Our 18 month old daughter had a febrile seizure last Tuesday. She had
had a low-grade fever all morning, had napped well, and was playing
quietly during the mid-afternoon. I took her out to a bookstore and when
we returned home the seizure occurred. I called her doctor immediately,
then 911. To make a long story shorter, the seizure lasted all the way
into the emergency room where they adminstered dilantin. That night she
had a CAT-scan (OK), a spinal tap (clear and OK), and the next day an
EEG. "Seizure disorder" (epilepsy?) was ruled out because they "saw no
spikes" on the EEG. It was declared an atypical febrile convulsion
because (1) it lasted so long and was stopped only with medication; (2)
it was focalized -- mostly in her left arm.
The next day she was released from the hospital although she was very
sluggish and woozy, not walking well, and holding her left arm stragely
occasionally. All that got better within 48 hours.
Today she had a follow-up EEG and they said it was "pretty" normal and
"essentially" normal. I know that her "gamma" waves were somewhat slow
though (the technician managed to tell me this, against her will.)
Her doctor and the neurologist who interpreted the EEG are trying to say
that this is what they expected. However, if the post-ictal state only
lasts 48 hours, why does she have a slow EEG? If it matters,
developmentally, she has always been ahead: sat up without suppport at 5
months; walked at 9 and one half months; has a vocabulary of over 100
words and uses two word sentences now at almost 18 months. Oddly, she
even is speaking better these last couple of days -- trying more words
than ever.
I am a concerned, nay, freaking out, mother. I feel we got through the
scary crisis and now I'm getting this "pretty" and "essentially" normal
stuff. Please, if any of you can shed any light on this obscure
language, please either e-mail me directly, or post to this group where I
can get some more information on atypical febrile seizures. BTW, I've
already posted in misc.kids.health and there's no news there.
Kaye in Charlottesville, Virginia
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Kaye Muth
