Epilepsy & Seizures Support Group
Epilepsy (often referred to as a seizure disorder) is a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. It is commonly controlled with medication, although surgical methods are used as well. Seizures (or convulsions) are temporary abnormal electrophysiologic phenomena of the brain, resulting in abnormal synchronization of electrical neuronal...
My 8 year old grand-daughter was just diagnosed with Epilepsy. She had been having mini-seizures and her mother didn't know what they were. They placed her on medication and told us that she could possibly outgrow this condition. This week, she says she has been hearing voices and she is now afraid to go to sleep by herself. Her mother asked her if she heard these voices before the medication was started and she said yes. My daughter asked her if these voices were mean or told her to do bad things and she said no. She said before she opened the refrigerator yesterday to bets some tea, the voices said "bless you".
Are these "voices" common with epilepsy or is there other issues here. My grand-daughter is a quiet, sweet, kind and caring little girl. She makes straight A's in school. I have never been around this disease and I am confused and very concerned. Any advice or comments would be appreciated.
Are these "voices" common with epilepsy or is there other issues here. My grand-daughter is a quiet, sweet, kind and caring little girl. She makes straight A's in school. I have never been around this disease and I am confused and very concerned. Any advice or comments would be appreciated.
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So yeah, "Hearing voices" is just something we say, but it's more sounds & such. Meaning, it's like people who hear voices because they have Schizophrenia or something.
What it is is in patients who hear sounds before, during or after, well it's the seizure activity sparking in the part of the brain that controls how sound is interpreted by the brain & basically the signal is getting scrambled.
Whatever symptom one gets before, during or after seizures is the seizure electricity sparking & scrambling that part of the brain....It's overloading certain brain function circuits & seizures are the patients brain's way of saying there is way way way to much to process at any given point in time.
Hope that helped & made sense!
Take care,
Stay sane!
P.S...Here is a great site about seizure triggers & how they effect the patient with seizure disorder...
http://www.2betrhealth.com/Other-Triggers-for-Seizures.html
It's just an overload of electrical brain currents that send signals to certain functions of the brain to control ANY body function misfiring.
So, if you need further info. on her specific type or types of seizures, let us know & we will gladly give you the links.
Share & share alike! That's what this site is all about!
My current Neuro. told me that I have been having Epilepsy for 20yrs. or so, looking back on my medical history & growing up I use to hate sleeping alone & I would get loads of nightmares for quite awhile. I get them now, not as bad cause I know... (it's my body's way of telling me to wake up during a night seizure. I get night & day seizures. My Complex partials spread to all kinds of seizures at times), but I know that it's seizures now, so I'm not as scared of the weird dreams.
It helps to know ALL about what is going on with your health & it is true what they say, knowledge is power.
My parents are great, but they didn't know what exactly was going on with my health for awhile there & it is one reason that I'm at where I'm at health wise today. SO, the best thing you can do is have EVERYONE who WANTS to help & cares & loves your granddaughter know the ins & outs of what is going on with her.
Encourage her to talk to you openly & honestly, when it's not too overwhelming for her to do so...some days will be very draining for her & she will just want to do anything to feel like a normal kid & give her that as much as is possible.
Just love her no matter what like you know she is still your sweet granddaughter & let her feel like she can be open & honest about what is going on with her health. That is the most invaluable thing I missed out on as a kid, the freedom to talk about what was going on, even if some days I wasn't quite sure & not feeling strange & like I had to hide my seizures.
She can't help what her body is going through & she NEVER asked to get sick. She can still do loads of stuff within her limitations.
With your family's love...which is number one on the list of things she needs right now...I'm sure she'll be able to face each day with courage & bravery. Some days will be harder than others obviously, but if you love her & don't treat her any differently than you would any other child in your family & show her that she may have Epilepsy, BUT Epilepsy DOESN'T have her, then I'm sure she will have as good a life as she can possibly have given these physical limitations.
Well, I hate using the word "limitation." It's more of reworking Epilepsy into your life so that you can be aware of your situation, but choosing to have the best life possible given the circumstances!
Take care,
Stay sane!
I'm sorry that your 8 year old granddaughter has to go through this, I know it's scary. I started to have seizures when I was 14 years old and they began with auditory and visual hallucinations followed by bouts of unconsciousness. I thought I was crazy. Turns out, they were just a symptom caused by my epilepsy. Its really not uncommon for people with partial seizures to hallucinate the way your granddaughter is. You can check it out on this site:
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1184509-overview
If your daughter hasn't spoken with the neurologist already about these symptoms she should. That's something the doctor should definitely know about. What kind of medicine do they have her on right now? There are also diets that can help and you can talk to the doctor about these alternatives. The best I can tell you about how to help your granddaughter is just to be supportive. Assure her that nothing will hurt her and do the homework to find out about the treatments out there. The goal is to get these things to stop. I wish you all the best and keep us posted.
Sincerely, Sam