1
Running head: SEIZURES: IN ADOLESCENTS
Seizures: In Adolescents
Attlah Gentry
Saginaw Valley State University
English 111 08
Dr. E. Beard
2
Abstract
There are very few goals for this paper. Goals such as informing the readers of
what seizures are how they happen, what age they happen at, the symptoms, and
the treatment for them. Also to talk about how having seizures at a young age
affected my life, and how it altered my outlook on things.
What I know:
To be honest, I don’t know much about seizures. I know that I use to have
them as an adolescent. At about 5 years old to be exact was when I first started
having them. Then I just randomly stopped having them. I know that your body
convulses, and your eyes roll during a seizure. You have to take medicine for them.
I don’t know why I had them. I also don’t know why people other than me have
them. I know that no one in my family has a history of ever having had a seizure.
I’m the only person that has had them. My family didn’t really know what to do
since it had never happened before so it frightened just about everyone. I don’t
remember much from when I had seizures. I just remember waking up in the
hospital every time afterwards. It was to me the scariest part of my childhood. I
know that you can grow out of having seizures but I’m not exactly sure if it’s true
3
or not. Lastly, I know that they can happen between the ages 5 to 20, but anyone
can have them.
The Search:
I began my search by looking through the Saginaw Valley State University
catalog online and I ran across a book called Children with seizures: A Guide for
Parents, Teachers and Other Professionals. Some search terms I used were
seizures, seizures in children, and epilepsy. I read through the book and gained a
lot of new information about my topic. I learned about things I had questions on
and things that I just never understood. Questions such as, “Why did this happen to
me?,” “Why am I the only person in my family having seizures?”, and “Why can’t
I just be a normal kid?.” I interviewed my sister on her thoughts and reactions to
me having seizures at such a young age in my life. She was there through it all. So
I felt as though she was the right person to interview.
I found a medical encyclopedia called A.D.A.M. The article was called
“Temporal lope Epilepsy; Seizure Disorder”. It broke down the causes, symptoms,
and treatments for seizures. It had figures that explained the text in detail. The
figures also showed where seizures happen in the brain. I also found another article
entitled “Seizure Disorder” by eMedTv. It gave me the same general information
4
as the previous article but went more into the research that scientists have done. It
also gave some statistics about seizures. One study found that children with
idiopathic epilepsy, or a seizure disorder with an unknown cause, had a 68 to 92
percent chance of becoming seizure free by 20 years old after their diagnosis. More
than two million people in the United States about 1 in 150 have experienced an
unprovoked seizure or been diagnosed with a seizure disorder. For about 80
percent of those diagnosed with a disorder, seizures can be controlled with modern
medicines and surgical techniques. Lastly, however, about 20 percent of people
with a disorder will continue to experience seizures even with the best available
treatment. The last article I read was by the University of Maryland Medical
Center titled “Seizure Disorders” as well. It talked about the classification of
seizures. And the rest of the article tied into the rest of the information I had
learned from the other resources I used.
What I discovered:
Seizures are episodes of disturbed brain activity that cause changes in
attention or behavior. My first source is from a book called Children with seizures:
A Guide for Parents, Teachers and Other Professionals written by Martin L.
Kutscher and Gregory L. Holmes who are both MD’s. According to Kutscher &
5
Holmes a seizure is classified as temporary brain short circuiting. The second
source is another MD named Arthur Schoenstadt who wrote an article on
EMedTv.com about seizure disorder. These changes result in seizures, which
involve convulsions, muscle spasms, and loss of consciousness. (Schoenstadt,
2009) Seizures and epilepsy are closely related meaning if you have more than one
seizure you’re an epileptic.
Another source is NMD Steven D. Ehrlich. Seizures are caused by anxious
nerve cells in the brain that are abnormally. Also anything that bothers the normal
pattern of neuron activity can cause a seizure. There are two categories of seizures
partial and generalized. Partial seizures involve a part of the brain. Simple partial
seizures symptoms include, involuntary twitching of the muscles or arms and legs;
changes in vision; vertigo; and experiencing unusual tastes or smells. The person
does not lose consciousness. Complex partial seizures symptoms may be similar to
partial seizures, but the person does loose awareness for a time. The persona may
engage in repetitive behavior (like walking in a circle or rubbing their hands) or
stare. (Ehrlich, 2010) Generalized seizures involve much more or all of the brain.
