Hello My Name Is Mark. My Daughter Continues To Have

Posted on Sat, 13 Oct 2018

Question: Hello my name is Mark. My daughter continues to have symptoms of muscle tightening and rapid short spasms, throat tightening, jaw clenching, short of breathe, some times blacks out. We are concerned it may be seizure. Sometimes they happen at night when she is sleeping. Mostly happens in uncomfortable situations. I feel it may have to do with anxieties but don't want to over look something more serious. She is currently driving home from now. please help.

Answered by Dr. Dr.Dorina Gurabardhi (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Symptoms can be stress related,neurological problems should be excluded.

Detailed Answer:
Hello dear and welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I reviewed your query and here is my advice.

The symptoms of your daughter seem to be related to larigospasm. It is an involuntary sudden spasm of the vocal cords.

The symptoms can be related to stress or anxiety.
They can also be related to neurological problems such as epilepsy. Further examinations should be done to confirm the cause.

Some examinations that I recommend are:
-a neurological examination
-an electroencephalogram
-a complete blood count

Treatment depends on the diagnosis.
Epilepsy can be treated through antiseizure medications which are prescribed by the neurologist.
I would suggest sleeping well and regular exercise.
I also suggest ketogenic diet.I would recommend not driving alone.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng