Dr. Drew w/ girls with mystery diagnosis show. Did anyone else see this?

[unsinkable]

I am actually stunned at what I just saw.

 

Did anyone else see this.

 

ETA: I guess my stunned and shocked reaction has quite a bit to do with my DD's epilepsy and what she is currently going through. In the light of day, (what IS that bright orb in the sky? HA-HA) I am feeling calmer.

Edited January 21, 2012 by unsinkable

[Whereneverever]

I am actually stunned at what I just saw.

 

Did anyone else see this.

 

I don't have real tv! What did I miss?

[unsinkable]

I don't have real tv! What did I miss?

 

The girl Thera Sanchez had a seizure during the show. She slipped onto the floor but they kept the cameras running. The other girl who was on was having tics that got wors e and worse as her friend was on the floor seizing.

[Guest submarines]

:lurk5:

[lionfamily1999]

I'm so out of the loop. I just read about this (here) yesterday.

 

Annnnnd.... I don't have tv either.

 

Feel like practicing your narratives :D

[justasque]

Complete armchair quarterbacking guess - Sydenham’s chorea.

 

Poor kids.

[Quad Shot Academy]

Yes, I saw it and it was so horrific that I can't sleep. It is shocking to see someone in that much pain, for that long, that they don't call an ambulance for, that I guess they can't do anything for anyway.

[angela in ohio]

Yes, I saw it and it was so horrific that I can't sleep. It is shocking to see someone in that much pain, for that long, that they don't call an ambulance for, that I guess they can't do anything for anyway.

 

Exactly. You don't need to call an ambulance for a seizure, and I would hope the show had medical staff standing by anyway (they'd be crazy not to, considering.) Did they at least follow proper seizure care (moving furniture away, timing it, etc.)?

[asta]

I am of two minds here. I think the initial cases are valid neurological problems. Syndenham's would be as decent guess as any considering it is a small town and a virulent case of strep could take hold.

 

However. If you look at the video on CNN that is showing two girls, one with an "original" case and one with a "later" case (the blond girl), the "later" case doesn't look like tics - it looks like an affectation. There are lots of moms here who have children with tics who will know what I mean.

 

I believe discounting all the cases as mass hysteria (mass conversion disorder) is a copout by a group of people who aren't taking the time to separate the wheat from the chaff.

 

Finally, though I did not see the 'seizure' the poster is referring to, there are different types of seizures: neurological and psychogenic (you can look them up). Unless a patient is pinging on an EEG machine or exhibiting very specific signs, many neurologists will, in the absence of other evidence, say that a patient is having a psychogenic seizure. Also, many patients experience both, so that muddies the waters if a neurologist only witnesses one.

 

I hope these young women get the care they need, in whatever form it should be.

 

 

Asta

[asta]

P.S. You don't mention how long the young woman was on the floor with seizing, but any non-psychogenic seizure beyond 5 minutes is a condition called status epilepticus and has a mortality rate of about 20% due to the frying going on in one's brain.

 

When this occurs, ambulances are ALWAYS called unless a patient is in the hospital, at which point a patient is given a drug that essentially knocks their brain out (to stop the seizure).

 

That the other girl started having more problems when girl number 1 was on the floor makes no particular sense from an organic brain disease point of view. Increased stress level, yes, but overall change in symptomology, no. Again, I haven't seen this video - I don't even know where to find it.

 

 

A

[unsinkable]

Please excuse typos. Wonky keyboard.

 

The first part of the show is now online at dr. Drew's website. That part is just him interviewing Thera, her mom and another girl, who's got a nasty bruise on her face.

 

The second par tof the show is NOT online. That's when Thera started having the seizure. She dropped below the view of the cameras but I think it was because of the banners on the screen. I didn't time the seizure b/c i was really stunned that they didn't just cut away and go back to Drew and his guest. But Drew kept saying stop cutting away, Saying " i need to see this."

 

Btw, it is not a hard and fast rule that seizures don't need an ambulance. Eta I see asta addressed this.

 

Thera's mom kept trying told hold her arms. Her arm movements got worse before the seizure and iirc her mom seemed to be holding them before she slipped off the chair. I don't know what the mom was doing.

