Community Forum Archive

The Epilepsy Community Forums are closed, and the information is archived. The content in this section may not be current or apply to all situations. In addition, forum questions and responses include information and content that has been generated by epilepsy community members. This content is not moderated. The information on these pages should not be substituted for medical advice from a healthcare provider. Experiences with epilepsy can vary greatly on an individual basis. Please contact your doctor or medical team if you have any questions about your situation. For more information, learn about epilepsy or visit our resources section.

JME and pregnancy

Fri, 04/09/2004 - 12:33
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 angel_lts on Sat, 2005-05-14 - 08:31
I have just read in EpilepsyUSA that Lamotrigine poses low risk of Major Birth defects. Now for breatsfeeding I dont know.I have heard that people are breastfeeding more even if they are on meds. Myself I wanted to breastfeed so bad, but did not for I was afraid I was feeding the baby to many of my meds. But that was about 15 years ago.I guess it depends on the medication you will be on.Make sure you take folic acid very important.http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/EpilepsyApproach/Lisa

I became pregnant at age 39

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2014-04-15 - 23:16
I became pregnant at age 39 and I have a healthy baby girl. I took depakene, phenobarbital, and Keppra. I was not able to breast feed. And for the sleep deprivation. I dealt fine with that. And it wad OK because I did not work for the first seven months of her life. So I slept when she did. I have been seizure free since I gave birth three years ago.

Sign Up for Emails

Stay up to date with the latest epilepsy news, stories from the community, and more.