Moms with Epilepsy

Hi. I don't have epilepsy but a sleep disorder- I fall asleep at the drop of a hat (can't drive too far). I am pregnant and not taking my medication now. Plan on b/f too, again no meds. It's tough. Take it one day at a time, all is good so far- keep it up.

When I found out I was pregnant, I immediately stopped taking my medication. I was very careful to eat right and take care of myself. I had a very healthy pregnancy with no siezures. That was 16 1/2 years ago! I have since had 2 more children. I never went back on the meds, but I am still careful to eat right and often! My doctor said that sometimes pregnancy does very healthy things for a woman's body. I will keep my fingers crossed (and pray) it does the same for you! Congratulations and remember to take care of yourself!!!

i have epilepsy too. so glad you are here and open enough to discuss it. I had a little girl, who is now 4. I took tegretol through out my pregnancy and had no problems, thank God. That is ONE of the reasons I probably won't have any more children.

The only advice I have, is that sometimes getting a good chiropractor to adjust you decreases and sometimes stops the epileptic episodes, as might acupunture....AND if you are taking lamictal or tegretol, etc, they tend to deplete the folic acid levels in your body, so sometimes taking 5 tablets of the 400mcg folic acid each day helps get enough in the body, so the drugs have less of a chance for causing fetal abnormalities.

Hope that helps!

PS - Also Nordic Naturals has a great prenatal fish oil which helps with brain function and may help with your situation, as well as help the baby's brain and nervous system development.

I am the mother of a beautiful 3 month old daughter. I have epilepsy (being controlled with Trileptol). Had a perfect pregnancy and delivery. Am breastfeeding fine. Only thing my neurologist is worried about now is my lack of sleep (getting better - only up once a night now) and overall stress level. I would definitely be with an OB that knows about high-risk pregnancies because that is what you have. My OB and my neurologist were in communication throughout. My doctor had to increase my medication one time during the pregnancy (because as I got bigger, there was less medication in my blood stream) and we were taking levels (blood) once a month to check. Hope that helps...

Hi T.,

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Take care and Godbless,
Kim

Hi T.,

Congrats on being pregnant.I have epilepsy and I have had two beautiful boys. If you ever want to talk shoot me an email!! If you have any question just let me know. I am always for for a little chat!! Look forward to hearing from you.

S. M

I also have (had) epilepsy. with my first (will be 3 in a month), I reduced my dosage to the lowest level where I was not having seizures prior to getting pregnant (I was on carbatrol...time-release formula of tegrtol). We did blood-level tests every month and increase my dosage as I gained weight to keep the blood-level even. The nuerologist also had me on 6mg of folic a day to protect the baby and it wasd considered a high-risk pregnancy for birth defects, primarily spina bifida. I was extremely cautious of my eating and exercising, and especially my sleep throughout the pregnancy and did not have any seizures. Thankfully, our daughter did not have ANY birth defects. She is perfectly healthy to this day. About 9 moths after giving birth we approached the subject of going OFF of meds because I was feeling great and we had no problems even when I was severly sleep deprived. With LOTS of prayer and a slow reduction of my meds until I was completely off of them, I found that I could go WITHOUT meds completely. The Pregnancy had changed my brain chemistry for the good!!! We then started trying for another baby and I just had our second baby (this time with NO epilepsy meds at all) 2 months ago.

I know we did a lot of worrying and thus praying with both pregnancies...and though when I was younger I was told I would likely not be able to have kids due to my condition, I am living proof that things can change and thatit is not hopeless.

I wish you the best of luck and I pray you have a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby; and maybe you will be one of us lucky ones that can eventually go off meds completely!

T.
Please call me.....I think that I may have a suggestion to help you with this challenge. I work with wellness and all
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P. hundley
mother, and grandmother

MY name is T. L. and i know how you are feeling. I have one son that is 4 years old right now.I was told by my doctors that I Had Epilepsy. I had got it when i was 15 years old. Then I went to juior College. I got married when I was 25 and then I got pregnant the year of 2003. My pregnancy went great. No problems at all with seizures. And I has a great delievery. So don't you worry. The more you worry about problems with your pregnancy, the greater the chance something will go wrong. Stress can hurt a baby while you are pregnant. Very High Levels of stress can bring on a seizure. If you would like to talk again. Then I will check in tommorrow. Love, T.

I don't have epilepsy but you could check out Healthy Answers online to help you through this pregnancy safely.

I have epilepsy and a beautiful 2 year old daughter and another on the way. I'm taking Keppra. I do go to see a high risk OB doctor, which i think is important and also i'm taking prenatal vitamins and 1mg of folic acid. congratulations! And best wishes for your new baby!! =)

I am a Mom with Epilepsy. My children are 18, 16 1/2 and 12. I was diagnosed with Epilepsy when I was a child. I have been on meds all my life and I was switched to a med that had the least side effects on my children. They are healthy, happy children. I checked out the meds and the side effects and took Tegretol all through my pregnancies because it had the least side effects on my children. My pregnancies were good and full term. My doctors were easy to deal with and always did what was right for me and the babies. I only had light seizure feelings during my pregnancies and I had to watch my diet and get a good nights sleep.

Hi. I also had epilepsy. I say had because it went away while I was pregnant. I was on medication for half of my pregnancy. I was very concerned about the effects that my medication had on my baby as well as the seizures that I continued to have. When I saw my neurologist in my second trimester I asked him about how my seizures effected my baby. I was fortunate that my kind of seizures did not harm my baby. The medication did though and he was at risk for birth defects. I would also not be able to breastfeed because of the medication.

So, I made the decision to stop taking my medication after that appointment. It was very risky. I didn't tell anyone, not even my husband for the first 6 weeks. I prayed everyday and my church had me on the prayer list for my seizures too. They were worse in the first half of my pregnancy, especially in the first trimester. They have always been somewhat related to my hormones I think. Anyway, I have been fortunate not to have had a seizure since I went off the medication. Something about my pregnancy (and God of course) stopped my seizures. I have been seizure free for almost a year (the end of March) and have been off the medication that long. I am also enjoying breastfeeding my son. He is 7 months old and healthy, no birth defects!

What I did was risky and every time I feel anything close to the warning signs of my seizures I get nervous. Eating healthy, staying fit, and getting as much sleep as my baby will allow me too really helps. I hope that everything works out with you! Just stay in close contact with your OBGYN and Neurologist and you'll get through this!