October 22, 2003
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Columbus, Ohio, USA:
My granddaughter has had seizures for two years which always occur in the middle of the night or early in the morning, and she craves juice constantly. They last less than two minutes, and afterwards she vomits and is very tired. Almost always, she spikes a fever just before or after the seizure, then the fever is gone. There is never an infection present during these seizures.
Doctors have run many tests, but they have no explanation for her seizures Is it possible she may have an insulin disorder? This is the only thing she has not been tested for.
Answer:
It is possible though very unlikely that your granddaughter’s seizures are related to an excess of insulin. The fact that they occur during fasting suggests hypoglycemia as a possibility, and there is a disorder known as Persistent Hyperinsulinemic Hypoglycemia of Infancy (PHHI0 that could be responsible for this. However, I think it very improbable that her doctors have not already considered this possibility amongst many others.
DOB
