As if the other side effects of Dilantin weren’t bad enough the anti-seizure drug has also been linked to osteoporosis, which is not good news for younger users taking the drug. A study published in the highly respected medical journal Neurology stated that women who are younger in age and take Dilantin are up to 8 times more likely to experience bone loss, including conditions like osteoporosis, in comparison to other women who are pre-menopausal and have not taken Dilantin or its generic form, phenytoin. Stevens Johnson Syndrome
Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis
However, there are a number of other Dilantin side effects that patients should be aware of prior to using the drug, including osteoporosis.It has been reported that an estimated 90% of older epilepsy patients are prescribed Dilantin largely due to its affordability. However, Dilantin is being prescribed to those who suffer different types of seizures of all ages. Unfortunately, those who have been prescribed Dilantin typically do not know the full scale of side effects they are being exposed to. The development of osteoporosis is not just a factor when it comes to young women; it can also affect men as well.
Although many patients go without notice when it comes to Dilantin and the risk of developing osteoporosis there are some doctors that are aware of the potential side effect risk to their younger patients and are prescribing the medication anyway. As a solution they are suggesting that the Dilantin user add calcium supplements to their diet. However, those who completed the study detecting the Dilantin osteoporosis connection have indicated that adding calcium is not enough to prevent the bone loss that Dilantin has been linked to causing. It has been recommended by these experts that the patient receive an alternative medication, especially for younger women.
If you have been using Dilantin or know someone that has and have been diagnosed with osteoporosis there may be grounds to file a Dilantin lawsuit. There are Dilantin lawsuit specialists standing by ready to investigate claims of Dilantin side effects, including things like osteoporosis, Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS), and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). Visit the Dilantin Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) Class Action Lawsuit Investigation page right away. You can receive a free consultation from an experienced Dilantin lawsuit attorney.
Updated January 22nd, 2013
{loadposition content_postads}
All medical device, dangerous drug and medical class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Drug and Medical Device section of Top Class Actions.
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
10 thoughts onDilantin Linked to Osteoporosis and Other Side Effects
I started taking Dilantin around the age of 20. Then Phenytoin (generic Dilantin) for about 10 years. I am 62 years old now and have osteoporosis. It is hard to walk and I am in pain.
I was prescribed Dilantin at age 26 for Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy. After 40 years I was told I had severe osteoporosis as a result, and had also had a child with developmental delays and underdeveloped lungs and bronchial tubes at birth due to my intake of Dilantin. She did not walk until almost two years old. With all this I was not told my problems were due to Dilantin until April 2019 when I developed a Dilantin toxicity. Former neurologists said to stay on Dilantin because I was seizure-free with it except for occasional nocturnal seizures. But no mention was made that side effects did not come to an end.
In 2019, My new neurologist noticed this toxicity on first examination when I went to her with fears of MS or Parkinson’s. From then, I went to a neurosurgeon. After so many years on Dilantin and
extreme osteoporosis, I now can barely walk and am never without extreme pain. I spend a fortune annually in chiropractors and in the past on rehab medicine with no positive result. But I now refuse to take more medication, including the drugs claiming to build bone so I can have a spinal reconstruction. I also have had extreme gum and other dental issues leading to massive expense in dental implants. Others filed suit long ago, but I never did. Now I look back at this history and am outraged by a medical community so lacking in consciousness as to cause repeated damage to one patient and my younger child over so many years. The literature is filled with side effects but not so much about litigation over osteoporosis.
I took Dilantin for about 3 weeks and not only did I have severe allergic reaction after my steroids were finished all 10 of my fingernails tore off, lost good portion of my hair and worst of all, something I’ll never be able to grow back, my teeth were severely weaker and damaged by the medication. I was told about gums but not my teeth and other bones! Teeth don’t grow back! My nails and hair are growing back but there’s not much I can do about my teeth except spend money I don’t have to replace them! I’m severely depressed because of that medication
I took Dilantin when I was 6 for seizures until 2010. I was 38 when taken off of Dilantin and put on lamitrigine. I was 38 when I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease and Osteoporosis.
I was prescribed Dilatin when I was 13… I took it until I was about 28… I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis at about 40… I am now 57 and in the last 3 years, I have had both hips replaced, the l4l5 fused and I now have a sacral fracture and two fractures in my pelvic ring… My knees hurt my ankles hurt and my shoulders hurt plus my fingers throb
I was on dilantin from the age of 5 til i was 14, was on tegretol from 14-28. As well as other meds linked to osteoporosis.
What gets me is that neither the doctors or pharmacists ever said a thing about it, when there were studies already out
I took dilantin and phenytoin for many years. I was diagnosed with osteoporosis due to taking these drugs when i was 38.
I was recently diagnosed with osteoporosis after taking dilantin for many years.
I came down with osteoporosis after taking dilantin for ten years.
I have been dealing with seizures not taking any medications form for a while and then I got a scribe the dilantin anything like more seizures were coming through I told my doctor about what was taking place they told me not to stop taking the medication the next thing I know I’m diagnosed Osteoporosis