vertigo vs. focal seizures

[heatherann425]

My two-year old daughter. For the last 4 months my daughter has been having anywhere from 3-15 episodes a day where she suddenly drops to her knees and lays down. It's abrupt and usually in the middle of play, sometimes she does some swaying and seems groggy before it happens. She'll lay there and stare, sometimes she'll respond to a voice, usually not. It lasts anywhere from 10 seconds to minutes. Yesterday she fell face first on the floor, hands at her sides. When her teacher picked her up her eyes were rolled back in her head. Slowly they rolled forward but she didn't respond for a minute and she was limp. Afterwards she was very tired and slept for awhile. One doctor says she has vertigo, another is running a 24 hour eeg, and another says nothing is wrong with her. I had focal seizures as a child. I keep getting different answers. When this all started she had an mri and a half-hour EEG. They both came back clear. I wish we could figure this out, or talk to someone who is experiencing the same thing. Does it sound like seizures?

[RobinN]

The above post is the typical answer that I got from a couple neurologists that my daughter saw.
A 24 hr VEEG does not always tell you whether or not this was a seizure. If the patient does not have a seizure during this test it says nothing. If there is a seizure but the EEG does not pick it up, there are a couple of possibilities that it could be. If the seizure is in the frontal lobe, or deep in the brain, the abnormal brain waves are not always picked up.

The second issue that I find to be frustrating as a parent is that she shouldn't have any trouble on a medication. They don't tell you that 30% are not helped with meds. If side effects occur, many doctors increase the meds rather than discontinue them. Sometimes patients are put on two or even three medications, and they do not even know what side effects might occur.

Academic problems are more than likely to occur. Memory issue and brain fog, fatigue. I have a list of issues that we had to deal with. Many times the doctors don't believe they are related to the meds.

We are all told that the only way to control seizures is with drugs. This is so far from the truth. But we trust conventional doctors to take care of us.

My daughter is now med free after 2 yrs on drugs that didn't control her seizures. We are doing a combination of nutritional changes, vitamin and minerals to support brain health, and neurofeedback.

We have seen such a drastic reduction in seizure activity with nothing but positive side effects. However, this information was not given to me by three different neurologists. I had to learn it from the University of Google.

Medication should be used as a LAST resort.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

These are typical symptoms of "Atonic Seizures". A 24 hour EEG and a Video EEG are necessary for a confirmation of the diagnosis.

She will need to take anti-epileptic treatment for a few years. Do not worry about her development. If she receives appropriate medicines, she should not have any problem controlling the seizures. A good seizure control is the key.

Keep a watch on her academic progress and report to a doctor at the slightest hint of any problem.

Don't worry, she will be fine.

Regards

[LadyIndian]

I have a grandson who is now 2 yrs 5 months. He started having "spells" when he was 2 months. It would only be once a month on one day only a few episodes. It appeared to be Infantile Spasms and we took him to a Ped Neuro and all bloodwork and EEG were negative. He continued the cycle for a few months then they stopped. About age of 6-9 months the "spells" started again with the same pattern only they made him appear like he was drunk and he would giggle and shake. His parents took him to Chidren's Hospital and blood work and CT, normal. We took him to another Ped Neuro who thought they could be seizures from the description. He never lost consciousness and after the episode would go back to playing. She repeated the EEG, negative again. She put him on some anti seizure medication and even increased it once because the "spells" continued. They were only once a month for one day, so odd. It just so happened at a follow-up visit to his Neuro it was the day he was having the "spell" and she witnessed it. She immediately had us go to Children's hospital for another EEG and possible 24 EEG. He had an episode while on the EEG and once again it was confirmed that he was definitely NOT having seizures and she told his parents to stop his medication. I questioned her as to if she thought it might be Vertigo and she seemed puzzled but agreed. I did some research in the net and found what seems to be exactly what he is having. Begign Paroxysmal Vertigo in Childhood. The "spells" continued as usual monthly and the last one he had in Nov 2007 was worse and caused him to vomit, pale, weak, very ill looking. After that part of the day was over he was back to himself. Until Feb 19, 2008 he went 3 months without a "spell". This one was even worse. He is now old enought to tell us he is dizzy and he can't even stand on his own. Very clingy, and after a while the vomiting began and was like clockwork every little bit. He vomited about 6 times in an hour. Nearly dehydrated. I did some more research and it appears he has Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. I can't find anywhere where they would have both but he appears to. I called his Neuro about getting an ENT work up because there is a possibility there. What it all boils down to is both the BPVoC and CVS are migraine variants and that is what it possibly could be. Non the less, he will probably develope full blown migraines as he gets older. I don't know if this information will help you but I wanted to share our experience. My grandson has not been effected mentally or physically by any of it except for the one day he has the "spell". He is actually VERY SMART and COORDINATED for his age.

[scarlet37]

While it is possible for it to be seizures, something you stated has me believing otherwise. You stated that this usually happens while she is playing -  is she excited and happy or upset when these episodes happen?  My opinion is something called " cataplexy" it is asociated with a sleeping disorder called narcolepsy. Google those words for more info.
I hope you get to the bottom of this very soon. It is discouraging being a parent and not knowing what to do. Best wishes.