Absence seizures (petit mal) symptoms may include staring and brief loss of
consciousness.
6
Myoclonic seizures symptoms may include jerking or twitching of the limbs
on both sides of the body. Tonic-clonic seizures (grand mal) symptoms may
include loss of consciousness, shaking or jerking of the body, and loss of bladder
control. The person may have an aura or an unusual feeling before the seizure
starts. These seizures can last from 5 - 20 minutes. (Ehrlich, 2010) The terms grand
mal and petit mal are no longer used but are derived from French meaning big and
little malady. Treatment for epilepsy may involve surgery or medication.
Medication to prevent seizures, called anticonvulsants, may reduce the number of
future seizures. (A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia, 2012) About 30 - 70% of
people who have one seizure will have a second seizure within 1 year. You may
need to try several medications or combinations before you find one that works for
you. There are a number of drugs available to help treat seizures. (Ehrlich, 2010) I
don’t have a lot of questions I want answered still, but there are a few I hoped I
could have found answers for. Like why did I just stop having seizures? Did I grow
out of them? What triggered it to happen?
I use to think I was the only person who had seizures. Until I saw a woman
that lived in the same building as me have a seizure. It was scary and I always
wondered if I looked like that when I was having a seizure. Every time I had a
seizure I would wake up in the hospital. I use to cry all the time wishing I was like
all the rest of the other kids. Most seizures do not cause brain damage; however, it
7
is not uncommon for people with a disorder, especially children, to develop
behavioral and emotional problems, sometimes the consequence of embarrassment
and frustration or bullying, teasing, or avoidance in school and other social
settings. (Schoenstadt, 2009) Growing up none of my friends knew I had seizures.
I felt like I would be made fun of or people would think I was weird if they find
out. I never told anyone I use to have seizures until I was in 9th grade. I played
basketball and a girl on my team had seizure during the game. She was so
embarrassed and felt like we thought she was weird. I knew how she felt so she
was the first person I opened up to about having seizures.
Interview:
I chose to interview my older sister Yolanda Wilson. She was by my side
through every seizure I had. My first question for her was: What was your reaction
when I had my first seizure? She responded with “I thought you were dead. I didn’t
really know what was going on I was only a kid myself. I just remember a lot of
commotion.” Secondly, Did you wonder what was wrong with me? “Yes because
you were a toddler and it just happened out of nowhere.” Did you wonder why this
was happening to me? “Yes because you were perfectly fine right before it
happened, you were playing. It had never happened before you were a healthy
8
kid.” Were you scared for me? “Yes, I was very scared for you, you were
convulsing and your eyes were rolling. I didn’t know what to do, nobody in our
family had a history of seizures and we didn’t know what to do. And to see this
happening to my only baby sister was just terrifying for me. I just kept thinking I
can’t lose you." Yolanda went on to say “Why it is that you never had any more
seizures and what triggered them to happen in the first place.” I didn’t know the
answer to that, and that is one of my unresolved questions I still have.
Now that all my research is done I have some of my questions answered. I had
generalized seizures. They were caused by unknown reasons, but they stopped
because I grow out of it. I still don’t know why this happened to me and why was I
the only person in my family that had seizures. Maybe one day I’ll find out the
answers to these questions.
9
References
A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia. (2012). Epilepsy. A.D.A.M Medical
Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 31,
2012 from http://www.ncbl.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001714
(A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia, 2012)
Ehrlich D. S. (2010). Seizure Disorders. University of Maryland Medical
Center. Retrieved October 31,
2012 from http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/seizure-disorders000148.htm
(Ehrlich, 2010)
Kutscher, M. L. (2006). In Holmes G. L., Children with seizures: A guide for
parents, teachers, and other professionals. London, GBR: Jessica Kingsley
Publishers Retrieved from http://0site.ebrary.com.library.svsu.edu/lib/svsu/docDetail.action?docID=10141145
(Kutscher & Holmes, 2006)
10
Schoenstadt, Arthur. (2009). Seizure Disorder. EMedTv. Retrieved October
31, 2012 from http://nervous-system.emedtv.com/seizure-disorder.html
(Schoenstadt, 2009)