pregnancy, or accidents with epilepsy ?

[vapour]

I am wondering a couple of things.

First of all, I want to have children in the future, I am in a serious relationship right now. I am wondering how a person with epilepsy will be treated while giving birth due to the stress that might causes a seizure.

Secondly obviously epilepsy is triggered as above with stress, and having epilepsy increases your likely hood to have accidents.

I am wondering how someone with epilepsy lets say .. worst case senario is in a car accident, but not unconscious and very scared would they be treated differently ?,

or maybe on a smaller scale you break lets say your leg in a few places and your in agony obviously, how you would be treated differently or not treated any differently than a person without epilepsy ?

[Nakamova]

Not only the delivery but the pregnancy itself can be a stress to the system. So you and your doc will (ideally) have covered all the possibilities, risks, and ways to protect yourself. Plenty of people with epilepsy have had successful pregnancies/deliveries. There are unknowns of course, and no guarantees, but there's a lot you can be proactive about.

In an emergency situation your care shouldn't be any different from anyone else -- the main thing the docs or EMTs would need to know about is any medications you are on, so they can balance any treatment with that in mind. If you are conscious and know that addl. stress is a trigger for you, let the caregivers know so they can keep that in mind. It's a good idea to wear a medical bracelet and/or carry a health card in your wallet with any important health info and emergency contacts.

[skstrange1]

Hello
It depends what doctor or hospital you go to. I would STRONGLY recommend seeing a neurologist not a family doctor for your seizures b/c they are the ones who are having neurological issues as their concentrations. Even for other things b/c an ER doesn't always know everything about you-med and how they react.
The same is true for pregnancy& delivery(a gynecologist who knows about neurological issues. I have been married for almost 12 yrs. now Having seizures has given our marriage some bumps b/c we haven't tried to have children. I have been on so many med. Each a diff dosage w/ each other or combined w/ another. I'm scared of effects on children and even if we foster a child.
It's not that you might be treated differently, but reg. nurses and doctors don't always know about epilepsy. I'm not trying to scare you, but unfortunately it has opened my eyes...

[skillefer]

As for pregnancy, I just gave birth in July. If you are epileptic, you are sent to the high risk OB/GYN. I had to go see him every two weeks. Becuase your body is under more stress, expect more docs appts where they check blood sugar, blood pressure, fetal blood pressure and heart rate, weight gain, etc...If you smoke, quit. Smoking adds more stress. Also, while pregnant you will definitely want to make sure that you baby yourself and avoid stress. My hubby made sure that I didn't have to clean house at all. His sisters did that for me. And mother-in-law took over the cooking. All that left me was the laundry. Gotta love having a good support structure in place. So if you get pregnant, make sure that you get a support team together, and make good use of them.

OH! And make sure that you start taking folic acid NOW, if you are planning on ever getting pregnant. I took 8 mg. a day. It helps to prevent birth defects due to medication. It works best if your taking it when you conceive. And since most women don't know the exact when, it's best to just start taking it now.

[vapour]

thanks. I do have a neurologist whose specialty is epilepsy. One reason I also ask is because during all my EEG's hyperventilation increased my seizure activity, and so its very important to me I dont freak out in any given factor. Your replies have been helpful. I see my neurologist tomorrow.

[vapour]

I also wear a med bracelet, and I have a note in my wallet that says Epilepsy in large writing when opened explains my type of seizures and my neurologists emergency phone number that she answers day or night (which is awesome for her to do that)

Anyone in the south by of Los Angeles and would like to see her, I can give you details.