Absence seizures & Neurontin

[olivebudd]

My husband Don had a stroke 2 years ago (2011) & developed post stroke epilepsy 18 months after the stroke. The Dr at emerge put him on Dilantin which made him into a zombie & a Neurologist took him off Dilantin & put him on Neurontin (in January of this year). Don has had two (absence?) seizures since being placed on Neurontin (300 mg X 3 daily. On one occassion he had gotten himself out of bed. transferred himself into his wheelchair and ended up on the toilet! He has no knowledge of the episodes. Has anyone else here had Absence seizures & does that mean his dose needs to be adjusted?

I am really at a loss here.

 

[Nakamova]

Those absence seizures sound more like Complex Partials. Absence seizures tend to be very brief, whereas a longer stint of impaired awareness (long enough to go from the chair to the bathroom) is associated with a Complex Partial seizure.

Either way, let the neurologist know. Unfortunately it may be tricky to know whether the dose should be increased or decreased -- for some folks Neurontin can cause seizures, so a higher dose might make things worse. In addition, memory loss is listed as a common neurontin side effect, so that could also be playing a role.

 

[olivebudd]

Yes & thank you... you are right about it being a complex partial... I will try & get hold of the neurologist on Tuesday.

Olive