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My oldest son was diagnosed with seizure disorder (epilepsy) today. How do parents deal with such news? My way of processing things like this is to write about it. I've shared the benefit of what I've gone through for others who may find themselves in a similar situation:

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Marie,

After reading your article, I know exactly how you feel,

My 16 yr old has Asperger's syndrome - he was dx around the age of 10 (a few false dx before then - it was a long road).

But this past Oct he had a grand mal seizure at school with no warning and had to be taken to the ER by ambulance. I'm sure we went through a lot of the same tests: CT, MRI, EEG, etc.

He started on Lamictal for his seizures. Driving and kayaking had to be put on hold for 6 months, we are hoping he can start back next month.

Thanks for the reply, Michelle. He started on Keppra on Tuesday, and so far no seizures and no side effects. We up his dosage beginning Tuesday, so we'll see.

Having gone through it also, you know what a scary thing it is to witness and how absolutely helpless you feel watching your child go through this!

We looked at Keppra, too. It is a very good medication for seizures. We couldn't use it for my son because it tends to have a negative affect on a child that already has rage control issues.

But the neurologist really wanted to try him on it - that's how much she believes in it. And she does research on epilepsy down here at Emory University. (I love being near Atlanta!)

Do you have an emergency med to use if a seizure goes longer than 5 minutes?

[quote=SonsSiteEditor]My oldest son was diagnosed with seizure disorder (epilepsy) today. How do parents deal with such news? My way of processing things like this is to write about it. I've shared the benefit of what I've gone through for others who may find themselves in a similar situation:

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I definitely agree that having a support group is key. You are not alone in what you are facing - other people have figured out tips and techniques which really might help you out a lot.