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Discontinuing Tegretol and staying seizure free
Sat, 02/17/2007 - 03:19Topic: Women With Epilepsy
Hi, I had my first seizure 7 months ago and have 2 more since then. I started taking Tegretol 6 months ago and are supposed to stay on it for 2 years.
We are considering have a second child and before we do I would like to stop taking the Tegretol as I do not want to take it while I'm pregnant.
I am concerned that if I stop taking it after only 6 months my seizures might come back.
Is there anyone who has stopped taking there anti-epileptic medication while pregant and stayed seizure free?
Comments
Re: Discontinuing Tegretol and staying seizure free
Submitted by quirky on Mon, 2007-02-19 - 09:13
Hi Mel26
I am taking tegretol retard and I do not have any children, but my neuro has told me that if I were planning on having any children, there is no problem with taking tegretol while pregnant. This is an old drug and according my neuro it has been studied and proven to be safe for pregnancy.
I also have to take added med on top of this and just for your own info, he did inform me that when women are pregnant you are better off to be taking meds than not taking meds at the end of the day. If you had a seizure while pregnant this can be more harmful,not just from from the seizure but what if you fall and have an injury?
I'm not a doctor, I can only tell you what I was informed. I hope that helps anyway.
Good luck!
Quirky
Re: Re: Discontinuing Tegretol and staying seizure free
Submitted by rbruce1 on Wed, 2007-02-28 - 07:11
I faced the same dilemma. In my case, I chose adoption. I'm seizure free on Tegretol, and I have a wonderful daughter. I have to admit that I struggle with never having given birth, but then I look at my 6-year-old, and she makes me so happy! She's healthy, and I'm healthy. I had to "get over" the desire to get pregnant. When I get upset about it--i.e., being with a friend who is newly pregnant--I remind myself that I didn't want to risk a birth defect in my child, either from the Tegretol (being on meds) or from falling from a seizure (being off meds). Good luck to you. It's a difficult decision.
Rachel in Colorado
Re: Discontinuing Tegretol and staying seizure free
Submitted by maraj on Sun, 2007-02-18 - 11:43
I understand not wanting to take medications while pregnant, but my understanding is that hormonal changes during pregnancy can increase seizures. You may want to visit an epileptologist and a high-risk OB to discuss how to stay as safe as possible. I think most doctors recommend staying on the meds during pregnancy, because having seizures during pregnancy is dangerous as well. Besides, I don't think there's a way to predict if you'll have seizures in the next 9 months or not.