fireworks issues?

Lothlorien

Active Member
Not sure what the issue was, but last night was a little scary for Missy. We went for ice cream. Mighty Mouse didn't finish his, but Missy did (of course, the human disposal..lol). She's been really good the past several days, so I let her finish it. Then we went and parked in front of some fireworks display. Suddenly, she said she felt dizzy and "nervous" I got her out of the car to get her some fresh air, but when the fireworks were going again (it seemed) she started getting the shakes.

We were thinking that she had too much ice cream and was having a hypoglycemic attack (which I've had in the past) and started driving home, but then she said she was feeling better and she was upset because she wanted to see the fireworks. So on the way home, someone had some great fireworks, so we pulled into a parking lot and had a great view. She sat in the front seat with me and then a few minutes into it, she started feeling bad again. So now I'm wondering if the fireworks were acting like a strobe light and effectively about to cause her to have a seizure.

We high tailed it out of there and went home. She felt better when we got home. She's never been affected by a strobe light before. They used it when she had the eegs. I'm wondering about the Abilify. I was told that there was a slight chance that it could, but they tell you that with all of these medications, including the Trileptal.

So, neighbors are having them Sat night. I'm gonna let her sit outside with me and see if there is a similar reaction, this time without the added sugar.

I'm sure glad we didn't go somewhere major and have to fight with all the traffic and stuff to get her out of there. We were going to, but rain was threatening, so we stayed local.
 

On_Call

New Member
Loth,

That must have been a bit scary! Poor kid. I must admit that I don't know anything concrete about fireworks being able to bring on a seizure, but it makes some sense to me, for sure. I, too, am glad that you weren't 'trapped' in somewhere that you couldn't get out of when difficult child began to feel ill.

The Saturday night trial sounds like a good idea. Then, you should know. Has difficult child said anything about it since? I know that if my difficult child had a similar feeling while watching fireworks, he would take it to the extreme and never EVER want to watch them again. Hope that doesn't happen for your difficult child.

Good luck - and let us know!
 

tiredmommy

Well-Known Member
Loth-
Strobe lights give me a wicked headache and I'm not diagnosis'd with any sort of seizure disorder. The fireworks may in fact be causing her seizure threshold to lower. It may be time to have her medication levels checked. {{{Hugs}}}, that must have been scary.
 

Alisonlg

New Member
Wow. I can only imagine how scary that was! I can see how fireworks could induce a siezure. I had a friend who would be triggered by driving under trees where the sunshine would poke through.

Let us know how Saturday goes!
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
Following his brain surgery, easy child/difficult child was warned by the surgeon not
to be around strobe lights as it might trigger seizures. He did
avoid them for about six months and then "experimented" (UGH!)
and found it didn't bother him. I have no health issues and I
have had headaches triggered by bright flashing lights. Sure hope you are able to identify the issues this weekend. DDD
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
I called the neuro today. She said that the frequency of fireworks isn't really enough to trigger them and if what she was experiencing was the "aura" then it's unlikely that she wouldn't have actually gone into a seizure by taking her away. She said it sounded more like a panic attack????

I told her that we'd see what happens Saturday. Since we just got her started on Abilify, I didn't want to up the Trileptal yet, but since she's on the full dose of Abilify now, if she has a problem on Sat, then we will up the Trileptal then.

Could Abilify cause her to have panic attacks? She's complained about feeling "nervous" once or twice before the Abilify, but usually when she's sick and never have shivering and dizziness accompanied it.
 

ShakespeareMamaX

New Member
As I was reading, the first thing I thought was panic attack. One of my, personal, issues is when I hear sharp noises (not always loud), it puts me into an immediate panic attack (shaking, hyperventilating, dizzy, terrified, disorientated, racing heart). I'm on no medications at the moment, although, I was on Trazadone a while back, and it helped me cope with them. I tried Klonopin, but it knocked me out and only used it for the panic attacks that woke me up at night or severe day time attacks.

For a non-medication route, there's the magic paper bag (helps with too much oxygen intake from hyperventilating), lay off anything with caffeine (sugar may be a good idea, too) and I try to get somewhere calming, asap.

I hope this helps. I'm still dealing with my attacks on no medications, but just got insurance, so I'm racing to get back to my Trazadone. It's tough to deal with...

You're difficult child's lucky to have you.
♡♡♡
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Loth

Has she ever had panic attacks before?

How about sensory issues? Firework displays drive me nuts, literally. The noise, the light, the people..... I just want to escape, and it has nothing to do with my anxiety. I can enjoy them from a very far distance where I can just see the colorful lights.

A mystery for sure.

hugs
 
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