[Quad Shot Academy]

P.S. You don't mention how long the young woman was on the floor with seizing, but any non-psychogenic seizure beyond 5 minutes is a condition called status epilepticus and has a mortality rate of about 20% due to the frying going on in one's brain.

 

When this occurs, ambulances are ALWAYS called unless a patient is in the hospital, at which point a patient is given a drug that essentially knocks their brain out (to stop the seizure).

 

That the other girl started having more problems when girl number 1 was on the floor makes no particular sense from an organic brain disease point of view. Increased stress level, yes, but overall change in symptomology, no. Again, I haven't seen this video - I don't even know where to find it.

 

 

A

The seizure lasted 12 minutes before the show ended. She was not showing any signs of letting up at the end of the show. Her mom was holding her underneath the camera line and you could see her mom's body being pushed around. The mom was continuing to talk to Dr. Drew and said this happens daily. I believe she mentioned that she had seizures before this started, but the seizures did not get this bad until December.

[Trish]

So why haven't health officials revealed the "mystery connection" between the cases?

[justasque]

If you look at the video on CNN that is showing two girls, one with an "original" case and one with a "later" case (the blond girl), the "later" case doesn't look like tics - it looks like an affectation. There are lots of moms here who have children with tics who will know what I mean.

 

 

Yeah, something seemed different about the girl on the left's tics. They didn't seem quite tic-y somehow.

 

I think Dr. Drew could only see the girls if the camera was on them, and he seemed genuinely not sure how to handle the situation given that he was seeing the seizure but wasn't in the same place so couldn't help the girl. I know he's a media guy (and if I had three kids in college at once I would be taking whatever well-paying job came along), but he does seem to be a decent sort of person.

[angela in ohio]

The seizure lasted 12 minutes before the show ended. She was not showing any signs of letting up at the end of the show. Her mom was holding her underneath the camera line and you could see her mom's body being pushed around. The mom was continuing to talk to Dr. Drew and said this happens daily. I believe she mentioned that she had seizures before this started, but the seizures did not get this bad until December.

 

Seriously? Yes, then she needed medical attention. That makes you wonder if the mother thought it wasn't real? Why else wouldn't she react, stop the taping, get a doctor....

[Perry]

This from his CNN blog:

 

Her mother, Melisa Philips added, “She also now has daily blackouts and seizures … not like epilepsy seizures, but where she’s somewhat lucid and can feel her body being rigid and it`s almost like she’s a stone statue. And she can’t move and she’s very weak and tired, and so, it just continually seems to get new symptoms.â€

 

Sanchez had a seizure during the interview itself, but her mother assured Dr. Drew that she was OK, saying that the seizures have been happening daily since December.

So it sounds like she's had an EEG and was told she isn't having "real" seizures. IOW, they are psychogenic.

 

If this girl were having 12 minute epileptic seizures every day she'd be in the hospital.

 

It's even more evidence for conversion disorder.

 

Also, I read somewhere that they have ruled out PANDAS. If that's the case, they would have ruled out Sydenham's chorea as well, because they are both caused by Group A strep.

[unsinkable]

This from his CNN blog:

 

So it sounds like she's had an EEG and was told she isn't having "real" seizures. IOW, they are psychogenic.

 

If this girl were having 12 minute epileptic seizures every day she'd be in the hospital.

 

It's even more evidence for conversion disorder.

 

Also, I read somewhere that they have ruled out PANDAS. If that's the case, they would have ruled out Sydenham's chorea as well, because they are both caused by Group A strep.

 

Perry,

 

Did you know that Thera HAS a history of seizures? I somehow missed it until last night. Her mom, on Drew last night, was saying the seizures now are NOT like her epilepsy.

 

BTW, when you agree with me in the other thread, I felt like the popular girl had asked me to eat lunch with her. :D It's the little things that make my day...

[kalanamak]

I didn't see it and I won't, but I am disgusted they went on TV about this. If there is any behavioral component, this kind of attention cements it firmly in the folds of the cerebrum.

 

Every time I see TV (very rarely) I'm shocked at the new lows, and fully expect a show calling Wipin' to come on next. "Famous" people using the toilet.

[unsinkable]

I didn't see it and I won't, but I am disgusted they went on TV about this. If there is any behavioral component, this kind of attention cements it firmly in the folds of the cerebrum.

 

Every time I see TV (very rarely) I'm shocked at the new lows, and fully expect a show calling Wipin' to come on next. "Famous" people using the toilet.

 

The parents seem desperate. I get that. Thera actually said she had no idea what conversion disorder meant, that no one ever explained it to her.

 

The stress of being on TV last night DID seem to exacerbate things, though. Maybe the parents should do the shows themselves.

[Whereneverever]

P.S. You don't mention how long the young woman was on the floor with seizing, but any non-psychogenic seizure beyond 5 minutes is a condition called status epilepticus and has a mortality rate of about 20% due to the frying going on in one's brain.

 

When this occurs, ambulances are ALWAYS called unless a patient is in the hospital, at which point a patient is given a drug that essentially knocks their brain out (to stop the seizure).

 

That the other girl started having more problems when girl number 1 was on the floor makes no particular sense from an organic brain disease point of view. Increased stress level, yes, but overall change in symptomology, no. Again, I haven't seen this video - I don't even know where to find it.

 

 

Ps, I'm glad I didn't see the show. Just think about it makes me feel sick.

 

A

 

:iagree: I have a child with epilepsy who has had status epileptics seizures. It is absolutely an emergency and makes me think her seizure must be psychogenic is the mom wasn't administering something like Diastat and calling EMS.

[justasque]

The parents seem desperate. I get that. Thera actually said she had no idea what conversion disorder meant, that no one ever explained it to her.

 

The stress of being on TV last night DID seem to exacerbate things, though. Maybe the parents should do the shows themselves.

 

In all the coverage of this, it's not at all clear to me that the families are getting appropriate medical care. Dr. Drew asked about follow-up care, and there didn't seem to be any.

 

Also, the language around the school district's actions is problematic. I assume that the school district's responsibility is to figure out whether anything at the school (the physical buildings etc., or the interaction that takes place at school) either 1) has caused or exacerbated the students' symptoms, and/or 2) is putting any other students at risk. The media keeps saying things like "They have ruled out all environmental factors, infections and the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning." The word all is problematic for me. It just doesn't sound like a careful, scientific way of stating the results of their investigations.

[LucyStoner]

Did they at least follow proper seizure care (moving furniture away, timing it, etc.)?

 

My mother was epileptic my whole life. We never moved furniture away. Had we done that, by the time we moved 1-2 things, it would be over. We also were never instructed to time it unless it was atypical. We just made sure she did not hit her head.

[ThatCyndiGirl]

The parents seem desperate. I get that. Thera actually said she had no idea what conversion disorder meant, that no one ever explained it to her.

 

The stress of being on TV last night DID seem to exacerbate things, though. Maybe the parents should do the shows themselves.

 

But, but, but,......if you were told that your child had something called 'conversion disorder' and you didn't know what it was.....wouldn't you pick up a book, go to the library, use google, ask a Dr, SOMETHING?!!?

 

The dx of conversion disorder has been tossed around for over a week. I find it hard to swallow that IN MORE THAN A WEEK'S TIME the mother can't avail herself of this information and instead goes on a TV show to say, "I don't even know what conversion disorder is?" :confused::confused::confused:

[unsinkable]

So why haven't health officials revealed the "mystery connection" between the cases?

 

I think, originally, health officials couldn't because of privacy issues but since then the girls and their families have revealed that they have been diagnosed with conversion disorder.

[unsinkable]

But, but, but,......if you were told that your child had something called 'conversion disorder' and you didn't know what it was.....wouldn't you pick up a book, go to the library, use google, ask a Dr, SOMETHING?!!?

 

The dx of conversion disorder has been tossed around for over a week. I find it hard to swallow that IN MORE THAN A WEEK'S TIME the mother can't avail herself of this information and instead goes on a TV show to say, "I don't even know what conversion disorder is?" :confused::confused::confused:

 

Yes. I would. Thera is the 17 yo DD but your post applies to her, too. And if my 17 yo DD needed help understanding the terms and diagnosis, I'd help.

 

I think the families believe that conversion disorder is an incorrect diagnosis.

[angela in ohio]

My mother was epileptic my whole life. We never moved furniture away. Had we done that, by the time we moved 1-2 things, it would be over. We also were never instructed to time it unless it was atypical. We just made sure she did not hit her head.

