Introducing myself, and question.

[VezRoth]

My name is Vez, and I've had seizures since I was 16... possibly earlier. I was drugged from around 3 years of age to 16. My parents were of the mindset that if you throw enough pills at the problem then you don't need to deal with the problem itself, so I rotated thru pills like a revolving door. It got to the point where I was changing pills and diagnosis on a 6 month basis.

My first seizure that I can remember clearly was around 16. My wife and I have talked about what happened to me, at 16 I cut myself off from all the medication I was taking. It's entirely possible that the litany of drugs I was taking at the time was masking the fact that I was epileptic and when I took myself off the symptoms started. I destroyed a few keyboards until I figured out what was happening.. hah.

Onto the question part.

I'm taking Epitol (Generic Tegratol) 200mg 3 times a day right now to control my seizures, it's working pretty well to control. I had a breakthru seizure a few months back, but I contacted my doctor right away and we upped the dosage from 2 times a day (Which he admitted was a very low dose to start with) to 3 times a day and the small upgrade seems to have been holding me pretty steady.

My wife and I have been trying to conceive for about a year now. Nothing really hardcore, no tests or anything, but I've also been on the Epitol for that time period. Does anyone know if Epitol could effect our ability? Or do you all think it could just be something as stupid as poor timing?

 

[hootie]

I don't have an answer to your question...I want to say welcome to CWE.
:hello:

 

[Nakamova]

Hi VezRoth, welcome to CWE!

According the Tegretol website: "There have been very rare reports of impaired male fertility and/or abnormal spermatogenesis." So the answer is...maybe. Unfortunately, there haven't been a ton of studies on AEDs and male infertility. This study talks about one incidence where Carbamazepine (Tegretol) was the culprit: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15661067

You can always get tested. If there are any red flags, then you can discuss whether to try a different AED.

Best,
Nakamova

 

[VezRoth]

Thank you for that information Nakamova. We've got a lot of problems with my wife's end for fertility and she's in a state of minor panic. 26 and she has a blood clotting disorder. So she was worried that if she got to 30 and we haven't had a child yet then she won't be able to. I appreciate it.

 

[difenbaker]

Something you need to remember also. Getting pregnant between two partners with no underlying health conditions for all the sake of the numbers is small to begin with. Even if you knew exactly when she was ovulating, and tried then, there's only a 25% chance of pregnancy/fertilization. I got pregnant on birth control, my one half sister ... they tried for about 7 years or so before the in vitro took. In my sisters case her and her husband both had problems so... it all depends. Could be something with her meds also. Good luck. Hopefully we will get a message that there's a bun in the oven soon

 

[VezRoth]

Luckily, she's not on any meds. Just other issues. I appreciate the info though, I view it as a "It'll happen, when it happens." But the wife is a worrier. I never worry, so at least one of us does. Hah

 

[difenbaker]

It'll surprise you when it does! My son is going to be two tomorrow. Its fun I miss the allowable food cravings without the funny looks. It was rough on me when I was but it was well worth it. Good luck to you guys. And im serious about the bun in the oven message!