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Dilantin side effects
Mon, 04/20/2009 - 13:30My husband has been taking Dilantin for about 13 years now(for grand mal seizures which have been totally controlled on Dilantin) and has had a myriad of symptoms that we suspect are related to Dilantin; however, the docs always minimize his symptoms and give us no answers. From time to time he suffers from extreme (and I mean EXTREME) anxiety with no easily explainable cause, in addition he suffers from terrible insomnia. A few years ago he developed an odd pink rash on his back. When we asked the doctor about this he said it was vitiligo and would go away in six months to a year. Well, three years later it is still present and spreading. He has also had gum overgrowth and cognitive difficulties (foggy thinking). His Dilantin levels have also begun to swing up from a constant 9 for the past 5-6 years to an 18 in the space of the last year. He has lost 25 pounds and we are wondering if this will cause an uptick like this.
Dilantin is used to treat anxiety, so I am confused whether his increasing Dilantin levels could actually be causing the anxiety/insomnia. We cannot get a straight answer from our family doc and have not yet been referred to a neurologist.
Thanks in advance for any comments you may have.
Re: Dilantin side effects
Submitted by Zeee on Fri, 2013-04-19 - 21:58
Hi Dilantin users, I was diagnosed with epilepsy (nocturnal) when I was 15. I was put on Phenobarb then they added Dilantin. Over the years due to depression, the Phenobarb was eliminated and wow...what a difference (for the better). Over the years..Dilantin had it's side affects: my gland were always so sentitive, definately affected my gums and teeth, I had headaches, I would sleep minimum 9 hours per night, it also had a negative affect on the bone density as well as few other things that I just can't remember right now. So it does have it's side affects and is probably different for everybody. One thing about it, the Dilantin levels had to be monitored regularly (blood tests). At one point it accumulated to a toxic level and my doctor was shocked at how high it was and reduced it. So things like coffee and alcohol have a negative affect by reducing the level in the blood stream...resulting in seizure if you didn't compensate for it. So I found that dilantin was difficult to monitor and outside factors would alter the level in your system. I tried Lamictal and suffered from severe vertigo! It took me a couple of years to clue in that the Lamictal was causing the vertigo. The Lamictal did not have to be monitored, but had to be taken twice a day as opposed to once in the evening (which I prefer). I tried Keppra...omg...not good. I became severely irritable, poor memory and focus, suffered insomnia, had to take high levels to control the seizures (due to lack of sleep), it lowered my motivation terribly and cost too much. I'm off this one and about to start Clobazam...wish me luck! One thing is for sure, no matter which meds we're on...we have to drink tons of water to keep our bodies hydrated, otherwise we will suffer severe side affects. Eat tons of vegetables raw and cooked and don't mix drugs....they do more harm than good. Chin up! :)