 

I've just started through learning this as my ds started having seizures or seizure-like activity (still waiting to find out which,) though my dh works with children who have seizures frequently. You have to move anything they might knock over onto themselves or hit themselves on, and you need to know how long it lasts. We were told he's much more likely to be injured that way than to have the seizures harm him. (Though he falls, so he'd hurt himself before we could do much about it anyway.) There's also the advice to not put anything in their mouth or try to hold them down, which people try to do, I guess. :confused:

 

If your mother's always ust lasted a bit, there was probably no need to time them every time.

[angela in ohio]

But, but, but,......if you were told that your child had something called 'conversion disorder' and you didn't know what it was.....wouldn't you pick up a book, go to the library, use google, ask a Dr, SOMETHING?!!?

 

The dx of conversion disorder has been tossed around for over a week. I find it hard to swallow that IN MORE THAN A WEEK'S TIME the mother can't avail herself of this information and instead goes on a TV show to say, "I don't even know what conversion disorder is?" :confused::confused::confused:

 

Yes, who woulnd't start Googling? That sounds more like denial to me. They know what it is, but they don't want it to be the answer, imho. I totally get it; I would want someone or something to blame.

[justasque]

But, but, but,......if you were told that your child had something called 'conversion disorder' and you didn't know what it was.....wouldn't you pick up a book, go to the library, use google, ask a Dr, SOMETHING?!!?

 

Sure, probably everyone on this board would. But we're not a random population, we're folks who got to this board through our use of the internet to get info on homeschooling.

 

LOTS of people go through life without much internet use, without much education or experience in how to optimize search terms to zero in on useful information, without much background knowledge about medical issues and how the body works, and without much education or experience in how to recognize, read, and understand research-based scientific information. I cannot tell you how many times I've been the one in the family to research a medical condition on behalf of a relative, who has been simply relying on the few sentences his or her doctor has had the time to convey. You'd think stress over a diagnosis would send people straight to Google, but it's just not the way some people react, strange as that may seem to folks who are Google-fu masters.

[Quad Shot Academy]

I do believe it was the girl that said she did not know what conversion disorder meant and did not understand it, not the mom.

[kalanamak]

 

The dx of conversion disorder has been tossed around for over a week. I find it hard to swallow that IN MORE THAN A WEEK'S TIME the mother can't avail herself of this information and instead goes on a TV show to say, "I don't even know what conversion disorder is?" :confused::confused::confused:

 

Well, if you are being paid to make a spectacle ...

 

And as far as "not knowing", I hate to break it to you, but there are some very concrete thinkers out there, and anything this non-concrete does not sink in. We see it over and over with families of schizophrenics. One father, with THREE sons with it, still calls it "skipper-phrenia", and thinks if the boys just get up out of bed and DO something, they'd be fine.

 

We also see parents who are convinced their grown child, who has been in and out of Evaluation and Treatment units for years, and is committed by a judge for 180 days of care, is just hearing things because we give him haldol. If he could just get off those "drugs" he'd be fine. Off drugs he fished from a cold river, nude and ranting, but no no, it is the haldol.

 

Or the people who panic and write letters to the governor about abuse when a med makes their child drool (easily treated with atropine drops). A month ago they were writing letters that their child had a broken nose (from a fight he started) and was in lock down to everyone's safety, or was standing in the corner for weeks, mumbling, such that they lost 40 lbs and had sores on their legs from so much fluid gathering in them from not sitting down. Yet "those meds", which enable him to sleep lying down and be out of restraints without attacking people make junior drool. "I'm getting a lawyer!"

 

There is denial, but there are also "not very clever, very emotional people" out there. The quote was Konrad Lorenz's description of dogs, BTW.

[Trish]

Are all 12 of these girls cheerleaders?

[unsinkable]

Are all 12 of these girls cheerleaders?

 

Trish, I don't think so. Initial news articles noted that they all weren't friends.

[asta]

Trish, I don't think so. Initial news articles noted that they all weren't friends.

 

Ok - stay with me on this one, because it is out there swinging...

 

 

My armchair psychoanalysis wonders if, since many of them are/were on the squad, had the remaining girls tried out for the squad and not made it and/or are in a similar but not quite group such as "flag team"?

 

IOW, is it possible that the highly effected is a group of girls who are viewed as being "the face" of the school?

