I need some advice regarding my son and his partial complex seizures.

[slamey28]

Hi, I have a 5 year old son that had 2 partial complex seizures back in March.  His tests showed that he has a 4cm arachnoid cyst (sp?) in his left temporal lobe.  His neurologist said that it's fine for him to have this kind of a cyst and that it's not related to his seizure disorder.  His EEG showed a "misfiring" that would lead to a tendency towards seizures.  He also has problems with speech, fine and gross motor skills, and a history of sleepwalking frequently.  He's on Depakote sprinkles 125 mg twice a day and seems to be doing okay so far.  He does have difficulties with staying alert/awake during school and sometimes at home or in the car if he's not being stimulated.  In an effort to keep him alert, his doctor prescribed 1/2 a Focalin twice a day and so far he doesn't seem to have experienced any difference in his ability to stay awake.  To combat the sleepwalking, his doctor wants him to take either Melatonin or Benadryl at night to help him sleep soundly.  I don't know how I feel giving him a stimulant all day only to make him crash at night.  I would love to hear from someone who can shed a little light on the cyst issue, because frankly it makes me feel uncomfortable to keep medicating him if there's something that can be done to stop his symptoms.  I feel like I can trust his neuro, but I'm not sure that this approach is what's best for my son.  Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.  Thanks a lot! ~Amy         Oh, he also has a gluten intolerance, history of ruptured eardrums, and we've been told that he has a "click" in his heart.  I don't know if any of that is relevant, but I thought it couldn't hurt to let you know all the details.

[Abhijeet Ghosh]

Dear Slamey28,
First of all, please remove all the suspicion from your side, towards the treating doctor.
Cyst means a fluid filled cavity and if it's present in sub-arachnoid space, it's called so.
However the sign-symptoms of the same depends on , what type of structures it's pressing on.However, its rarely seen to cause seizures and hence forms a considerable topic of debate among the neurologists.
Only your treating doctor can judge it the best.
Also MRI scans reveal the region of compression in a much better way than any other investigation.
I agree that the medications can be too much, but your treating doctor is the best judge in the present case scenario.
Please feel free to ask me more questions.I would be glad to help/share.
Regard.

[slamey28]

Thank you for getting back to me, I really appreciate it.  I understand that the cyst is fairly common, but it was my understanding that it's something that should be monitored for any changes.  Should I pursue that course of treatment with my son's doctor?  I'm still so new at all this and I'm not sure what the normal protocol would be with this kind of thing.  Thanks again for the advice.  ~Amy