A question for Jim about Dilantin

dewey · Regular Joined: 21 Dec 2007 Posts: 21

Jim I'm interested in what you said about being taken off Dilantin because of memory loss. Can you give me detail on the type of memory loss you encountered. How did your docs decide it was Dilantin causing the memory loss. My dad currently takes Kepra with Dialantin could he be weened off the Dialantin. Sometimes his right hand trembles and shakes like I said before this is usually after a treatment of Advastin. He's not had a full seizure since the first day this occured. Thanks!

brainman

Hi dewey, I spit your question away from the topic where you originally placed it and created a new topic with it in order not to "hijack" that topic.

I think the Dilantin was assumed to be the problem because they could not find anything else wrong with me Razz

. I was Dilantin and Phenobarbital for over 14 years. In 2006, I started to have some major memory "blanks". For example, one Sunday morning I drove to church (a 45 mile trip) but have absolutely no memory from the time I backed out of my driveway until the time I was sitting in my car in the church parking lot with a friend tapping on the window. I do not remember any of the trip... no lane changes... no merging... no passing other cars... nothing. I made the 45 mile trip in 30 minutes or less too.

I had other minor ones.... time when I went to pickup my meds at the pharmacy only to be told that I had done that earlier in the day (absolutely no memory of ever even leaving the house but the meds where there) or coming back from the post office "remembering" that I needed milk only to get home and find a brand new, unopened quart of milk in the refrigerator and a receipt on my desk showing that I had been to the store earlier in the day (again, no memory of even leaving the house).

After an MRI, EEG, blood tests, and psychiatric evaluations, the gradually took me off of Dilantin and started me on Lamictal. Since then, I have not had a memory blank again... at least not that I can remember Laughing

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_________________
Jim
Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Blog http://jimhawkinsport.blogspot.com/

dewey · Regular Joined: 21 Dec 2007 Posts: 21

Jim that's an awesome story! I really really appreciate the time you spend on this board. You do a great thing my friend and I know you've helped a lot of people, Thanks!

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