoned out", you can consider complex seizures.

The question is whether to start medication at this stage or not. The EEG has clearly demonstrated that there is seizure activity. There is a risk of the seizure spreading to other parts of the cortex. In my opinion, it is more beneficial than risky to start medication.

Regards

[jjb419]

Hi there. Sounds like the zoned out spells and the confusion could possibly be complex partial seizures.
My daughter has these. Though her zoned out spells are just that ... her zoning out and are not sz.
But the confused states are. My daughter has a very abnormal EEG pattern and activity coming from several areas of the brain. There are some good meds out there that have fewer cognitive side effects. Lamictal is one of them. Unfortunatly Lamictal also carries the risk of  life threatening rash called SJS. Still though, IMO it is one of the better AEDs.
The problem with not medicating is that the seizures can become more frequent and eventually they may generalize.
If side effects are significant and intolerable from meds, there are other options.
My daughter is off meds and doing a modified Keto diet called LGIT. It can only be done through a trained epi and dietician though.
For my daughter it has been wonderful.

Here is a link to seizure descriptions:
http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/types_seizures