Can dilantin become less effectiveness after many years?

Have taken dilantin for 25 years, only had 2 grand mal seizures, both under unusual conditions of stress and being over-tired.

However, this summer have had three GM seizures.  Would appreciate hearing about the experience of others, pertaining to:

1) After having a grand mal seizure, is a second seizure more likely to occur in the following 3 months?

2) Is it common for dilantin to become less effective after many years of use?

3) I had an EMG test last week, apparently some nerves in my feet are "showing signs of long term dilantin use", i.e. neuropathy.  According to the neurologist, the dilantin could have caused some neuropathy.  I am trying to get it straight......does the neuropathy then contribute to seizures which you may not have otherwise had?

Regards,

Burnt_Orange_2

I recently mentioned this to my neurologist, he said that it WAS a side effect of dilantin long term use.

Burnt_Orange_2  ~  Dilantin does seem to lose some of its effectiveness but really, b/c of the long term use, keep in mind that over several years, your body chemestry changes and weight losses/gains, diet changes, AGE GAIN (that seems to be the biggest factor) etc can effect the effectiveness of the dilantin. Your Doctor should be informed of this so he can adjust your doseage.

Randy