Im planning a family and i have epilepsy. Does anyone have any advice for me?

I have been seizure free from 1999.Im planning a family and i have epilepsy. Does anyone have any advice for me?
I would love to talk about this with you, because i myself am a mother of 2, and have Epilepsy! The good thing is, that Epilepsy really wont interfer with your pregnancy. However, epilepsy has been known to become more pronounced during pregnancy. It's good that you havent had a seizure since 1999, congrats! But, if you do become pregnant, keep in mind that your seizures may flare up again. This happened during my first pregnancy. I had been seizure free for about 1 year, and stopped taking my medicines on doctors orders. During my pregnancy, i started to have complex-partial, or petit-mal seizures. This didnt affect the baby any, so thats a good thing. However, the main concern is if you do have a seizure, and fall and get hurt or something.





During my second pregnancy, i took Carbatrol for my Epilepsy. Our son is now 7 months old, and fine. The main concern during that pregnancy was the use of the anti-seizure medication. Many doctors, such as mine, will have you take extra Folic Acid, but that is ONLY if you are taking anti-seizure medincine. If you arent taking anti-seizure medicine, then you dont need to take folic acid. The reason they have you take extra folic acid (about 1mg extra), if you are on anti-seizure medications, is because anti-seizure medications take away some of the folic acid that your prenatals give you. Too low of folic acid amounts can cause serious conditions for the baby, such as Spina Bifida or Cleft Lip. During pregnancy, your doctor will run tests to test for these condtions. I took the extra folic acid, and our son was just fine.





Other than that, since you have been seizure free since 1999, you have just as good a chance as any other women, to have a healthy, normal pregnancy and delivery. Good luck!Im planning a family and i have epilepsy. Does anyone have any advice for me?
First of all don't let people tell you that you can't have a normal life. Anyone can lead a normal life, regardless of what they might have. You should prepare yourself just in case you have another seizure but you should not let that stop you from doing whatever you want to do. If you are going to have children, you should talk to your doctor though and let him know about any concerns or questions that you might have.
Sorry no advice but good luck any way.
if you are told not to take the medication then listen.... my mother didnt listen and i now have a very noticeable birth defect....
Hey this is what I fouonf for you, hope it helps!





Getting Pregnant With Epilepsy





It's possible that having epilepsy may make it more difficult for you to get pregnant. Women with epilepsy have fewer children than women in general. Their fertility rate is between 25% and 33% lower than average. Why is this? Here are some possible reasons:





Women with epilepsy have higher rates of some conditions that can cause infertility. One of these is polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).


Women with epilepsy are more likely to have irregular menstrual cycles, which can make it more difficult to get pregnant.


Women with epilepsy are also more likely to have menstrual cycles that do not produce an egg. These are called anovulatory cycles.


Some antiseizure medications may affect the hormone levels in your ovaries, which can affect reproductive functioning.


Women with epilepsy are more likely to have abnormalities in hormones involved in pregnancy.
mai cousin has that!mai cousin still has seizures till this day n she has a 4 year old n she jus had a baby boy 4 weeks ago!n nun of them have a sign of epilepsy.i think you should have kids but jus to be real sure, go to tha doctor...n good luck
My good friend is pregnant with her second child now, and she has had epilepsy since she was little. The specialist she goes to for her epilepsy has taken her off her medication temporarily while she is pregnant. She has been seizure free for almost as long as you. I don't know if this would be right for you but it would be good to ask. Her doctor didn't want her on the medication if at all possible.