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how can you tell?

mommyinneed
  • By mommyinneed
  • Posted October 27, 2009 at 9:24 pm · 7 replies
  • In Help desk
  • Shared with the public
0 Recommendations

Hi all,
My son Daniel was just diagnosed with mild CP and is currently in therapy. As some of you might know children with CP are at a significant risk for seizures (50%) and I was wondering if anyone could tell me how to tell if he may be having them because some are very subtle. He does this thing every once in a while where he scrunches his face and blinks his eyes like 3 or 4 times in a row. It's almost like there is something in his eyes, but there's not. any advice?

Explore topics in this discussion:

Stroke Paralysis Seizures

7 replies

Mamato4

I think you could bring it up w/ his Dr. My friend's lil man started to have seizures and they were the "looking off into space" type and it would only last for a few secs and then as he got older he would do it more often and for longer periods of time. GL!

Bklynmom

Did the neurologist say there was a reason to be concerned? Neither the specialist we see normally or the neurologist we recently went to said anything about watching out for seizures. Wouldn't they have noticed something in the NICU if Daniel has been having seizures, or do they start later? I'm guessing that the blinking you're describing isn't a seizure, but I'm interested in what other people have to say.
Also, is the risk of seizures that high in people with MILD CP? Because there is such a big range when it comes to CP.

MomtoKaylaRose

My daughter does not have the CP diagnosis but does have PVL, moderately enlarged ventricles and brain volume loss. Her seizure happened during the night while sleeping (my neurologists said a large percentage of them happen at night). I work late nights and went in to check on her when I got home around 2am as I always do. She woke up when I was in her room and I noticed the whole left side of her face was droopy like she had a stroke. Also the iris of her left eye was way over against her nose even when she looked straight at something. Neurologist said it was Todd's Paralysis, which is a post-seizure temporary paralysis. We would have probably never known she had one if I hadn't been in the room at the right time.

M-and-D-Mommy

Hi,
I would talk to the dr about it. I am not sure if the risk for seizures goes up or down, based on severity of the CP. I have read that they can have full blown seizures (more obvious) and others do things like "stare off into space" (as mentioned above). I suppose there is a possibilty that is what is happening in your child case, but I'd definitely discuss with the neuro dr to get more info. Maybe google CP seizures and maybe you can find a place that describes the variation in more detail, for comparisons to what you are seeing. Good luck! Please keep us updated.

mommyinneed

My son's neurologist never even mentioned seizures. I know that there is a test to see if they have them and that is what I am going to get my son. It's called an EEG. I'm not sure if the risk is the same with mild CP. I'm sure the risk is higher in more severe cases.

One thing I'm wondering is do they cause brain damage and do they cause death? I know that it's rare but I'm wondering what the circumstances have to be.

Brayden123

There must be a reason your dr told you to watch for seizures. Seizures can range from grand mal (whole body shaking) to petit mal ( more subtle like minor twitches). Watching for subtle repetitive twitching is important because it could be seizure activity and reported to your md. Seizures are easily treated with medication (most of them). Seizures can lead to death or brain damage in rare instances where they are severe and difficult to stop (you would know if this type of seizure was happening). But even the littles ones need treating. Try keeping a log of eveything you suspect. Write what it looks like and how long it lasts! Let me know if you have any other questions I am happy to help as much as I can!

mommyinneed

well, I talked with the neurologist yesterday and he said that it's unlikly that he is having seizures and if I wanted to the could give daniel an EEG if it gets worse. So, I guess we'll wait and see what happens. For now, I'm just going to enjoy him, because for me it's been so hard to do that worrying about all of this other stuff.

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