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Advice for a mom who has had seizures and doctors want her to stop breastfeeding and take anticonvulsants.

Bianca - posted on 07/13/2010 ( 3 moms have responded )

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I recently had my baby, Sophia, on March 31st. I was preeclamptic and had placenta previa, so she came earlier than expected. I unfortunately had 2 seizures, one on Mother's Day (great 1st one!) and then again on June 4th. These were grand mal or tonic-clonic. I have no history of seizures and no family history. My neurologist wants me to take Lamictal. My GP is impartial unless I seize again and my OBGYN thinks I should take the med. I know I could potentially have another seizure (since they have no idea what caused them - EEG, MRI and CT scans all came back clean) but I am in tears thinking I have to stop breastfeeding (no anticonvulsants are safe for breastfeeding).

Has anyone had this problem? I wanted to at least nurse for 6 months. Am I crazy? Should I just take the medication (some bad side effects too)? How do you cope with losing that special bond?

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3 Comments

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Kathy - posted on 07/15/2010

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Bianca, please do some more research about anticonvulsants.

I have epilepsy. When I was breastfeeding my girls I was taking Dilantin (phenytoin.) This was a while ago (eldest is nearly 30!) and I don't think this particular drug is used much these days. My doctor had some qualms, so we did a lot of research together, everything was OK and I ended up feeding all my girls for extended periods.

There ARE anticonvulsants that are safe for breastfeeding. Consult your doctor, your pharmacist and your neuro. Here is the website of the Epilepsy Foundation
'http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/

Also talk with a lactation consultant.
Happy researching and let me know how you go!

Bianca - posted on 07/14/2010

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Thank you so much Emily. I am going to check those sites out. I have been putting off taking the medication because I don't want to stop breastfeeding.

Emily - posted on 07/13/2010

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If I were you I'd consult with a lactation consultant. It's not necessarily true that no anticonvulsants are safe with breastfeeding. Sometimes you simply have to monitor the baby for side effects. These two websites have great info:

http://neonatal.ttuhsc.edu/cgi-bin/discu... (click on the anticonvulsant section. This website is run by the man who writes THE book that lactation consultants use. It has the most up-to-date research).



Also this is a good resource:

http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/ht...

But your best bet is to check with a lactation consultant. Most doctors simply don't know a lot about breastfeeding.

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