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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: Lamictal and pregnancy
Submitted by lprice on Wed, 2005-04-06 - 00:08
RE: Lamictal and pregnancy
Submitted by stanley2b on Mon, 2005-07-11 - 12:04
Hello Bugsbunny,
I was a little disappointed with some of the replies you received about breast feeding. I also took lamictal during my entire pregnancy and during my current pregnancy right now. I am 14 weeks along. I am currently taking 600mgs a day compared to the 450mgs I was taking before pregnancy. I did breast feed my son and plan to do the same with my new baby. I was so nervous to because I was afraid that it would harm my son, but I was informed by my Neuro and OB that there is a VERY SMALL AMOUNT of Lamictal that the baby will get from your breast milk compared to what he or she was getting in the womb. So my worries were put to rest. I feel so strongly about the benefits of breast feeding and could not imagine giving my son formula. I really feel that you get such a close bond with your child. As you may have noticed I really feel strongly about breast feeding. I feel as does all my doctors that the benefits REALLY outweight the risks. My son is currently 14 months old and was breastfed until he was 13 months old. He was exclusively breastfed until six months and then I supplemented with solid food. I was really sad the first time I gave him solid food. It was such a wonderful feeling that my son relied totally on me to be nourished. Now he didn't need me as much. One other thing that really bothered me about formular is that is what it really is a formular and I really feel there is no way to compare to what the child would get from breast milk. As far as my son his developmental skills are right on track with babies his age and some things he was advenced. He is PERFECT. I can't imagine having done things any differently reguarding breast feeding. I hope I was able to ease your worries about breast feeding. If you have any other questions please feel free to email me at amys2b@charter.net.
Hello Bugsbunny,
I was a little disappointed with some of the replies you received about breast feeding. I also took lamictal during my entire pregnancy and during my current pregnancy right now. I am 14 weeks along. I am currently taking 600mgs a day compared to the 450mgs I was taking before pregnancy. I did breast feed my son and plan to do the same with my new baby. I was so nervous to because I was afraid that it would harm my son, but I was informed by my Neuro and OB that there is a VERY SMALL AMOUNT of Lamictal that the baby will get from your breast milk compared to what he or she was getting in the womb. So my worries were put to rest. I feel so strongly about the benefits of breast feeding and could not imagine giving my son formula. I really feel that you get such a close bond with your child. As you may have noticed I really feel strongly about breast feeding. I feel as does all my doctors that the benefits REALLY outweight the risks. My son is currently 14 months old and was breastfed until he was 13 months old. He was exclusively breastfed until six months and then I supplemented with solid food. I was really sad the first time I gave him solid food. It was such a wonderful feeling that my son relied totally on me to be nourished. Now he didn't need me as much. One other thing that really bothered me about formular is that is what it really is a formular and I really feel there is no way to compare to what the child would get from breast milk. As far as my son his developmental skills are right on track with babies his age and some things he was advenced. He is PERFECT. I can't imagine having done things any differently reguarding breast feeding. I hope I was able to ease your worries about breast feeding. If you have any other questions please feel free to email me at amys2b@charter.net.
RE: Lamictal and pregnancy
Submitted by LDegani on Sun, 2005-02-06 - 20:07
Hello all-I am new here - I am 32, my husband and I are going to try to start a family. I have epilespy, and was diagnosed when I was 10. I have been on every medicine there is - which the exception of the newer ones that came out in the past five years. I am currently on Depakote - 1500mg a day. I have been seizure free for over 6 years, and that seizure was due to a low level on my part. We went and saw my Neuro, he suggested that I switch over to Lamictal (which takes about a month to switch over??) My doctor has also referred us to one of the best ob/gyns in the city, who has a great knowledge of epilespy for an ob/gyn (supposely he is one of the best in the city)We are extremely nervous, for my health, and our future babies. Doctor's are fine, and tell you things to make them safe, but as we all know, nobody knows our bodies better then ourselves.If anyone could give me any advice, wisdom, anything, we would appreciate it. Anything about the meds?Thanks so much, and keep wellLori