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newly epileptic and pregnent HELP

Sun, 12/11/2005 - 03:44
Hey everyone, I am a 20 year old female who 4 months ago had my first seizure, well 3 seizures in 24 hours. Before i had the seizure i had a "warning" or "aura" then i lay down to sleep and next thing i woke up a day later spewing at the hospital. It was creepy and amazing, all my life i had cronic migraines and before i had them i got a warning, but it stopped when i was in my early teens - now its turned into epilipsy. Its all very new to me and my family and we are only just getting used to it. Im on lamictal and tegretol morning and night and have had no seizures since. approx 7 weeks ago my partner and i found out we're pregnent, we are thrilled but at the same time so scared. The whole fact Im 20 doesn't bother me, our family is full of little ones and i know i would be a wonderful mother. But im so scared of having a seizure im reduced to tears at least once a day. A couple of weeks after i found out I started getting the start of these "warnings", i landed myself in hospital for the day but they werent really strong and there were no seizures. Ive been getting so tired which my doctors says "is one of the biggest ways to bring on a seizure." im terrified. everyday goes on and i feel my body changing and loving every second but im scared of having seizures as i know something serious could happen to bubby or myself. i cringe taking my meds knowing what it could be doing to her. Im stuck between a rock and a hard place, ive spoken to doctors, one says have it, the other says dont. I need real help and real stories. What do i do to lower the risks of seizures? whats the chance of having a baby with a sickness or being abnormal? what do i do if i get a warning? ... i need anyones help, anyones opinion, im really stuck and the longer i wait the bigger she grows. Please help, Thank you for listening!!! xoxoxo

Comments

Re: Re: newly epileptic and pregnent HELP

Submitted by natalya on Thu, 2006-02-09 - 21:00
it's not easy to relax! I had my second child on Depakote ER, took 4 mg of folic acid, followed my doctors orders and my child has Fetal Valproate Syndrome-condition caused by this medication! Medications cause birth defects for many!

Re: newly epileptic and pregnent HELP

Submitted by ladybug on Sat, 2006-01-14 - 12:44
Hi Loz, I have epilepsy that started when I hit puberty. I don't have auras before my seizures, so consider yourself lucky. I understand your concern about your pregnancy and seizures. I too was concerned when I got pregnant with my first child (now 12). I talked to my doctor about my concerns, he did some research (doctors don't know everything) :) and they put me on folic acid. Apparently the medicine I was on decreased the amount of folic acid in my body, which is important for the baby. If I were you, I would talk to my neurologist AND ob/gyn about my concerns. Have them contact each other to see what would be the best treatment for you and your baby during pregnancy. By the way, I now have 3 kids and they are all very healthy kids. Good luck to you, Ladybug

Re: newly epileptic and pregnent HELP

Submitted by KELANDV on Mon, 2006-02-06 - 11:35
I took Lamictal the whole time I was pregnant with both my girls. Klonopin was added later because I was still having seizures. I will suggest to you- I'm really big on this the AED pregnancy registry. http://www.aedpregnancyregistry.org/ My OBGYN was pretty clueless on my medications, but I took my vitamins and 4mg of Folic Acid evry day My seizures are triggered by lack of sleep and always occur in the morning. I haven't had one in a long time though. My "babies" are 7 & 5 with no health problems, and of course they are beautiful! Best of luck to you. I know this is a lot of stress, but hang in there.

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