 

Because you can't be "the face" if your face isn't working. But someone who also gets symptoms, but then gets better, can fill in a gap. Or someone who never got symptoms can.

 

I wouldn't be looking for environmental cr@p at all. I'd be looking for a party that these girls went to. And finding out what was in the punch.

 

 

a

[KnitWit]

Asta, that was actually the first thing my husband and I suspected...something ingested at a party.

[FaithManor]

Exactly. You don't need to call an ambulance for a seizure, and I would hope the show had medical staff standing by anyway (they'd be crazy not to, considering.) Did they at least follow proper seizure care (moving furniture away, timing it, etc.)?

 

 

This is not entirely correct. It depends on the state. Here in Michigan, paramedics have drugs in their drug boxes for assisting with seizing patients if needed and other assistance they provide in order to prevent further harm to the patient. If one is not diagnosed with a seizure disorder or does not know that the patient is under care for such a condition, an ambulance should be called. There are A LOT of causes of seizures. Even for someone who is under care for a known condition, something such as the lighting on the show could set one off and at the very least, the patient should be removed from the premesis as soon as is safely possible.

 

Medical staff standing by, unless a doctor or paramedic, would not be licensed to diagnose or administer a treatment plan. Some shows do keep a paramedic team on site which also means an ambulance is there as well. However, a nurse or doctor would not have a rig. Doctors are limited in what drugs they can have away from a medical facility - prescription drugs are sooooooo highly regulated - and are not likely to have anti-seizure meds with them, much less pain meds, or iv's which may be needed if the person persists in a postictal state beyond reasonable limits.

 

Ask me how I know...DD is a paramedic and just last week treated a child at a local elementary school who did not emerge from her postictal state in a reasonable time frame....it was not a good situation and precipitated another even more serious seizure enroute to the hospital...had the school followed a protocol of "no need to call an ambulance for a seizure since this child has a known condition and is taking meds", she would have died at school - she coded (heart stopped) in the rig. I know all of this because I am that particular parochial school's new guidance counselor though I work with the high schoolers - yes, I had both big sis and a cousin in my office over the incident and I'm thankful I was there - these girls were scared witless. Yes, dd successfully resucitated the young lady.

 

As a side note, it is very rewarding to see your grown child's hardwork and medical skills put to the test. I've never gotten to see her in action before and it was special for me.

 

So, please, if you do not have personal knowledge - ie. you are not the parent or spouse of said individual - call an ambulance if you have no training in how long the postictal stage for that patient tends to be. Call an ambulance if you do know and the patient is not showing signs of improvement wthin the time frame normal for them....just call...there are programs out there to help pay for ambulance bills if the patient's insurance does not cover it or if the patient is uninsured...on top of which, even if you can't afford to pay, the EMS will treat and transport anyway. That's the law.

 

However, I do know there are some states in which EMT's and Medics have very little treatment they are allowed to give in the field. So, one probably does have to know one's state well enough to know if your EMS will be helpful or not. Michigan, California, New York, District of Columbia, and Florida (to name a few) all train their medics to be "field doctors"...specialists in trauma care and there is a medical director (MD. with a board certification in emergency medicine) and two residents working on their certifications, for each EMS (again, that is at least true of Michigan and these other states) who are available instantly by radio 24/7...medics have access to this well of knowledge when diagnoses are tricky or the necessary treatment plan is outside the normal protocol. In addition, dd and company contact the hospital while with initial reports as well as updates or changes in patient condition on the road...this means that the ER staff knows what they will be dealing with and have the appropriate trauma room ready, specialists on their way to the hospital, etc.

 

Actually, in Michigan, you'd be surprised at the amount of treatment EMS can give you. They have a lot of equipment and a number of life saving drugs. This can really work in favor of the patient!

