Muscles giving out?

[kirsten]

I have toxic phenytoin levels and am also taking Neurontin. I haven't had a TC all month. My muscles keep on quitting on me, so that I drop things all the time. It's not a problem with big muscles--no legs giving out or anything like that, although my lower arms sometimes drop. It's more the small muscles in my hands. It's pretty wild. Anyone know what the story is with that?

 

[arnie]

You're clearly making excuses to try to get out of repairing watches and picking locks and painting those little nesting dolls that they make in Russia that I don't remember the name of and I'm not going to Google 'cuz I don't really care.

Am I right?

 

[Bidwell]

Kirsten -- Did you know that when phenytoin is administered intravenously there is sometimes a problem with Purple Glove Syndrome? That is what I learned from Up To Date when I looked up phenytoin just now. In the meantime go slow, breath deeply, and take good care of yourself!

 

[masterjen]

It might be a mild myoclonus - action myoclonus if it only happens when you are doing something or intend to do something. Myoclonus doesn't have to be continuous muscle jumps/twitches; it can be just one at a time. Lamictal did this to me.
Myoclonus doesn't have to be just muscle contraction, as it can be muscle relaxation (negative myoclonus). This is what might be causing your arms to suddenly drop, and it can cause the sensation of your leg "giving out" for a split second. I have the latter, usually most pronounced in the first 1/2 of a 30 min run I undertake.
I had pretty good control of this on Keppra, which I am currently not on but may be put back on when I see my neurologist in about a month.

 

[lindsayschu2]

I also had a type of myclonus that affected my hands--I would drop things. It would happen in a split second, like my hand would twitch open once, and if I was holding something before it happened, I would drop it (this was years ago). About a month ago I had a type of seizure where I couldnt move my right hand, and this happened right before a big bout of myclonic lower body twitching. Not sure if that rings any bells.

 

[kirsten]

Yes, it could well be some sort of mild version of myoclonus, because this month I stopped having myoclonic and tonic seizures. So this could just be a lesser version of what was happening previously.

 

[kirsten]

Told the doc about his. She behaved as though it was something important, wrote some stuff in my file, but didn't explain it to me. I was just too drowsy to follow up on everything I wanted to know.