Pregnancy and Carbatrol

I have a very healthy 7 year old who was exposed to Carbatrol from conception through 2 years of breastfeeding. He was an oops baby, too, so I did absolutely nothing properly. Once I knew about him, I took high doses of folic acid. Currently, he’s a normal 1st grader. Listen to your doctor. You can still be a mom, if that’s what you want. Best of luck!

Hi.. I've been on Tegretol for over 21 years & Carbatrol = Carbamazepine = Tegretol = an old med. http://www.epilepsy.com/medications/i_carbatrol_intro.html Unless you forgot your med, what most likely happened to you is that you deveoped a tolerance sometimes known as a honeymoon effect to the drug: "The other circumstance in which tolerance can be important in the care of patients with epilepsy is what many refer to as the "honeymoon effect." For some individuals, the effectiveness of medication tends to wear off over time much more than for most other people, either because of the particular way in which their bodies function or because of the nature of their epilepsy and its underlying causes. These individuals often do very well with a new medication for some weeks or, more often, some months. Then the effectiveness of the medication begins to decrease and seizure control gradually may be lost. Many patients who are said to have "medically refractory epilepsy" are those for whom the honeymoon effect is most prominent. These patients often do well at first with a new medication, an increased dose, a change or adjustment in the distribution and timing of medicines during the day, or a new combination of antiepileptic drugs. But after a relatively brief period-as little as a few weeks or occasionally as long as 6 months or a year-their excellent seizure control has deserted them." http://www.epilepsy.com/articles/ar_1064956631.html But, I promise you, there are many new AEDs out that didn't exist not long ago so don't dispair & remember 75% of those with E are completely controlled. If you have epilepsy, as with diabetes and insulin, there is NO coming off meds unless: 1) you have childhood seizures that are outgrown, 2) have a successful neurosurgery or 3) use a VNS. http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/medicine_use.html I was on Tegretol when I had both my children and both were/are normal. So no worries. I'm sure the newer drugs are even safer. Congrats on your upcoming marriage! :) ~sol

Hi, I was on carbitrol during two pregnancies. My first pregnancy went fine until my seventh month on nothing, then on 400mg/day plus folic acid due to a "bad" feeling I had sensed. My son, now seven, has attention deficit, but is working through it. He is very smart, though, and I can tell he will be alright. My second pregnancy, I made an enormous mistake and switched neurologists (at my ob/gyns suggestion) to one of the most respected neurologists in the midwest. He didn't give me the care I got from my other doctor. He kept me on my meds (he said it was more dangerous to have a seizure that take the meds). Background: I have had very few grand mal seizures in my life and went my whole twenties on no meds and only had some auras. But a grand mal a year ago made him insist I stay on my carbitrol. I did, found out I was having twins, was upped to 800mg/day plus folic and delivered two healthy boys at 37 1/2 weeks. They weighed 7.0 and 6.7 pounds. Everything seemed grand. Now they are almost five and are having major behavioral problems and some speech problems and slight fine motor delays. They know all their colors, can count to thirty, know all their letters and the sounds they make, can ride a two wheel bike without training wheels, do the monkey bars, tell a story, read a few words, etc.... but something is not quite right, its mostly behavioral I think. They can't hang out in a preschool class without being disruptive. I hope it all turns out OK. They look 100% normal and I've been told to get them in pictures. Some studies show this drug can affect behavior in animals. Behavior is very important. It is very hard on a mother to have children like this because you receive alot of blame, plus the self-blame for having taken the drug in the first place. Had I to do that pregnancy over again, I would have gotten as far as I could on nothing, then monitored my levels once and month after. I would have risked a seizure for it. Lori