Diagnosed as Child

[Pookalooza]

I was diagnosed with petit mal as a young child and had it all through my school years (im now 26) recently i have been having some dizzy spells which feel like i did when i was younger, could it be coming back?

i was also given a medicine when i was younger, fortunately i didnt like it so switched, i later found out this medicine couled cause birth defects, im worried because i took it for about a month it could have affected me, is there anyway of finding out?

[Epilepsy Action]

Hi Pookalooza

Epilepsy can come back, but some types of epilepsy are specific to children and go away before you become an adult. So, it depends on the type of epilepsy your were diagnosed with. And dizzy spells could be related to other things, so it's important you have a chat with your doctor, who can arrange for you to see an epilepsy specialist, if need be.

As far as taking epilepsy medicine in the past is concerned, there's no reason to believe this would affect an unborn baby in the future. The risk is only when a mother is taking epilepsy meedicines during pregnancy.

If you would like to chat with an adviser about your concerns, please call the Epilepsy Helpline, freephone 0808 800 5050.

Kathy

[Dr Hannah Cock]

Hi Pookalooza,
I'd just typed a reply to this but now know that if I submit at the same time as someone else is replying, it doesn't get saved! Must remember to save before submitting in the future......

Anyway - as Kathy says - the bottom line is if you are worried you should speak to your GP, who will also have access to your childhood records, so you can then decide together if this might be epilepsy related (in which case you should be referred to an epilepsy specialist to go through things in detail), or something quite different. "Petit mal" usually refers to what we would now call "childhood absence epilepsy", though it was sometimes also used to describe other types of non-convulsive seizures. If what you had was childhood absence epilepsy, and you've been off treatment and seizure free in adult life, it would be very unusual for it to recur at this stage.

Some antiepileptic drugs do carry higher than normal risks of causing birth defects if taken during pregnancy. However this only applies if there is still drug in your blood stream when you conceive and during the early stages of pregnancy while the foetus is developing. Most drugs, including all antiepileptic drugs, are completely gone from your body within days - weeks of stopping them, so this isn't something you need to worry about.

kind regards
Hannah

[Jelly Syrup]

I was told to keep taking my meds or my seizures could increase during my pregnancies. Take care from Jelly Syrup