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Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) diagnosis

Epilepsy & Seizures | Last Active: Aug 8, 2020 | Replies (21)

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@pamelastewart5

My name is Pam and my 40-year-old son has Lennoix-Gesault Syndrome, diagnosed ten years ago on the basis of his "disorganized" EEG. The seizures started just before he turned 3, on Memorial Day. We were told he'd be fine because he was completely normal developmentally and physically, and his EEG was normal. But that isn't the way things turned out. He slowly lost all his abilities and now he can't walk, talk, feed himself, stand without much help, or toilet. He lives at home and attends a wonderful day program. He still has a few seizures every week, when he is asleep. He started on medical marijuana about 18 months ago. The seizures hav lessened slightly and he can bear weight with assistance (he couldn't before). His other meds are Dilantin and Celontin. He's tried all the newer meds as they appeared, but either they didn't help or, with Felbamate, he had continuous diarrhea as a side-effect. His neurologist says he is very "medication-sensitive." He has been on the ketogenic diet and many other diets (Macrobiotic, gluten-free, dairy-free, etc.) We have also tried just about every alternative treatment over the years. I wonder if anyone else in this discussion group is in our situation?

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Replies to "My name is Pam and my 40-year-old son has Lennoix-Gesault Syndrome, diagnosed ten years ago on..."

Hi, @pamelastewart5 - I have moved your post here to this discussion on Lennox-Gastaut syndrome so that you can connect with others familiar with this type of epilepsy. I'm so sorry to hear you were told your son would be fine and that is not the way things turned out. I can imagine it would be very hard to see your son slowly lose so many abilities.

I am glad to hear your son has a wonderful day program to attend. It does sound like you have been through a lot of treatments, which is challenging. I'm hoping some of the other members in this discussion like @briandungan @kathyann @davesmo04 will have some thoughts for you on whether they may have experienced some of the same things in their own or a loved one's journey with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. @jakedduck1 @hermsenk and @patrassi may also have some thoughts for you.

Have the phenytoin (Dilantin) and methsuximide (Celontin) been helpful at all? How has your son tolerated them?