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Lamictal and pregnancy
Mon, 02/07/2005 - 20:43Hi everybody
I have juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. I am currently 32 weeks pregnant and take 300mg of lamictal daily and have remained seizure free and well so far.
I am concerned about the long term side effects of lamictal on my baby if I breast feed. I have recently read a paper "Concerns regarding lamotrigine and breast feeding" by Liporace et al which makes me concerned about the babys ability to metabolise the drug. I now think that I do not wish to breast feed my baby, but I am wondering if my baby goes through withdrawel from lamictal in the early stages of life will he suffer long term side effects from this. I know that breast feeding and especially colostrum has long term benefits but i am cautious due to the lack of information about what process the baby will use to metabolise it and how the build up of the drug in his system might affect his growth and development.
Has anyone else information or experience of bottle feeding or breast feeding a baby after taking lamictal through the pregnancy.
Would be gretaful for any input on how they are and if you think they went through withdrawal or any other side effects.
Thanks
Bugsbunny
Comments
RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: Lamictal and pregnancy
Submitted by nunny1 on Tue, 2004-10-12 - 06:05
Stephanie
thanks for all the information you shared with us. did you change your meds in order to get pregnant? how long are you taking lamictal? i hope it's not to private, i'm just wondering how long it takes to change to lamictal.
good luck everybody
nunny
Stephanie
thanks for all the information you shared with us. did you change your meds in order to get pregnant? how long are you taking lamictal? i hope it's not to private, i'm just wondering how long it takes to change to lamictal.
good luck everybody
nunny
RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: Lamictal and pregnancy
Submitted by STC7273 on Tue, 2004-10-12 - 12:15
Hi nunny,
As soon as I mentioned getting pregnant my neuro switched me from TegretrolXR (I think I took 400mg) to Lamictal (which I take 450mg) and pumped me full of folic acid, I was taking 5mg of folic acid before I added the prenatal vitamins, so I am only taking 4mg now since the prenatals have folic acid in them.
I honestly don't remember how long the switch to Lamictal took, my guess is that it took about two months. I remember that I had to do it gradually and overlap both meds at lower dosages for awhile. I have been on Lamictal for 2 years now, and have no side effects at all. I know that This week is the first week I have been off birth control meds for 2 1/2 years, and my neuro said that I might feel dizzy or have blurred vision because the birth control meds decrease the effectivness of my Lamictal, so I might have to lower my dosage, which will be fine by me!
I hope this helps!
Stephanie
Hi nunny,
As soon as I mentioned getting pregnant my neuro switched me from TegretrolXR (I think I took 400mg) to Lamictal (which I take 450mg) and pumped me full of folic acid, I was taking 5mg of folic acid before I added the prenatal vitamins, so I am only taking 4mg now since the prenatals have folic acid in them.
I honestly don't remember how long the switch to Lamictal took, my guess is that it took about two months. I remember that I had to do it gradually and overlap both meds at lower dosages for awhile. I have been on Lamictal for 2 years now, and have no side effects at all. I know that This week is the first week I have been off birth control meds for 2 1/2 years, and my neuro said that I might feel dizzy or have blurred vision because the birth control meds decrease the effectivness of my Lamictal, so I might have to lower my dosage, which will be fine by me!
I hope this helps!
Stephanie
RE: RE: RE: RE: Lamictal and pregnancy
Submitted by STC7273 on Mon, 2004-10-11 - 21:28
Hello to all,
I am new to this site, so hello to everyone! My husband and I are going to try to get pregnant in December, so I am doing tons of research about pregnancy and breast feeding also. I have simple partial seizures that started when I was 14. I have polymicrogyria which is the reason I have a seizure disorder. My seizures are very controlled, but I still have very minro seizures or aura episodes for about 30 mintues around three times a month, related to lack of sleep, stress, and hormones. I am on 450mg Lamictal, 4mg folic acid, and prenatal vitamins.
I have been doing a ton of research and been talking to my neuro a lot, I actually go to Dr. Page Pennell, who if quoted a few posts up. She practices at Emory in Atlanta, and is really great. She is leading a ton of studies about the effects of AED's on pregnancy and breast feeding, so I feel very blessed to have her as my doc. I am going to be involved in her study once I am pregnant, which I am really excited about. Anyway, she said that Lamictal is THE safest drug to be on during pregnancy. She told me at my appointment last week that the Lamictal pregnancy registry was recently updated and the stats show that the birth defect rate for women on Lamictal monothearpy is only 2.9%! The birth defect rate for the average women is 2-3%. I was so excited and relieved to hear that!
This message board at the Epilepsy Foundation site is full of great information on pregnancy and epilepsy. http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/efforums/forum/categories.cfm?catid=4&flcache=9340316&entercat=y The "Can we get all the pregnancy updates here" thread is really informative. Anyways, here is a copy of one of my posts that includes the info I have found out about Lamictal and breastfeeding.
My neuro and OB/GYN told me that breastfeeding will be fine, that the amount the baby will receive through the milk is nothing compared to what they got during gestation. You just have to monitor weight gain and make sure the baby isn't sleeping 24 hours a day.