 

Okay, my mini-lecture has ended! :D

 

Oh, and dd is curious about "shrooming"...if this was being done by the cheerleaders...well, toxic shrooms have some neurological side effects which may or may not subside. While it seems odd that all of them would have the same side effect, it isn't outside the realm of reasonable possibilty. Toxic shrooms - yep, she's only been a medic for a short time, but when one works in a largish metropolis with a level one trauma center and the substance abuse rates around that hospital are STAGGERING (as well as the crime), one sees a lot. It might also explain the conversion disorder. If one of the girls developed the symptom and all of the others attributed it to the substance ingested and then became scared that they too would develop that symptom, well...the human mind has an imagination on overdrive and thus...12 girls suddenly all have the same symptom. Hypothetical, but a theory that would explain the phenomenon. The conversion disorder may not abate until the hub-bub dies down are the young ladies especially if the girls are still in fear of the consequences of the school/parents finding out about their shrooms. Oh, and toxic (make you hallucinate and be really high if they don't kill you first) shrooms are actually not too difficult for minors to get.

 

Faith - proud mamma of an awesome paramedic

[Whereneverever]

This is not entirely correct. It depends on the state. Here in Michigan, paramedics have drugs in their drug boxes for assisting with seizing patients if needed and other assistance they provide in order to prevent further harm to the patient. If one is not diagnosed with a seizure disorder or does not know that the patient is under care for such a condition, an ambulance should be called. There are A LOT of causes of seizures. Even for someone who is under care for a known condition, something such as the lighting on the show could set one off and at the very least, the patient should be removed from the premesis as soon as is safely possible.

 

Medical staff standing by, unless a doctor or paramedic, would not be licensed to diagnose or administer a treatment plan. Some shows do keep a paramedic team on site which also means an ambulance is there as well. However, a nurse or doctor would not have a rig. Doctors are limited in what drugs they can have away from a medical facility - prescription drugs are sooooooo highly regulated - and are not likely to have anti-seizure meds with them, much less pain meds, or iv's which may be needed if the person persists in a postictal state beyond reasonable limits.

 

Ask me how I know...DD is a paramedic and just last week treated a child at a local elementary school who did not emerge from her postictal state in a reasonable time frame....it was not a good situation and precipitated another even more serious seizure enroute to the hospital...had the school followed a protocol of "no need to call an ambulance for a seizure since this child has a known condition and is taking meds", she would have died at school - she coded (heart stopped) in the rig. I know all of this because I am that particular parochial school's new guidance counselor though I work with the high schoolers - yes, I had both big sis and a cousin in my office over the incident and I'm thankful I was there - these girls were scared witless. Yes, dd successfully resucitated the young lady.

 

As a side note, it is very rewarding to see your grown child's hardwork and medical skills put to the test. I've never gotten to see her in action before and it was special for me.

 

So, please, if you do not have personal knowledge - ie. you are not the parent or spouse of said individual - call an ambulance if you have no training in how long the postictal stage for that patient tends to be. Call an ambulance if you do know and the patient is not showing signs of improvement wthin the time frame normal for them....just call...there are programs out there to help pay for ambulance bills if the patient's insurance does not cover it or if the patient is uninsured...on top of which, even if you can't afford to pay, the EMS will treat and transport anyway. That's the law.

 

 

 

 

Faith - proud mamma of an awesome paramedic

 

I think some of the difference is that people with known seizures can carry medication on their person in case of status. Did the child at the school not have any? Standard operating with my DD is to administer Diastat at three minutes in. I thought it was pretty common to have something on hand?

 

 

Additionally, the postictal state is AFTER the seizure. You seem to be using it interchangeably with seizure.

Edited January 23, 2012 by theretohere
iPad got my brain

[staceyobu]

I know all of this because I am that particular parochial school's new guidance counselor though I work with the high schoolers - yes, I had both big sis and a cousin in my office over the incident and I'm thankful I was there - these girls were scared witless. Yes, dd successfully resucitated the young lady.

 

I'm not sure if you were given all the details from the parents or if some came from your DD. I'd be very careful of violating hippa laws, though. With the details in your story, it might be very easy for a family member to recognize their own child. If the family told you everything, then you're good.

[unsinkable]

I think some of the difference is that people with known seizures can carry medication on their person in case of status. Did the child at the school not have any? Standard operating with my DD is to administer Diastat at three minutes in. I thought it was pretty common to have something on hand?

 

If that girl didn't have diastat, I hope she & her family has some now.

 

It is rare for the heart to stop during a seizure so if I was the mom in that family, I'd be demanding a full accounting of everything the school and the medics did with a timeline from both.

[unsinkable]

Ok - stay with me on this one, because it is out there swinging...

