Hello! Pregnant and epileptic

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Ali1973

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Hi everyone

Some background... I was diagnosed with epilepsy in my mid twenties. I had tonic clonic seizures and the medication that I was put on (tegretol retard) had an immediate effect

I have been seizure free for about eight years

For most of those eight years I have been on 700mg but in the last few months I have reduced my medication to 500mg. I am also on a high dose of folic acid and so far so good

I am about five and a half weeks pregnant

Anyhow I was wondering if anyone had been in a similar situation ie been on tegretol whilst pregnant and reduced it. If so at what rate did you reduce

Any comments would be welcome

Thanks

Ali
xx
 
Hi, Ali,

Welcome to the forum! And contratulations on the expected baby!

It is interesting that in your first trimester, your doc still has you on Tegretol.

I can't comment on reducing your dosage, but did find some info on Tegretol and pregnancy:
http://www.drugs.com/pregnancy/carbamazepine.html
http://www.epilepsy.com/medications/p_tegretol_pregnancy
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/tegretol-xr-pregnancy-7408/
http://genetics.emory.edu/pdf/Emory_Human_Genetics_Seizures_Pregnancy.PDF

Good luck. Please keep us updated on how you are feeling, and what your doc does with your meds, okay?
 
Hi Ali,

No advice to offer, but wanted to welcome you to CWE. You can search for info on specific topics using the "Search" tab at the top.

Best,
Nakamova
 
Hello Ali1973 and all,
I'm also in my first trimester and on Tegretol Retard. (200mg twice daily and 5mg folic acid). According to my obstetrician, the benefits of continuing on this medication outweigh the risks. If I have a seizure my oxygen levels will drop, which could have a negative impact on the baby. Also, although I generally have simple partial seizure, I have occasionally had tonic clonics. If I were to have a tonic clonic now I might fall and again this could impact negatively on the baby. I wish you and your baby all the best and I share your concerns. I would love to hear how you get on as you progress through your pregnancy.
 
Im glad you found each other. Funny to see you both posted just about the same thing. :) welcome to CWE.
 
I was on Tegretol during my last pregnancy. Initially I was on 800mg/day but after a seizure at about 6 months it was increased to 1200. It was agreed by all that the benefits outweighed the risks. My daughter is now 18 months old and perfectly normal. She suffered no ill-effects from me taking Tegretol during pregnancy. The risks are there but they're very low. Good luck with it!
 
During all three of my pregnancies, I was on Keppra at 3000mgs a day, and Carbatrol 1200mgs a day. All of my little boys came out healthy and happy. Congratulations!
 
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