Here is a quote from her article in "Seminars in Neurology/Volume 22, November 3 2002""Breast-feeding with barbiturates or benzodiazepines may prolong sedation and feeding problems, and the newborn needs to be monitored closely. However, most infants of women with epilepsy can breast-feed successfully without complications...The benefits of breast-feeding are believed to outweigh the small risk of adverse effects of AED's." I skipped some confusing medical terminology and info!
These quotes are from the information sheets from the Epilepsy Foundation, which you can send for from this site somewhere. From the 'Health Issues After Your Baby Is Born' info sheet: "I want to breast-feed my baby. Will that be safe? For most women with epilepsy, breast-feeding is a safe option. All seizure medications will be found in breast milk, but this usually does not affect the baby who has been exposed already to the mother's medication during pregnancy." From the 'Epilepsy and Pregnancy' phamplet from the Epilepsy Foundation: "Will I be able to breast-feed my baby if I am taking antiepileptic medication? Yes, but with extra caution if you are taking certain medications that are more readily absorbed into breast milk. These medications are phenobarbital, primidone (Mysoline) and benzodiazepines (Valium and Lorazepam.) If you are taking just one of these medications, you can still breast-feed as long as you watch your baby carefully for any signs of excessive sleepiness. Certainly if your baby fails to gain weight because it is too sleepy to eat, you'll need to stop breastfeeding." From 'Perspectives in Epilepsy-Epilepsy in Women of Childbearing Age: A Clinical Perspective' booklet, which has opinions from Dr. Eugene Ramsay, Dr. Mark Yerby, and Dr. Antonio Delgado-Escueta: "Except for phenobarbital we see no problem with the nursing mother taking her anticonvulsant medication."
I hope this helps, and good luck to all those women trying for babies and congratulations to all those lucky moms out there!
Stephanie
Hello to all,
I am new to this site, so hello to everyone! My husband and I are going to try to get pregnant in December, so I am doing tons of research about pregnancy and breast feeding also. I have simple partial seizures that started when I was 14. I have polymicrogyria which is the reason I have a seizure disorder. My seizures are very controlled, but I still have very minro seizures or aura episodes for about 30 mintues around three times a month, related to lack of sleep, stress, and hormones. I am on 450mg Lamictal, 4mg folic acid, and prenatal vitamins.
I have been doing a ton of research and been talking to my neuro a lot, I actually go to Dr. Page Pennell, who if quoted a few posts up. She practices at Emory in Atlanta, and is really great. She is leading a ton of studies about the effects of AED's on pregnancy and breast feeding, so I feel very blessed to have her as my doc. I am going to be involved in her study once I am pregnant, which I am really excited about. Anyway, she said that Lamictal is THE safest drug to be on during pregnancy. She told me at my appointment last week that the Lamictal pregnancy registry was recently updated and the stats show that the birth defect rate for women on Lamictal monothearpy is only 2.9%! The birth defect rate for the average women is 2-3%. I was so excited and relieved to hear that!
This message board at the Epilepsy Foundation site is full of great information on pregnancy and epilepsy. http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/efforums/forum/categories.cfm?catid=4&flcache=9340316&entercat=y The "Can we get all the pregnancy updates here" thread is really informative. Anyways, here is a copy of one of my posts that includes the info I have found out about Lamictal and breastfeeding.
My neuro and OB/GYN told me that breastfeeding will be fine, that the amount the baby will receive through the milk is nothing compared to what they got during gestation. You just have to monitor weight gain and make sure the baby isn't sleeping 24 hours a day.
Here is a quote from her article in "Seminars in Neurology/Volume 22, November 3 2002""Breast-feeding with barbiturates or benzodiazepines may prolong sedation and feeding problems, and the newborn needs to be monitored closely. However, most infants of women with epilepsy can breast-feed successfully without complications...The benefits of breast-feeding are believed to outweigh the small risk of adverse effects of AED's." I skipped some confusing medical terminology and info!
These quotes are from the information sheets from the Epilepsy Foundation, which you can send for from this site somewhere. From the 'Health Issues After Your Baby Is Born' info sheet: "I want to breast-feed my baby. Will that be safe? For most women with epilepsy, breast-feeding is a safe option. All seizure medications will be found in breast milk, but this usually does not affect the baby who has been exposed already to the mother's medication during pregnancy." From the 'Epilepsy and Pregnancy' phamplet from the Epilepsy Foundation: "Will I be able to breast-feed my baby if I am taking antiepileptic medication? Yes, but with extra caution if you are taking certain medications that are more readily absorbed into breast milk. These medications are phenobarbital, primidone (Mysoline) and benzodiazepines (Valium and Lorazepam.) If you are taking just one of these medications, you can still breast-feed as long as you watch your baby carefully for any signs of excessive sleepiness. Certainly if your baby fails to gain weight because it is too sleepy to eat, you'll need to stop breastfeeding." From 'Perspectives in Epilepsy-Epilepsy in Women of Childbearing Age: A Clinical Perspective' booklet, which has opinions from Dr. Eugene Ramsay, Dr. Mark Yerby, and Dr. Antonio Delgado-Escueta: "Except for phenobarbital we see no problem with the nursing mother taking her anticonvulsant medication."
I hope this helps, and good luck to all those women trying for babies and congratulations to all those lucky moms out there!
Stephanie