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JME and pregnancy
Fri, 04/09/2004 - 12:33Topic: Family & Friends
I am a 25 year old woman with JME. Can any mothers can tell me about the types of medications they have taken while pregnant? Any discussion I have with my husband about having children is complicated with speculation about whether I would be able to adapt to the difficult lifestyle of first-time parents. My main concern about having children is that I can't figure how I would deal with the sleep-deprivation that occurs during the first year (and past that) of babyhood. My husband is very sensitive and will probably do more than his fair share of getting up at night but I know that after two days of having interrupted sleep I would have a seizure. I don't plan on having children for another 5 or 6 years but these are concerns that I think of often because I don't know any epileptic women who have dealt with these problems themselves. What's been your experience as a new sleep deprived mother? I have adapted my life to being an epileptic but I can't imagine how I would be able to do the same faced with the challenges of early motherhood. My neurologist has explained to me that I would be taken off Depakote and put on another drug that is safe to take during pregnancy but didn't go into details about what that drug would be or how it would differ from Depakote (which I have had good success with). I have a mild form of JME and have only had one grand mal seizure, Depakote and a strict sleeping schedule seems to keep the seizures away.Do any mothers have any information about epilepsy medication and breastfeeding? Are there medications that are safe to take while breastfeeding and has anyone had any personal experiences with these medications while breastfeeding?Thank you for your help!
Comments
RE: JME and pregnancy
Submitted by seeker2 on Wed, 2004-04-07 - 16:42
aubertjmd.No thanks are needed-that's why we are all here,to do that,just try and help and offer suggestions as and when we can.Your husband sounds a caring considerate man who is willing to help you and try and ease the worry on you.If he is-as he seems to be to want to help then I'm sure you can work out a system that will work and enable you both to get rest and you to avoid being sleep deprived.I'm glad the links were of help,especially in regard to Lamictal, and that you are confident in talking things over with your neuro on your next visit.Writing a list of your points to ask might be a good idea,and that way you will not be kicking yourself if you forget anything when you leave about what you wanted to discuss at that time.
RE: JME and pregnancy
Submitted by Kiwikon on Wed, 2004-04-07 - 20:38
The first time I had epilipsy was when I was pregnant with my first child at the age of 22. This was very unexpected and very frighting. It was put down to severe eclampsia at the time. I have had two children since then the last two having a seven year gap. I was put on Epilim at a reduced amount for the first couple of months of the pregnany and then increased later on. Night feedings are tiresome and I did breast feed, which at times was more draining than I realised. My husband would get up in the evenings to help and lucklily my babies took these with ease. My best advice is to sleep during the day when your baby sleeps. It was my life safer, also people are more willing to help you during the day than at night. NEVER feel guilty for sleeping during the day (alot of mothers do). I also used the floor for most things, even a matteress on the floor of one of my spare rooms for day sleep times and night time feeds helps to relieve the stress. Hope this helps and good luck.
RE: JME and pregnancy
Submitted by aubertjmd on Wed, 2004-04-07 - 13:43
Thank you to everyone that has posted such helpful messages! I particularly appreciate Tibet2's suggestions about doing things like changing a baby on the floor, etc. These are things that I never would have thought of but they make sense and make me realize that other epileptics have been able to adapt to early motherhood through creative ways and I can do the same! My husband and I have talked about sharing work involving getting up in the middle night but I was concerned that he would be doing most of the work and he would be completely overwhelmed with sleep deprivation but I think we will be able to work out some sort of system where he gets rest, too. Thank you for letting me know about Lamictal, I will look into that. I look forward to my next meeting with my neurologist where I can discuss all this new information with her! Thank you again!