Hi irr, My 36 yr old son has epilepsy. His first seizure came when he was 19. He was on dilantin for a long time at least 12 yrs then it stopped working and he now takes lamictal,keppra and zonegran at high doses. It has been almost five years since his last seizure which is great. I don't reconize the other med you are on but maybe it is a generic of some anti seizure med. The one thing I noted in your post is that you drink a lot of coffee. Talk to your neurologist but my son's neurologist told him to avoid caffeine because it can add to having seizures. Also stress and lack of sleep are causes for having seizures. I noticed you posted awhile ago. I guess this forum doesn't get a lot of replies. But I saw yours and thought you would like to have someone respond to you. As far as reducing your meds you have to have blood tests every so often to see where your medication levels are at. They can't fall below a certain number or you will have seizures again. Also, with dilantin, if you should get a fever, the fever will metabolize you dilantin much faster and lower your level in your system and you may have a seizure. Also, talk to your neurologist about
dental health because dilantin can affect your gums and ask about
calcium supplements because dilantin can cause bone loss. We learned all of these things over the years through many awful grand mal and absence seizures. My son has to have an EEG at least once a year. He has no warning when he has a seizure, he just falls to the ground and convulses, very dangerous depending on where he is. His neurologist is an epilepsy specialist so this is where I got information from. I wish you luck. You will get used to the meds but do be careful with the caffeine because it is not doing you any good. If you wish to ask me any questions I will be glad to answer you.
Aurora