2 year old with possible absence seizures?

I am writing regarding my 2 year old son.  For the past 3 months we have been trying to figure out what is wrong with him.  It started when one morning he was just lying on the couch completely lethargic and unresponsive for 5 minutes.  When I picked him up it was like picking up a wet noodle; he was completely limp.  After a few minutes he started to interact more and began talking and walking around.  Although he was very weak and had some sort of a twitch.  He had a similar 3 minute episode later that same morning.  I took him to the ER and by the time they saw him he was acting normal again.  They drew blood just as a precaution and everything came back normal...aside from a blood glucose level of 208.  At that point he was admitted to the hospital an monitored for Juvenile Diabetes.  Everything came back normal.  

Over the next couple months his symptoms continued and others started showing up.....lethargy, fatigue, personality changes, slight twitching or tremors (occasionally), excessive thirst, occassional accidents around the house (he is potty trained), and night sweats.  He has also been waking up during the middle of the night asking for water.  Although all of these are symptoms of a diabetic ALL test have come back normal.  It was not until this week that our doctor suggested that this could be neurological and that he could be having absence seizures.  We have met with a neurologist and they ordered an EEG and an MRI.  We have to wait 2 weeks before the hospital can get us in.

My question is this.......at point are these seizures a medical emergency?  I don't want to make unnecessary trips to the ER but I certainly want to make sure that my son is getting the care he needs.  My fear is that he will have a seizure during the middle of the night when I am unaware of it.  Is that possible?

[iluvgrn]

I can understand your concern for your son, I have epilepsy and seizures are worrisome especially for a 2 year old.  Did he have any kind of fever or illness before this started happening.  I have found some really great information from www.epilepsyfoundation.org, they have forums like this one that you can ask questions to people who have E, and to parents of children who have E.  I would check that website out too, they also have a lot of information about the different kinds of sz.  The general rule for a seizure is that if it lasts for more than 5 minutes and it doesn't seem to be ending you should call an ambulance or if another sz start soon after the first one stops.  I wish you luck with your son.
April

[amber30]

i have seizures (had for 19 years).  it doesn't matter what type it is, all seizures are emergencies 2 me.  i say are because u never know how it'll end.  i used 2 have grand mal seizures, and having those led 2 petit mal seizures; now i have both.  1 day i could have a petit mal and the next day have a grand mal.  i would keep a close eye on him when he's sleeping especially at night b cause i've had a few n my sleep.  Good luck!