Advice Please on Pregnancy and Lamotrigine/Lamictal

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Ames4714

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Hello. I am new to this site and would like to thank you in advance for sharing your experiences and advice. I was diagnosed with epilepsy 4 years ago. I had a tonic clonic seizure. I am currently 24 years old and have been seizure free for 3 years. I am taking Lamotrigine 150 mg in the am and 200 mg in the pm. My husband and I are considering having a child. I am hesitant due to the complications epilepsy can cause. My neurologist seems to think a pregnancy would be ok due to the successful control Lamotrigine has had so far. She said she would increase the Lamotrigine dosage as my weight increased during pregnancy and recommended I begin taking folic acid now. I would love any advice from anyone who took Lamotrigine or Lamictal while pregnant. Aside from the possible birth defects, I fear I will begin having seizures again while pregnant.

Thanks again for any advice or shared experiences!
 
I have not being or am I planning on getting pregnant but, my neurologist seems to be obsessed with me getting pregnant and is constantly offering information even though I haven't asked for it. She has said that Lamictal is one of the better medications to take during pregnancy and it would be good to start taking folic acid before you start trying. The main thing is making sure the seizures are under control if you've been seizure free for a while you should be alright, but hormones can affect Epilepsy.
As for birth defects I can't remember where it was in this forum but, there was an interesting article someone posted looking at the actual statistics and it showed that there actually wasn't a drastic increase in birth defects in women on AEDs while pregnant (Maybe someone else can find it?)
You still need to be careful take folic acid and make sure you have a healthy diet, the healthier you are the healthier your baby will be :-)
I may not be planning children but, I can understand how you must feel. I think there are a few people here who managed to have healthy children while on AEDs so there is plenty of help and advice when you need it.
 
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Hi Ames4714, welcome!

There are quite a few moms with epilepsy on CWE, so I hope they will chime in.

Lamictal is considered one of the safer drugs for pregnancy. The main thing is to make sure your neurologist and OB-GYN are on the same page.

The folic acid is very important to take now and especially in the early months of a pregnancy. Lamictal blood levels can vary as your hormones change during the pregnancy, so you may need to have the levels tested at several times throughout, and have your dose adjusted accordingly.

Here are some other CWE threads you might find helpful:

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f42/if-youre-thinking-getting-pregnant-9721/
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/lamotrigine-epilepsy-drugs-birth-defects-497/
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f34/frustrated-lamictal-pregnancy-advice-6243/
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/yet-another-pregnancy-question-8813/

Best,
Nakamova
 
Hello!

Im a mom of 3 little boys, ( The two older ones are 6 yrs old, and our youngest is 4) I was told as a teen that I could never have kids because once I hit puberty, my periods were over the place and I went for months without one. It wasnt til I was 18 yrs old that I was dx'd with PCOS. I was put on Glucophage XR and my periods became regular. We found out we were expecting our first son when I was three months along. Soon after he arrived, we got pregnant with our second son, and 18 months after he was born, our third son was born.

I did take folic acid through out all of my pregnancies. My OB did prescribe the amount I was to take. I did take prenatal vitamins too. All my pregnancies turned out perfect and healthy. The babies came out perfect.

I was taking Keppra and Carbatrol through out all my pregnancies, but got off the Glucophage to help with not having so many medications to affect the baby.

If you have any questions, please feel free to Message me! :)
 
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