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Are you interested to know more about epilepsy? You can ask our expert!
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This community website is sponsored by:
GlaxoSmithKline
for
Malaysian Society of Epilepsy
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Questions and Answers
Updated: 09-11-2005, 02:54:02
Question:
Is epilepsy hereditary?
Answer:
The risk of an epileptic person's children also having epilepsy is
small. If one of the parents has idiopathic generalised epilepsy, the
risk is about 4% in the child. If both parents have this type of
epilepsy, the risk rises to - 20%. The risk in the partial epilepsies
is very much smaller.
Question:
Will epilepsy interfere with my having children?
Answer:
Not usually, but there is some evidence that people with epilepsy
are slightly less likely to become pregnant. There is also some
evidence that sex drive is reduced in some people with epilepsy and
also that some medications reduce sex drive.
However, fertility depends on very many factors, as does the sex
drive and this question can only be answered for each individual.
Question:
Is pregnancy dangerous for someone with epilepsy?
Answer:
In about half the people with epilepsy who become pregnant there
would be no change in their seizures, but a quarter may improve and in
a quarter there may be an increase in seizures. If seizures have been
completely controlled or have occurred only very rarely (e.g. once a
year), the chance of an increase in seizures during pregnancy is less
than if seizures had been likely in patient with primary generalized
epilepsy and more likely in those with partial epilepsy.
An increase in seizures during pregnancy may be due to changes
in the body chemistry, changes in blood levels of the anticonvulsants
or failure to take the antiepileptic medication, or because of
increased tiredness and loss of sleep.
Question:
Would my epilepsy be better if I had a baby?
Answer:
It is not possible to forecast what effect pregnancy will have on
epilepsy. There is no reliable evidence that any type of seizure
enables one to predict what will happen, nor is there reliable evidence
that what happened in a previous pregnancy will happen again in the
next one.
Question:
Should I stop my medication now I am pregnant?
Answer:
All doctors who specialize in the treatment of epilepsy are agreed
that antiepileptic treatment should continue to be taken during
pregnancy because the risk to the baby is greater if they are stopped
and the mother has a seizure. Since damage to the baby may occur as
early as the first month of pregnancy, often before the mother even
knows that she is pregnant, the only way of offering protection would
be to stop all anticonvulsants before deciding to become pregnant. This
may be possible in very special circumstances, with certain
anticonvulsants and if the seizures are extremely mild and very
infrequent, but you must get specialist advice.
Breast feeding is very good for the baby and there is so
little of the mother's antiepileptic medication in the milk that it
will not harm the baby.
Question:
Will the dose of my anticonvulsants need to be altered during my pregnancy?
Answer:
Pregnancy may alter the chemistry and working of the body and
therefore the amount of medication in the blood may alter. You may
therefore need to take a higher dose in order to remain free from
seizures. Measurement of the amount of medication in the blood will
help the doctor to decide whether changes are needed.
Question:
Can I stop my medication if I want to become pregnant?
Answer:
It is very unwise to stop medication before deciding to become
pregnant because of the risk of seizures, which may harm to mother and
the unborn child.
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