[concernedmom2]

My daughter was diagnosed almost a year ago with Epilepsy. They instantly put her on meds. She is on her 4th now. Most of the meds dulled her out. She was having trouble in school and just seemed so blah. This new med, lamictal, supposedly doesnt have the same side effects.

Before this last med, we had taken her off all meds for 2 months. She seemed good and her old personality came back. She is pretty high energy, happy and quick to act. This medication doesnt seem to dull that personality, which we are happy for. But we had forgotten how hard it was to parent her.

Her impulsive behavior is very apparent now. Friends have made comments like "Wow, she has so much energy" and her teacher (who is wonderful) describes her as "impulsive".

My question is...is there a conection between Epilepsy and impulsive behaior that is NOT medication induced? I thought since Epilepsy is in the brain maybe the impulsive behavior is affected by misfires there too.

Thank you.

[shezbut]

Seizures that begin in the temporal lobe are known to have effects on mood. I can't recall the stats, but a very high percentage of those with TLE also have mood disorders. The temporal lobe area is my area of interest, so I'm unsure what the stats are on other partial seizures and mood or behavior.

Seizures that are generalized aren't associated with any mood or behavioral disorders.

Interesting Q, you may want to check out E.com for a diffinitive (sp?) answer to your Q, if no one else can. Good luck!

Shez

[Porkette]

Hi Concernedmom,

AED's (seizure med) can play a big part of how much energy a person has. Years ago when I was on Depakene (valproic acid) I had so much energy I found it hard to sit still.
AED's can also make a person very moody along with the area of the brain that's triggering the sz. As Shez mentioned if a person has temporal lobe epilepsy they can be moody and very emotional. This can also happen if the frontal lobe of the brain is effected.
If your daughter is at the age where she's going through puberty a lot of her energy can be do to hormones changing in her body. When the estrogen level gets high each month this can give a person more energy and excitment which can also trigger sz. but when the estrogen level is low and the progesterone level is high each month it will help calm the nerves and a person will be much more calm and have fewer sz.
Cell phones can also cause more excitment in a persons brain and sometimes trigger sz. for a person if they are "cell phone sensitive" which means using or being around others using cell phones will trigger sz.
Try putting your daughter on vitamin B12 500 mcg. this will help her with her sz. and keep her more calm. I wish you and your daughter only the best and May God Bless the both of You!

Sue

[concernedmom2]

Thank you so much for your advice. I am going to look into this a little further and I am going to put her on B12 (as soon as I figure out the right dosage-shes only 6).

[Porkette]

Hi Concernedmom,

You might want to try and put your 6 yr. old on at least 100 mcg. once a day of vitamin B12 it shouldn't bother your child but to be sure check with your pharmacist. I've found that my pharmacist knows much more about AED's and over the counter meds than my Epileptologist. I wish you and your daughter only only the best of luck and May God Bless You!

Sue