 

 

My armchair psychoanalysis wonders if, since many of them are/were on the squad, had the remaining girls tried out for the squad and not made it and/or are in a similar but not quite group such as "flag team"?

 

IOW, is it possible that the highly effected is a group of girls who are viewed as being "the face" of the school?

 

Because you can't be "the face" if your face isn't working. But someone who also gets symptoms, but then gets better, can fill in a gap. Or someone who never got symptoms can.

 

I wouldn't be looking for environmental cr@p at all. I'd be looking for a party that these girls went to. And finding out what was in the punch.

 

 

a

 

If I am following you correctly, I agree that the highly effected might have been popular girls.

 

I don't know if it has ever been stated that they were all together at the same party ... But maybe the got the same batch of something from the same dealer.

[Whereneverever]

If that girl didn't have diastat, I hope she & her family has some now.

 

It is rare for the heart to stop during a seizure so if I was the mom in that family, I'd be demanding a full accounting of everything the school and the medics did with a timeline from both.

 

Yeah, the whole thing as recounted at the school is a little perplexing to me. That's not a normal seizure thing. At all. Nor does it sound like something a paramedic would have the skill set to address considering how specialized a situation status epileptic with cardiac arrest would be.

[Lovin Learnin]

I just hope they figure it out soon. The whole conversion disorder idea creeps me out. One girl...maybe. Eleven? Nope. I would hate to be suffering this disorder and have everyone looking at me saying it was psycosomatic. I know they have had doctors and psychologists examine these girls but since when are they infallible? It took 12 years from the start of symptoms for me to get my IBD diagnosis. TWELVE. Seven of those years I had full blown symptoms and the last six months were life threatening. What makes matter worse is that my father had the same disease, so there was no reason to miss it or at least consider it. Doctors make mistakes. These girls are suffering. Someone needs to think outside the box and look harder.

[natalie]

I'm not sure if you were given all the details from the parents or if some came from your DD. I'd be very careful of violating hippa laws, though. With the details in your story, it might be very easy for a family member to recognize their own child. If the family told you everything, then you're good.

 

This is exactly what I was thinking when I read your post, Faith.

 

From your prior posts I think I have a pretty good idea of what county you live in. With that and other information you've revealed about yourself, I'm fairly certain I could track you down and ring your doorbell [if I were the stalking type that is, which I am not ... and even if I were, I definitely don't have the time :tongue_smilie:].

 

From there I think it would be pretty easy to find out who you are referring to in your post. I'd really hate to see you end up in any sort of trouble. :)

 

eta: I did not quote your original post in case you wanted to change any details you gave out.

[unsinkable]

I just hope they figure it out soon. The whole conversion disorder idea creeps me out. One girl...maybe. Eleven? Nope. I would hate to be suffering this disorder and have everyone looking at me saying it was psycosomatic. I know they have had doctors and psychologists examine these girls but since when are they infallible? It took 12 years from the start of symptoms for me to get my IBD diagnosis. TWELVE. Seven of those years I had full blown symptoms and the last six months were life threatening. What makes matter worse is that my father had the same disease, so there was no reason to miss it or at least consider it. Doctors make mistakes. These girls are suffering. Someone needs to think outside the box and look harder.

 

Why would you "hate to be suffering this disorder and have everyone looking at me saying it was psycosomatic." ?

 

Conversion disorder does not mean these girls are lying or faking or crazy.

 

They are being treated.

[Caroline]

This is exactly what I was thinking when I read your post, Faith.

 

From your prior posts I think I have a pretty good idea of what county you live in. With that and other information you've revealed about yourself, I'm fairly certain I could track you down and ring your doorbell [if I were the stalking type that is, which I am not ... and even if I were, I definitely don't have the time :tongue_smilie:].

 

From there I think it would be pretty easy to find out who you are referring to in your post. I'd really hate to see you end up in any sort of trouble. :)

 

eta: I did not quote your original post in case you wanted to change any details you gave out.

 

And if it is not HIPPA because she found out the information at school, it is a FERPA violation, which is the education equivalent.

[Lovin Learnin]

Why would you "hate to be suffering this disorder and have everyone looking at me saying it was psycosomatic." ?

 

Conversion disorder does not mean these girls are lying or faking or crazy.

 

They are being treated.

