birth control for epileptics
 

hi my name is rebecca and im new on this and i have had epilepsy for awhile total amount of yrs well im not sure because we just discovered it in 8th grade and im 23 now and when i was younger things in school were always off like the disablity was slowly kicking in or something but when i got my period in 7th grade thats when it really hit so as i got older my neoro and gyno made the decion to stop my period because it was bring on petit mal seizures and well

now my problem is there discontinuing my bc necon 1/50 they are taking it off the market and they said well theres only a small amount of PEOPLE LIKE ME i loved hearing that LIKE ME like im a mutant and so they dont keep the 50s the market anymore. the thing is i have to take the 50s because of all the meds i take or the pill wont be effective if u know what i mean ;) so i can use depo which didnt work for me or the iud which ladies can cause cysts acne mabe breast cancer and possiable infertility NO THANKS I STILL WANT KIDS :mad: the other one is some pill but i forgot the name but i had a seizure on it no thanks and then implanon i dont get inserting a peice of plastic in my arm for three yrs and wheres the meds how does go into my bloodstream it doesnt make sence to me THATS ALL THAT OUT THERE FOR ME SO MY DOC SAYS
CAN ANYONE HELP ME?:(:(

bella, I can't help you on any meds but if you are talking about birth control, why not a condom?

Bella---
The thought that immediately comes to my mind and something I was told many times when I was on birthcontrol is that nothing is fool proof. The best thing to do is to use "double protection" (ei pill and condom, jelly, etc). Before my DH and I decided to start TTC , we always used double protection....

I am no longer on BC, but when I was I tried several different pills and eventually ended up on Necon-- which I was on for about 3 years (I was on BC for a total of 5 yrs). It was great for me, and I had no side effects, etc-- as it seems you like it too, but most GYN's don't like it because it is pretty strong. I *think* the Necon is the name brand of the pill-- have u tried getting the getting the generic version ? I've been on both name brand and generic and the only difference is on the generic I had a little more nausea......

Another option is the Ortho Evra Patch . Its exactly like the pill-- meaning the hormones, just delivered via a sticky patch you put on your skin and change every week. I tried it, but was allergic to the adhesive.

Then there are the "barrier" methods-- ei condoms, diaphrams, etc and things like spermacides too.

Its a very personal choice and it seems like your doctors have given you quite a few options, so do some research, talk to your friends.....

Good Luck !
:) L2L

a babby and meds
 

Well I'm not a doctor, so like the other member says. If you don't want to have kids than the condom should be used during sex. Now those aren't perfect, Hell NOTHING or ANYONE is perfect. But that's the best thing to do other than having your tubes tied. As for having kids while on meds. I know of 3 friends that have had kids that are just fine as long as they had sex and only took the same amount of tegretol for the entire amount of time until they gave birth. That amount is 100MG or less, for the entire day. And that's the ONLY med they were on! I heard of this one woman that got pregnant while she was taking a good cocktail of meds for seizures. it's like 4 or 5 meds. She found out that ALL of her son's teeth fell out in his late teenage years, and he needs dentures for life before high school graduation.
Sincerely
shawn33

Shawn---
One thing to keep in mind is there is no right or wrong anti convulsant for a woman with epilepsy-- who is pregnant or trying to get pregnant, to be on. Many of my friends have had healthy babies on meds OTHER than tegretol and at varying dosages (in particularly, Lamictal and Keppra). The most important things are to 1) plan a head and 2) communicate with your OB-GYN AND your neurologist and 3) take folic acid (it is a vitamin that lessens the chance of spinal birth defects, and NOT just for women with epilepsy) and a good multi or pre natal vitamin.

The risks for women with epilepsy and birth defects-- even those ON anti convuslants, are not much higher than the general population.

My husband and I have been TTC (trying to conceive) for awhile and while I am not pregnant yet, my drs and I have agreed-- for me, the best thing to do, in terms of meds, if/when I get pregnant to stay on my current med regime.

So, it is a very, very individual thing.....

:) L2L

[neoro and gyno made the decion to stop my period because it was bring on petit mal seizures]

Is this still the main concern to stop the cycle , or for the birth control ?

If stopping the cycles for seizure control is still the main focus then a med or implant would be needed.

But if mainly for the bc then many more options are open for you.

here is results for the implants - I'm sure the sites will explain how they work & any side effects.
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=birth...fp=-Pw1cEIpNGU

Why not treat the actual problem first? The seizures are what is causing the problem re birth control so why not focus on fixing that issue? I too had an increase in seizures in number and severity when in estrogen was higher, and many years later learned of the type if doc I really needed. If your seizures are not controlled, and it does not sound like they are, please find an Epileptologist at a patient oriented Comprehensive Epilepsy Center and see if they can offer you options for your seizures, and then your other issues may fall into place easier. They also can advise you on this issue too as well as work with your Gyn etc. To me that is is step one. No doubt! No one should have to give up the right to have children!!! That seems so barbaric! Tattoo

Please be warned that folic acid and sodium valproate can cause problems. Indeed sodium valproate can cause spina bifida, and folic acid is epileptogenic