Dilantin | ADHD Information

I am so glad to here that you are actually enjoying time with your son. I wish I could say the same about oour recent experiences. Thanks, I'll be waiting for further info.Where can I find the article you read?I'm not sure I understand your question. I believe it slows the activity in the brain so the adhd child can think about what they are doing before they act. Usually they have so many thoughts running through their head and the mind is working faster than the body. As far as how ditantin works in the case of a seizure I'm not sure so I will have to look it up on the internet. All I know it that my son seems to actually show no signs of ADHD with the dilantin which I still find hard to believe. I know that dilantin has been used for many years and it has always been used as a seizure med. but it has many other uses not reconized by the FDA. The hardest thing is trying to get a doctor to prescribe it for other than a seizure med. I went into the office with the article and had to beg the doctor to try it because I was tired of trying all these ADHD meds that didn't seem to work for my son or they only worked for part of the day.The doctor has it right now but I will see if you will be able to assess it off of the web. It is a news letter that my mother in law gets in the mail regularly so I'm sure they have a wed address or something. It is so late for me to call her tonight so I'll get back to you eirther tomorrow or Monday. I want everyone who has a child with ADHD to see this because I am still in disbelief that my son seems so normal now. He is actually like my two other children that do not have ADHD. The best part is that my son doesn't seem like he is medicated like when he did take the other ADHD drugs and he remains constant all day and night unlike the other meds that ware off after so many hours. I hope it continues this way. Like I said it has only been 3 days now and he has actually been a pleasure to have around. Thank god!!

I just had the doctor start my son on dilantin 100mg once a day after reading an article written by a doctor in California on it's effects. Dilantin is for seizures but if given in lower doses it will actually slow down the brain activity in children with ADHD. At least that is what the article claims. This has been the third day that my son has taken it and what a difference. When he woke up this morning he actually had himself dressed and came downstairs for breakfast. I didn't have to say anything to him. Usually he would be very scattered until the meds kicked in. He has actually acted like a normal child. He has been stable all day and all evening. It seems like he gets a little better everyday that passes. I am thrilled to death. He was on 40 mg of ritilin and in the past tried other meds but they didn't seem to work. He was eirther in a zombie state or he had tics from the meds. They also didn't last long at all. By the time he came home from school the meds would wear off and we would fight with him to do homework and everything else that needed to be done the rest of the night. So far this has been a miracle drug. I sure hope it continues to work.

Has anyone else used this drug or heard of its effects?

Why be used for adhd if it's a seizure drug? I no is a good one. Been around for years.We have been reading about using Dilantin for ADHD.  Our daughter is 11 and has not been able to take any of the ADHD drugs we've tried.  I read this post, but noticed that it is pretty old.  Was wondering how this child is doing that began to use Dilantin.  Or if anyone else has any information, would love to hear from you.  Thank you!I think this is interesting.  It is kind of like Doctors prescribing Topamax(seizure med) and Inderal(Blood pressure med) for migraines.  Are you noticing ANY side effects?  And it is just one pill a day?  We are on Daytrana with fabulous results but still am curious.

We haven't started it yet.  We have tried just about every drug there is for ADHD though and she is just so sentsitive to all medications and seems to have alot of side effects with no positive results.  Daytrana is one that we have not tried yet though (unless it's under a different name too).  I'll have to look that up.  Thank you for your post.  If you ever hear anything more, let me know. 

I've taken Dilantin for seizures and it worked well for me.  The side effects were minimal.  It makes your gums get puffy and grow some so your teeth look smaller.  Also, if my levels got too high, I would get a very bad, chemical-tasting breath.  Sometimes it would go away by itself, other times I'd just skip a dose.

Dilantin bonds with protien molecules in the bloodstream, so I was on a pretty high-protien diet.  Lots of eggs, milk and meat.  If there isn't enough protien in the bloodstream then it just gets shed out of your system.  If maintaining a certain level is crucial, your doctor can draw blood and get pretty much instant readings on what the level is and whether or not you need to increase it.  That's important with seizures, but maybe not so important with ADHD. 

In people with epilepsy, it regulates the electrical impulses in your brain.  Epilepsy tends to make the electrical impulses misfire and when that happens the brain overloads on electricity, resulting in a seizure.

My neurologist (she's a specialist in seizures) has said that if you give ritalin to epileptics it can result in a seizure and that anti-convulsants really don't do much for ADHD.  Having said that, IF IT WORKS, USE IT!  It would seem to me that there is very little risk in trying it.  Everybody is different and there's is still so much about how the brain works that we don't understand. 
This is interesting to have more information about. My son has tics and this is why he is on strattera. Some times I feel happy because I suppose the med is working, but there is a lot of inconsistency. Some other days my son seems to be the same adhder, hyperactive and unable to focus. I really want to know that there are other choices that won't worsen his tics.

Thank you for your posts.  I am still hoping that someone will reply who has tried Dilantin for their child with ADHD.  I understand that the side effects should be very little if any because the dosage for ADHD is alot less than when used for seizure disorder.  But I'd really like to hear that first hand from someone who tried it.  Here is the link to the information:  http://www.remarkablemedicine.com/  If you look on the website, I believe he talks about many other uses for Dilantin.  I'm still debating of whether to try it or not. 

Something important!  Dilantin and the generic (phenytoin) are not the same.  My doctor would never prescribe the generic because the results weren't the same.  I don't know if it applies to ADHD, but just wanted to give you a heads up on that!