For the last five weeks, my grandson has been having frequent episodes of what appears, at first glance, to be a seizure disorder; related, perhaps, to his Aspergers Syndrome. He has had several of these blackout 'seizures' over the last four years, but not all in a short period of time as now.
All his tests come back normal, which is frustrating to his mother, as well as to Grandson. Frustrating and frightening. He can feel these episodes coming on, is helpless to control them, and knows he is going to pass out. His fright creates anxiety, which adds to whatever mechanism is causing him to go into these 'seizures.' He does not have epilepsy, so I hesitate to refer to these loss of consciousness episodes as seizures, but I don't know how else to describe them.
His inability to control or avoid these events is a cause of great worry and sadness for us all. At one point or another, every one of us who know him has considered that he might be faking them for the attention we give him. However, that is not the case. We are left to solve a puzzle none of us seem able to put together.
Enter Hugh Laurie, as Dr. Gregory House of the television program titled House. I watch that program, a week after it airs, on my computer. Today, the episode is about a young boxer who loses fights. House had a bet riding on him, and lost when the boxer hit the mat and was counted out. House decided the young man had thrown the fight, confronted him with that, but discovered the boxer suffers from a disorder called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a heart disease in which an extra electrical circuit in the heart causes, among other things, tachycardia, shortness of breath, chest tightness or pain, and fainting. These are among the symptoms Grandson has when his 'seizures' come on.
Now we have a piece to the puzzle. It might not be the right piece for Grandson's puzzle, but in order to get to the right answer, all the wrong ones have to be eliminated first.
Who says television is a total wasteland?
8 comments:
A holter monitor on for 48 hours or so might help diagnose WPW, or other cardiac irregularity.....has he had an EEG? Does his resting EKG show any abnormalities, like prolonged Q-T interval?
Just some thoughts, good luck to all of you.
Mike
What 'Should Fish More' says.
Seizures are part of epilepsy, but not confined to it, so the word is fine to use.
There is a lot of good to be had from TV. I wish I could watch House, since I like Hugh Laurie, and the concept of an obnoxious world class diagnostician is very interesting. The gross inaccuracies and misrepresentations of what that would actually look like just makes me want to throw things at the set.
Very glad you got a good idea from it.
Thought about this during the day, while I was watching the lack of growth in my newly planted grass. He's had an ECG, yes? It should have been picked up in that. It should have shown a lessened P-R interval, the time from the SA node fires, until the impulse gets through the ventricle.
For some reason, I doubt this is the reason for your G'son's symptoms. I'd look somewhere else, perhaps an EEG.
Has he had 'panic attacks' before?
Sounds a bit like it, but there are so many manifestations of this, it's hard to diagnose.
If he hasn't had an EKG, get one. That will help with a differential diagnosis.
Good luck, again.
Mike
It sounds as though you're getting some sound and knowledgeable advice. All I can add is that I hope an answer is found soon. Your grandson is such a sweet young man.
here's hoping this information is helpful in some way... even,as you say, as a means of asking the next question.
namaste
Mike: Every time grandson has gone to the hospital, he's had ECGs and EEGs, routine lab work. Everything comes back normal (except for his growth hormones - very low). We'll have to keep looking. I appreciate your input.
Zhoen: We're grasping at straws, it seems, so anything that exhibits the same symptoms Donovan shows in these episodes catches our eyes. We'll keep looking.
Susan: Yes, I am grateful to Mike and Zhoen for their input. It does help.
Harlequin: Every incorrect possibility means we are closer to finding the right answer.
Thank you all for your responses.
Anyone who watches House and tries to relate the medicine therein to their own life or to that of any other living person (jokily or seriously) could end up in the booby-hatch. Viewers must understand that this TV programme starts out from the greatest con of all time: that of an Englishman playing a Yank. We aren't supposed to be able to do that: we are all (a) homosexual, (b) monarchy enthusiasts, (c) poor at games, etc, etc. House is clearly subversive, set up to undermine US patriotism, its benign attitude to foreign countries and its overwhelming wealth. You have been sucker-punched. And it doesn't stop there. Laurie was on telly this week cruising through the South in a 1959 Ford Galaxy and dropping in on blues players to tinkle the ivories with them. So now your music is under threat. I enjoy House myself but only from a sociological point of view. I asked my doctor about a diagnosis that cropped up in early episode and he (he's worked in the US) said "pretty basic". So all that crustiness is for nought. Stay away from this corrupting influence.
You're kidding, right, BB?
Post a Comment