Breath holding spell??

[binky169]

2 weeks ago my 3 year old daughter, perfectly happy and healthy with no prior incidences came into me crying ( but no no noise coming out) she had only left me barely 30 seconds earlier. I picked her up and began telling her to take a breath but that's when her head fell back, eyes rolled into the back of her head and she was limp before having a mild seizure. panicking as I did I phoned for an ambulance, someone remained on the phone till they arrived she briefly gained consciousness before they got to our house before falling limp again and could NOT be aroused, the paramedic said he had never before had to put so much pressure on a child to the point he had to physically hurt her to get a slight response. he carried her to the ambulance with me behind, still unconscious and raced to hospital. At the hospital she could not be woken by doctors,  when forced open her eyes were still floating ( no one home) they put a canula in her arm and still she was floppy and unresponsive although vitals were good. They transferred her to another hospital having to try to wake her the entire time it was not until about 15 minutes after arriving ( almost an hour and a half after the attack ) she came too, disorientated and needing to be in the dark. before I knew it she was chatting to me eating a little etc kept in hospital about 30 hrs they did bloods and glucose test but nothing else and put it down to breath holding spell, as I said never done so before and cried just as hard in the past, but then sent us out an appointment for an EEG and referred her to clinic ?? we were extremely upset as parents and felt left in the dark I am no doctor but I am a mother who knows her child. we have since made an appointment at a private hospital to get a second opinion and possibly further relevant testing there is a family history of epilepsy, annuerisms, and heart murmurs. what do you think?? please anyone my partner works away and is home only once a month I don't sleep properly now and also she told me a day after the incident " mummy I was sinking in the water down down and I was scared and you saved me" she also had pink dots everywhere in her eyes she said

[skydnsr]

Sounds like you have a good pediatrician.  

[achillea]

I'm glad you are taking her in for further evaluation.  Please do take skydnsr's advice about telling the doc about the apparent number of seizures and the family history.  Those are important facts.

Good luck tomorrow.

[binky169]

thankyou, and no I don't but fingers crossed will have a little more insight after tomorrow

[binky169]

Thanks again, had her appointment today and her paediatrician was quite taken back that no further tests had been taken, was very thorough and we have her going in as soon as tomorrow for an MRI so fingers crossed. he was especially causious after last nights episode as each time she has been perfectly happy and healthy previous to the incident and isn't willing to wait for a third,also the fact she is very tiny and petite for her age although extremely advanced.

[ed34]

Absolutely. It's a shame you don't have a blood pressure monitor at home.

[skydnsr]

I'm glad the appointment is tomorrow, because it sounds like she just had a second episode.  I would present it that way at the appointment, that she has had two episodes.  The sibling history of seizures is significant, so be sure you mention that also.  Let us know how things go.  I will be watching this thread, and I'm sure ed34 will also.    

[binky169]

Thankyou for your feedback, I hear what your saying and will just pray for the best outcome and hopefully it never happens again, although tonight she was fine running the house as she does then out of no where complained of her head hurting and came sat on my lap, covered her head in her hands and became quite faint and literally passed out sitting up I had to wake her and then she started vomiting while sleeping almost, probably nothing and her appointment is tomorrow thank goodness but was twitching all over for sometime after and is laying next to me now as I don't dare leave her.

[binky169]

Thankyou very much for your feedback :) I don't mean to sound like an over reacting parent but it certainly scared the life out of me! She is my baby of 7 children so I have had my fair share of dealings, my second eldest had epilepsy at a young age but outgrew it  but I had never experienced anything like this before. Thanks again much appreciated.

[skydnsr]

That's more than a "breath-holding spell," for sure.  A person can't hold her breath long enough to be unconscious for an hour and a half.  As ed34 mentions, these things can be very hard to diagnose, and oftentimes a diagnosis is never reached, especially if the problem does not recur.  And really, that's what you're hoping for, that it will never recur.  It might well not.  

As far as feeling like the doctors didn't give you any answers, that's because they didn't.  It seems they didn't have any answers to give.  They kept her in the hospital long enough to make sure she was out of the crisis, they did some basic tests, and then when she seemed okay, they didn't have any more reason to keep her.  An appointment for an EEG and to be seen at a clinic sounds about right to me.  There's more testing to be done, but she doesn't have to be in the hospital for the tests.  

I'm not sure if the clinic doctor you are going to see is a neurologist, a general pediatrician, or another type of specialist, but whoever you see should spend some time explaining to you what is known and not known about the situation.  You can expect recommendations for the future and a list of the possible causes.  If you don't get the information you want, ask specific questions.

[ed34]

These are sometimes very difficult to diagnose, often a diagnosis is not reached. I remember when I was 6, I was standing in the kitchen and the next thing I knew, I was in my Mothers arms and then vomited. Doctors ran every test you can think of, but no diagnosis. It never happened again and I'm now 52. My Brothers wife has just started to have the occasional seizure, probably two a year and again they have no idea what's causing it. They've recommended diet changes and all kinds of things, but nothing works.
A couple of years ago, I woke up from a nap and realised that I couldn't work my lungs for some reason. I honestly thought I was going to die. Nothing I did made me breathe, even walking around. Suddenly after a minute, I took a deep breath. I was taken to hospital and had tests, and they diagnosed sleep apnea. Again, never had it before, and hasn't happened since. Sleep apnea can be tested for, and there are some meds, such as those which lower the blood PH, to encourage breathing.