Posted by octopusprime on January 13, 2006, at 23:57:35
In reply to Re: Lamictal and Folic Acid, posted by linkadge on January 5, 2006, at 18:23:22
funny how i posted about not worrying about it, i miscarried jan 2.
putting this info up here for anybody else that may come across it.
the pdoc, after hearing of miscarriage, would hear nothing lamictal causing adverse outcomes in pregnancy and did not feel it was necessary to reconsider the regime. she lectures on the topic and feels that lamictal is safe. she did ask me if i had been taking the prenatal vitamins, i said yes, she said well if you take them consistently that ought to do it.
i have heard stats of 20-40% miscarriage risk for first pregnancy, so who knows really.
she gave two resources for follow up:
1. http://www.womensmentalhealth.org/topics/pregnancy.html - from the site: "The manufacturer of Lamictal maintains a pregnancy registry for lamotrigine and has presented preliminary data regarding outcomes of children exposed to lamotrigine in utero. (Physicians may obtain a copy of this report can be obtained from GlaxoSmithKline at 800-336-2176.) The registry identified 599 pregnancy outcomes exposed to lamotrigine. Of the 360 children exposed to lamotrigine alone, 2.8% had a major malformation, which is within the range of 2 to 4% observed in women with no known exposure to a teratogen. " - this is the evidence to support that lamictal alone does not cause neural tube defects and does not require additional supplementation.2. a phone number for the pregnancy registry - 888-233-2334. we can now wonder if the results were skewed - because i was not registered when i was pregnant, they did not count the miscarriage as one of their pregnancy outcomes. also, they don't disclose the drug risks over the phone unless you register in the registry. you can only register if you are currently pregnant.
so i am going to be trying this again, honestly i do not know if i am going to be doing anything different. i read the side of the breakfast cereal - all bran is enriched with folic acid, along with orange juice. that plus the prenatal supplements ought to cut it. i'll talk it over with the ob/gyn - but it's one or two more miscarriages (depending on the accounting) until i ride the high-risk pregnancy train with its associated blood draws.
poster:octopusprime
thread:589643
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060108/msgs/598911.html