Posted by PattyG on November 18, 2001, at 20:17:29
In reply to Re: elusive putative seizure disorder » PattyG, posted by Elizabeth on October 22, 2001, at 10:20:56
//Well folks - I'm old, but this one takes the cake for me! Have a friend who is a nurse and she knows of our situation and she posted a message requesting info on Dilantin levels and if pot would prevent medication from reaching proper levels.........I'm just going to cut and paste the question and response. VERY interesting. Will be interested to know what you folks think.
> Do you know if Marijuana effects Dilantin levels. I'm a RN and I have
> a patient that has low Dilantin levels even though his Dilantin had
> been increase several times. I remember years ago, I had a transplant
> patient that had 0 Cyclosporin levels and it was later found that he
> was smoking pot. Can pot or any other street drug effect Dilantin
> levels? Thanks for any insight to this dilemma
--
Dr. Paul Consroe
Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Arizona Health Sciences Center
University of Arizona
Tucson AZ 85721We studied this 'potential' drug interaction more than 25 years ago. As
I recall, in the majority of cases there was no change in dilantin
levels. This was unexpected since the pharmacology of marijuana on liver
enzymes would predict that there might be an INCREASE in dilantin
levels. On the clinical level, there was a potentiation of dilation's
antiepileptic effect. In other words, marijuana was an anticonvulsant
itself, and when given with dilantin, there was a greater protective
effect against the recurrent (grand mal, and complex partial =
psychomotor) seizures.Thus, in your case below, maybe you should check for 'patient
compliance' of his his/her dilantin meds.
I hope that this helps.
Sincerely,
pc
poster:PattyG
thread:79454
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011113/msgs/84607.html