Pregnancy while on Lamictal

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Hello, My history with seizures started when I was 10, I've had around 7 seizure total in my life. I started out with grand mal and now they are partial. However, I have not had a seizure in 7 years while on medication( Lamictal). There was an incident 3 years ago where my eye was twitching, but I'm not sure that was a seizure or just my mind playing tricks. I was at 300 mg, then when my EEG came back normal a year ago (which they have never been normal in the past). With that news I started taking 200mg. Now, I am currently taking 150mg. I've been having bad headaches and loss of appetite, but no other side effects that I'm aware of. My goal is to be off of it soon because I want to try for a baby this summer. I know Lamictal is one of the better medicine to be on when pregnant, but its hard to know if I'm making the right decision. I plan on having another EEG done if I come of my med or even if I am on a low dosage before we start trying. Then again, I know EEGs can come back normal even when you still have chance of a seizure. My neurologist thinks I should come off, but the neurologist before that said I should always stay on it. My obgyn has had patients with epilepsy taking Lamictal with perfectly normal pregnancies.

I would like anyone who has been through similar situations or who is pregnant or has been pregnant on Lamictal. Any information would be wonderful!!

Thank you so much.
 
Hi sarahjane82, welcome to CWE!

No personal pregnancy experience, but thought I'd weigh in anyway: I think it's worth it to try tapering off of the Lamictal, especially since you'll be having an EEG or two along the way to check for abnormal brainwaves. If you can, wait a few months after you're completely off the Lamictal to see how you feel. Assuming you remain seizure-free and feel fine, you can pass Go and aim for a med-free pregnancy as well as med-free breastfeeding.

As your ob/gyn attests, Lamictal does have a good track record with pregnancies. It can make things tricky however, since the higher estrogen levels that accompany pregnancy can cause Lamictal be metabolized much faster by the body. As a result, some women need to have their Lamictal doses increased during pregnancy to compensate for the estrogen surge, and then have the levels reduced after they give birth. So if you can avoid that scenario altogether by being med-free, so much the better.

Whatever you decide, make sure your neurologist and ob/gyn are on the same page, and are prepared to monitor you appropriately. It sounds like you'll be in good hands. Best of luck!
 
I just transitioned to lamaictal for the reason to pregnant. Evidentally the statics are alot better on lamtical than other meds.
My obgyn was very encouraging. She mentioned how she has taken care of plenty of patients with epilepsy who have had healthy children but she has also taken car eof plenty of pateints who are on no meds and are pefectly healthy that do have babies with birth defects, etc..
Its a sticky situation. I do know that I would rather be on a med than have a seizure while pregnant. Talk to your docs about the risks.
Good luck!
 
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