benign rolandic epilepsy

[henrietta123]

My son had four seizures between the ages of 2 1/2 and 4 1/2.  After doing an eeg the doctor said that he believed he had bening rolandic epilepsy.  My son is now 8 1/2 and thankfully to date has not had any more seizures.  The doctor believes he may have outgrown them.  He was never put on medications for his seizures.  I was wondering if  the seizures recur later in life (such as puberty)?  He also plays hockey and I was wondering if he is more susceptible to have seizures due to a head injury (because of his history) than someone who has never had seiures before.

[PaulMD]

Hi there!

It's good to hear that there are  no more seizures!  Benign rolandic epilepsy really has a favorable prognosis.  Nearly all patients suffering from this eventually outgrow their condition by the time he or she reaches puberty.  There is no direct convincing evidence that prove that one will be susceptible to seizures in the future.  I'm really glad to hear that your son is living his childhood to the fullest!!!

[Ophelia23]

Yep, I'm a real life case of this. I had severe Rolandic epilepsy from 7-11 (more than three seizures a week), and now I am an honors student at univerisity! I haven't had a seizure for eight years.

As for the hockey... my own doctors have told me that head injury is always a concern for people who have had epilepsy. But this is no reason to stop him from playing - just make sure he has a really good helmet, and be quick to treat any head injuries.

Also, and I realize this may be awkward to bring up considering his age, but be careful to keep him away from drugs. Things like LSD and even heavy drinking are BAD news for someone who has had epilepsy

[ardensmom]

My now 11 yr old has rolandic epilepsy, quite a few seizures and some scary times. she started puberty a couple of years ago and POOF! it just went away, just like her neurologist said it would. We never used meds. Please go to www.rolandic.com, it was a good site for up to date and hard to come by info, and I do believe Dr. Pal is still looking for kids to study if you're interested in that...