 

Because if there is some neurological/physical cause for the symptoms then perhaps it can be treated. A Conversion Disorder diagnosis would have a patient treated for psychological stress. Different cause so different treatments.

 

Definition of Conversion Disorder By Mayo Clinic staff

Conversion disorder is a condition in which you show psychological stress in physical ways. The condition was so named to describe a health problem that starts as a mental or emotional crisis — a scary or stressful incident of some kind — and converts to a physical problem.

[unsinkable]

Because if there is some neurological/physical cause for the symptoms then perhaps it can be treated. A Conversion Disorder diagnosis would have a patient treated for psychological stress. Different cause so different treatments.

 

Definition of Conversion Disorder By Mayo Clinic staff

Conversion disorder is a condition in which you show psychological stress in physical ways. The condition was so named to describe a health problem that starts as a mental or emotional crisis — a scary or stressful incident of some kind — and converts to a physical problem.

 

I know what a conversion disorder is.

 

How long would you have the doctors keep looking for other causes before they start treating the girls for a conversion disorder?

[Lovin Learnin]

I know what a conversion disorder is.

 

How long would you have the doctors keep looking for other causes before they start treating the girls for a conversion disorder?

 

I wasn't looking for a fight and I looked up and printed the definition for myself, since your post made ME uestion MY stance.

 

I believe one of the girls stated her symptoms started in October but Conversion disorder doesn't usually last longer than two weeks. If I were a parent of a child suffering from this then I would want them to look as long as it takes.

[justamouse]

I know what a conversion disorder is.

 

How long would you have the doctors keep looking for other causes before they start treating the girls for a conversion disorder?

 

If you watch the after show segment, Dr. Drew said that they are going to have the girls more fully tested, in addition to psychological help (because of the obvious distress that all of this is bringing on). But, more testing. So that means that they could, possibly, find something. It also means that there were tests not included, and that the authorities were satisfied it wasn't 'catching' and their job was done. Their job is not to diagnose, their job is to make sure it's not going to be an outbreak of some sort.

 

How long should they keep looking? Until they find an answer.

 

Drs took 4 years to find my father's type 1 diabetes. I mean, hello? Running a standard block of tests ans coming up with nothing, means nothing. It just means that it wasn't what you tested for.

Edited January 23, 2012 by justamouse

[unsinkable]

If you watch the after show segment, Dr. Drew said that they are going to have the girls more fully tested, in addition to psychological help (because of the obvious distress that all of this is bringing on). But, more testing. So that means that they could, possibly, find something.

 

How long should they keep looking? Until they find an answer.

 

Drs took 4 years to find my father's type 1 diabetes. I mean, hello? Running a standard block of tests ans coming up with nothing, means nothing. It just means that it wasn't what you tested for.

 

My point is that the medical people feel like they found an answer.

 

Do I know if it is right or wrong? No, b/c I am not personally involved.

 

But there seems to be a huge reluctance to concede that physical problems can be caused by emotional distress. Calling it "creepy" and "I'd hate to have people looking at me thinking that."

[justamouse]

My point is that the medical people feel like they found an answer.

 

Do I know if it is right or wrong? No, b/c I am not personally involved.

 

But there seems to be a huge reluctance to concede that physical problems can be caused by emotional distress. Calling it "creepy" and "I'd hate to have people looking at me thinking that."

 

No, the medical people do not feel like they found an answer, which is why there is going to be more testing. Just because the small town Drs they are seeing don't think it's anything but a conversion disorder, doesn't mean someone out there can't find what's wrong.

 

Cripes, I can't tell you how many times I've had to go to different Drs until I found out what was wrong with my kids.

 

One told me it was lesions on the brain, a prominent NYC neurologist told me it was nothing he could find, and then another pediatric neurologist told me he didn't know (at least he was honest). Then I went to ANOTHER pediatric neur, and HE finally told me. It was a watershed moment. He took one look at him walking in an told me what it was. Then, when we went to a pediatric developmental neurologist it got fun. It's called a nystagmus, which is MY genetically mutated albino gene I get from my father.

 

But hey I should have just stopped at lesions on the brain, right?

 

So, you're saying just stick with one or two opinions because they're right. Wrong. Not the way to do it.

Edited January 23, 2012 by justamouse