Hi nstevens,

Welcome to the forum! I'm sorry to hear that your son has begun to have seizures (sz.) I've had them for 37 yrs. now. The type of sz. you are describing sounds like a possible absence sz. also knowns as a petit mal sz. or it could be a complex partial sz. I've had both of these sz. for many yrs. My first advice to you is to have your son see an Epileptologist (Dr. specializing in Epilepsy) and go to an Epilepsy Center which are usually at University Hospitals. I've found seeing many different neurologist not a big help compared to an Epileptologist. If I may ask how old is your son? If he's going through his early teens the seizures could get worse do to hormones changing in his body. Keep your son away from grapefruit and grapefruit juice while he's taking zonisamide because the enzymes in the fruit can mess up the drug. Also keep him away from anything with nutra sweet (aspartame) in it. I found out the hard way that nutra sweet causes more electrical activity in the brain and can lead to seizures. There have been a few cases reported stating that people who are ADHD can have seizures. Your sons Dr. needs to do an e.e.g. on him. I find it interesting how when you go out to eat or when your son changes classrooms that it bother him more. If the lights are brighter when he leaves the class it could be that he's photosensitive which means certain colors or bright lights will trigger seizures. I found out that amber, flourescent green, and bright white (like the sun shining on the snow) would trigger sz. for me. Keep your son away from video games with bright flashing lights and cell phones can also cause problems for many people because the frequency of the cell phone can lead to seizures. I use ham radio instead. What you need to do is to get a calendar and write down what time your son has any sz. along with a description of the sz. Take note if theres a low pressure with the weather or if your son is sick because these are things that can also trigger sz. You should also look into cutting him back on carbs and starch foods because these foods turn into sugar and can trigger sz. The ketogenic diet is what may help your son stop if not reduce his sz. Also try putting your son on virtamin B12 it has done wonders for me and many others to reduce and in some cases stop sz. Sue