Hey everyone,
Just wondering if any of your physicians have told you of certain medications to avoid if you have a cerebral avm? Just wondering if all prescriptions are safe to take or will some increase the risk of a bleed?
The only one I was told to avoid 100% after my AVM was discovered was birth control and to limit otc pain relief. I would also suggest you talk to your doctor to see if there are anymore to avoid.
I found out to avoid any anti-inflammatory meds, I once had a seizure after taking these. Also aspirin as it thins the blood.
Hi, its not really on the same line of discussion but my fiancé was given Epanutin (phenytoin) in order to reduce the risk of epilepsy after her aneurysm was clipped. To say it didn’t agree with her is an understatement. She suffered nausea, dizziness, loss of speech etc.
My lesson from this… always read up about the side effects of all the medication she’s given.
This comment is to James as I just read his comment about pregnancy and AVMs. Dilatin also known as Epanutin or phenytoin is not a good medication during pregnancy. Given there is no anti seizure medication that is 100% safe some have a higher risk. When my AVM was discovered they had put me on Dilatin, but almost as soon as they did my neurosurgeon wanted me off of it. To quote him " The medication suppresses dreams and young people need to dream". It was a beautiful statement and was the words that made me not only trust him that much more it made me fall in love with him. With that said I went for an appointment with a Neurologist and he ask me if I were planning to have any more children. Being a 30 year old single woman I couldn’t say yes or no and be 100% about my answer. He then put me on Lamictal. A drug with the lowest occurrence of birth defects and a lowered risk of any major defects. You have to start out very slow with the introduction of the med., but after I was taken off the Dilatin I felt worlds better. I wasn’t as sleepy nor did I have feeling of all in all nasty sick kind of feeling. It is something to look into and find out if is a drug your doctors would recommend for Julie.
To jamie- why were you told to avoid birth control? Ive asked all of my doctors if it was safe for me to stay on mine and they all said yes. The only thing they told me was my topamax would decrease the effectiveness of my birth control
Jamie Pantelis said:
The only one I was told to avoid 100% after my AVM was discovered was birth control and to limit otc pain relief. I would also suggest you talk to your doctor to see if there are anymore to avoid.
It was when my AVM was first discovered. Now I am staying off of them because not only does the Lamictal I am on mess with the BC the BC messes with the anti seizure med which is way more important to have working. It is the estrogen in the pills that is not a good combo. I could take a pill that does not contain estrogen, but I figure why mess with something I need for something I don’t exactly use anyway.
Christine Peterson said:
To jamie- why were you told to avoid birth control? Ive asked all of my doctors if it was safe for me to stay on mine and they all said yes. The only thing they told me was my topamax would decrease the effectiveness of my birth control
Jamie Pantelis said:The only one I was told to avoid 100% after my AVM was discovered was birth control and to limit otc pain relief. I would also suggest you talk to your doctor to see if there are anymore to avoid.
i was told no more advil (ibuprofen) hope this helps. i can only take tylenol. grace
Hey! I was taken off my pill when I was admitted into ICU, and was confused as to why. I was later informed that birth control can cause blood clotting, so if there is an active bleed you need to be cautious. Makes sense I suppose. I would recheck with your doc, just for peace of mind.
Jamie Pantelis said:
It was when my AVM was first discovered. Now I am staying off of them because not only does the Lamictal I am on mess with the BC the BC messes with the anti seizure med which is way more important to have working. It is the estrogen in the pills that is not a good combo. I could take a pill that does not contain estrogen, but I figure why mess with something I need for something I don’t exactly use anyway.
Christine Peterson said:To jamie- why were you told to avoid birth control? Ive asked all of my doctors if it was safe for me to stay on mine and they all said yes. The only thing they told me was my topamax would decrease the effectiveness of my birth control
Jamie Pantelis said:The only one I was told to avoid 100% after my AVM was discovered was birth control and to limit otc pain relief. I would also suggest you talk to your doctor to see if there are anymore to avoid.
My doctors told me not to take that
kevin matthews said:
I found out to avoid any anti-inflammatory meds, I once had a seizure after taking these. Also aspirin as it thins the blood.