HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Phenobarbital

Support Forums
>
Epilepsy
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 6/6/2007 1:45 AM (GMT 0)
My 8 month old was diagnosed with epilepsy and he's been put on pheobarb. I was wondering if the medicine will affect him developmentally. Any advice would be great.
Posted 6/8/2007 6:12 PM (GMT 0)
Hi there and Welcome to HealingWell,

I am not going to claim to be any kind of expert here but there are a few things that I have read about Phenobarbital that may be of use to you. The side effects to Phenobarb can be very pronounced but over time they do subside. Such effects include grouchyness etc... Phenobarb is a very old anti-convulsant and there are many others out there (Such as Carbamazipine / Tegretol, Keppra, Lamictal, Epilim(sp) ) so I am surprised that the doctor has chosen Phenobarb. I am unsure how the above work in children as young as 8 months though. I am not aware of any developmental issues with Phenobarb, but this doesnt mean there are not any. I take much of my information from journals etc... that I read as part of my degree course. The best way to get a more definative answer is to speak to a Doctor / Pharmacist or (even better!) a neurologist.

I hope things work out for you and your child

Darren

Posted 7/31/2007 3:19 AM (GMT 0)
i work with a girl who's daughter was on phenobarb for about three years starting about two weeks after she was born, and she is fine now. She is a little hyper, but I think that's just her. I have been on it for 8 years, and my dr keeps wanting to take me off of it, but I won't let her. I think that even though there are new drugs, phenobarb has been around longest and therefore has had the most complete studies. As for them using it on children, I am not really suprised, when I was pregnant I learned that up to about 15 years ago, women were given phenobab to stop early labor.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply