dilantin level always low why

My son was diagnosed with a seizure disorder in the fifth grade and his doctor put him on dilantin. He kept upping the dose until he was on such a high dose an adult male of 180lbs would have taken and his levels always came back low. Doctor claimed he mustn't be taking his meds, but I knew he was.

We went for a second opinion; the new doctor switched his meds to depakote. Said it should have been obvious to the first doc that dilantin wasn't the right med for him because he was what the doctor called a "fast clearer". The meds ran right through his system. Doc said all the dilantin was doing was giving him expensive pee.

If you know you are taking your meds exactly as prescribed, check with your doctor and see if a med change might be in order.

I take the brand name dilantin. Without telling me the pharmacy started giving me a generic.  I tested low 3 times in a row.  At first they told me the name brand was not available anymore.  I did my research and found that was not true.  With enough complaining they put me back on name brand and my levels came back.