Epilepsy?

sjp

I am not currently pregnant. DS is 6 and DD is 1 1/2--I always thought I would have three children.  I was recently (last week) diagnosed with a mild form of epilepsy.  I am not on medications yet, but wanted to see if any of you ladies have the condition and how are you dealing with it, or what your dr says.

 

Thank you so much!

lorist202

I'm sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis, but if it's mild, you will probably be fine.

I too have mild Epilepsy due to a brain injury.  To go without medication was not an option unfortunately.  However,  I did A LOT of research before making the decision to get pg and had A LOT of medical follow up throughout my pregnancy.

I had an outstanding and uneventful pregnancy, and today, I have a happy, healthy, BEAUTIFUL, and perfect baby boy (I don't want to brag or anything )  

As a side note, I also want to mention that the surge in hormones actually made my condition improve... in short, pregnancy made me feel GREAT!

If you decide to get pg again, just be sure to do some planning in advance and talk to your neurologist first.

LilMissSunshyne

I was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2007.  I became pregnant in December of 2009 and was on 2 medications (topamax and lamictal) to treat my epilepsy at the time.  Under the care of my epileptologist at Barrow's, I was able to transition off all of my medications by April of 2010.  Similar to the previous poster, the pregnancy hormones worked to my advantage as well and I felt quite good during pregnancy.  Good luck to you!

Lucky428

I got diagnosed with seizures after the birth of my son.  I am now on Lamictal and I've been seizure free for a while.  Going med-free will never be an option for me.

I have heard that both Keppra and Lamictal are fine while pregnant.  

I am not pregnant but my neurologist said it is completely fine to get pregnant on this medication, that I just need extra folic acid.  

Ask your OB and your neurologist.

sjp

Thank you all so much! It has been an emotional rollercoaster--I have a lot of questions to ask my nerologist at my next appt!

juliakay1166

hi there! It can be scary for sure, but knowledge is power. I've had mild epilepsy since I was 14 and take Tegretol XR. Its more important for us ladies than anyone to plan plan plan! Talk to your neurologist about reducing your medication (if possible) to the lowest possible dose, or if you're lucky enough to be able to phase off completely that's another way to go.

 I personally cant be off meds and am currently preggo. My neurologist started me on a mega dose of folic acid about 5 months prior to conception, and that reduced the risk of birth defects considerably (typically anticonvulsants increase the risks by a few percentage points - generally speaking - from that of an average woman and folic acid reduces the risks back to just barely higher than average). Even if you're not quite ready to conceive I'd aboslutely reccomend talking folic acid  daily - its better to be safe than sorry and is just a good idea for women of childbearing age w/ epilepsy (plus it doesnt affect your med levels)

 Your neurologist knows best and they'll be able to come up with the perfect plan for you and your specific condition

 Its scary like you said, but learn as much as you can and you'll have things to reassure yourself with  - I'm here for ya!!

 

Julia

GoonieGal85

Being on the meds made you feel good during pregnancy? I'm all about that!  I'm about 6 weeks (Dr. appt isn't for 2 more weeks).  I'm on 2000mg Keppra 2x a day, as I have had Epilepsy for 9.5 years as the result of a TBI.  Really I've had no problems yet, other than being tired.  So reading that makes me feel good!