lepetitfleur

Hi all -

When I was about 3 or 4, we lived in Holland. I was jumping on the bed and landed on the old fashioned radiator (back of the head).

My Mom called for a taxi to take me to the hospital and she was holding a pillow against the back of my head. I don't remember if they put in stitches or not.

I don't even remember when the petit-mal seizures started but I do recall many trips to the nearby hosiptal in San Pedro and having the EEG's done on a regular basis. In the meantime, they started me on children's Dilantin.

My sister remembers that Mom was upset about the side effects of Dilantin and finally - in 1972 or 73, she stopped the Dilantin and started me on "Liquivite" (she's a nurse).

We moved to Australia in the early 70s and I had a very difficult time scholastically. Many of my reports cards show something like "she's a lovely student and gets along well with others but doesn't concentrate enough - tends to daydream". I realize that attending school in a different country can be a challenge in itself but I felt myself overwhelmed and frightened. Add to that the hormonal change around that time as well. :-(

I still had a few seizures after returning from Oz but I believe they finally stopped in the 80's.

I'm 55 now and I'm trying to go back in time to figure out if the memory problems I've experienced - and still experience - are caused by the long term use of Dilantin.

I'm now trying to research what Dilantin can do to the brain so if anyone else has input for long term use as a child, I would very much appreciate the information.