Hello,
I'm trying to determine if the drug prescribed to an epileptic friend is
the best for someone of his condition.
He is a 75 year old male who has suffered from grand and petit mal
seizures for 10 years. He was prescribed 300mg of dilantin per day. The
seizures were reduced, but the side-effects caused him to enter a
"zombie-like" state.
His son convinced him to reduce the dosage to 150mg per day (25mg
before each of his 3 meals and 75mg before bed). This amount still
helped with the seizures and he did not enter a "zombie-like" state.
However, he experiences severe short-term memory loss, has little power
of concentration, can fall asleep at any time and suffers from skin
problems (acne).
My questions are :
1. Do these problems sound like they are side-effects of
dilatin or is it more likely that they are caused by some
other problem.
2. Does 150mg dilation per day sound reasonable?
3. Is dilatin a valid presciption for this person?
4. Are there any alternative drugs or treatments that he should
be considering?
Many thanks for your time.
Cheers,
Chris Skelsey.
______Chris Skelsey__________CSIRO Division of Mathematics & Statistics______
| |
| Locked Bag 17, North Ryde, NSW 2113, Australia. |
| Phone : +61 2 325 3173 Fax : +61 2 325 3200 |
| Email : chriss at syd.dms.csiro.au |
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______Chris Skelsey__________CSIRO Division of Mathematics & Statistics______
| |
| PO Box 218, Lindfield, NSW 2070, Australia. |
| Phone : +61 2 413 7591 Fax : +61 2 416 9317 |
| Telex : AA26296 Email : chriss at syd.dms.csiro.au |
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