Has anybody gone through I V F and been taking medication for epilepsy? If so did you suffer any side effects? Many thanks Carley

[Carley]

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Hi, no haven't been through I.V.F... Please explain more.

[Carley]

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process by which an egg is fertilised by sperm outside the body: in vitro. My husband and I have been trying for a baby for three years with success so we are in the process of I v f. I am only at the first stage but have been suffering from horrendous headaches and have been signed off work for the week.

[Badger123]

Hi I'm new to this site, and desperate for some help with IVF and epilepsy. I just started IVF treatment, suffering headaches and heart palpitations... Not nice. I take sodium valporate 400mg a day. My neurologist said it's the only drug for generalised epilepsy?

I live in Spain so much clear help or advice on this. Oestrogen tablet I just started has given me chest pain and I feel hot one minute cold the next. How did you find it with your medication did you increase your dose? Any advice most welcome.

[Carley]

I am sorry to hear this. I am not sure that is the only drug for generalised seizures I thought there were lots of different types of medication out there.

As for IVF, I had to inject a down regulation every morning to switch my hormones off, like an instant menopause. I suffered extremely bad headache/migraines for about 2 weeks & had to have 2 weeks off work, for a few days I couldn't get out of bed. One minute I was hot then I was cold. I would wake in night sweating then have to throw covers off me to then get cold. I also had disturbed sleep.

I have no idea if it has anything to do with the pregabalin (epilepsy medication) mixing with ivf medication or whether it's just me as individual. It's so difficult to know when we all suffer different side effects. As soon as my down regulation drug decreased & I started to inject the drug that grows your eggs I started to feel so much better. I know it's horrible but it will get easier so try & keep with it. First time I went through ivf I said side effects were so bad I would never do it again, 6 months later I tried again, unfortunately both failed so I am on my 3rd attempt this July. Good luck xx

[Lalala8]

Hi Carley,

I know this post is old, but i was hoping you were still on the forum. Were you able to conceive? I am on Lamictal, and we are just starting the IVF process. My doctor was about to put me on birth control to start the hormone therapy but got a red flag from the pharmacy because of the drug interaction. Did you have this issue? I'm waiting to see what they will start me on.

Hope you were successful, and I would love to hear more about your experience!

Thanks!

[Carley in reply to Lalala8]

Hi there, sorry for the late reply I am currently feeding our 10 week old son who was born on February 27th 2015

The good news & answer to your question is that I never had to go though that third lot of ivf as we conceived naturally last May. I think it's because we relaxed about it as we had been putting so much pressure on ourselves as for epilepsy when I did go through ivf the medication did not interact with my epilepsy medication. The side effects may have made me feel worse but i would still do it all again if I needed to and would encourage other people and tell them not to be afraid or put too much pressure on themselves. We have been blessed though with our gorgeous son.

Please keep in touch & let me know how you get on. Wishing you all the very best xx oh and I've also been able to breat feed as was told there are more benefits to breast feeding and there would only Be a very small amount of medication in my breast milk xx