January 10, 2003
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Dandridge, Tennessee, USA:
My 10 year old son recently had some sort of seizure in the middle of the night. He was jerking on the upper part of his body, his eyes were open, but he was staring and not responding to me or my husband. I picked him up, and we called 911. He finally came to, and en route to the emergency room, his sugar was 177 mg/dl [9.8 mmol/L]. I don’t know anything about sugar levels in kids but the doctor at the emergency room said that sugar levels rise when kids have a seizure. They wanted to do a CAT scan, but I’ m very leery of the radiation if it is not necessary.
They scheduled an EEG, but I don’t think that is going to tell me anything. My gut instinct tells me the seizure is sugar related. I’m just so afraid now to let him sleep alone because I’m afraid it could happen again. What tests so I need to have my son’s pediatrician run to help me understand what happened?
Answer:
It does not sound like his seizure is related to blood sugar at this time. I would encourage you to have a long talk with your son’s pediatrician, and if you trust the advice, follow it. If you don’t trust the advice of your son’s pediatrician, then find one you trust. A new seizure disorder in a youngster requires some testing such as CAT scan, EEG and occasionally some blood tests and whatever other tests your pediatrician is recommending.
MSB
