I gave birth to my first child eight weeks ago. Since then, I've had two "sessions" of grand mal and petit mal seizures that I needed to be hospitalized for.

Just this week, I have started sinking into this deep depression, to the point where I felt so sad I just wanted to give up life and go wandering away from home aimlessly through the city.

Lots of folks suggested it is "postpartum blues," but my doctors agree that it is way past the time that would be the cause. Mom (always the expert, right?) said that it is a combination of several things: being a new mom, hormones readjusting as the pregnancy ended and my period just started last week, missing my career-oriented way of life (I'm a teacher on maternity leave), suffering from a cold, living in a messy house that I moved into to be with my fiance only last June. Sounds good, but the ups AND downs are so extreme!

I will be laughing one minute, full of energy, and then BOOM. I come crashing down and feel so angry or hurt or hopeless... Often I see Mike enter the room and have a feeling of hatred! Or look at my baby in my arms and wonder who she is, or why I don't feel any connection to her.

Last night, because I was sitting up with her, distracted, I didn't take my nighttime dose of Lamictal (300 mg) on time. I was playing on the computer and laughing with her. Then I took my meds and went to bed. Got up this morning, jolly old self, showered and entertained the idea of getting coffee with Mike since it's his day off. Took my meds, again 300 mg, and suddenly felt like I was dizzy, in another world, couldn't make my mouth or brain function and like I could just keep crying the rest of the day, with no real cause!

I know they GIVE Lamicatal for bipolar sufferers, but can it CAUSE bipolarism?

Wondering if anyone else has had symptoms like these from this, or other seizure meds...

Postpartum depression can happen up to 2 YEARS after a baby is born! I'd get a second opinion, it sounds like that's what's going on... Which dr have you been seeing about this- your OB or neurologist?

Postpartum depression can hit MONTHS after a baby is born, I would suggest looking into help for this before you suspect your other medication, especially if you never had any problems with it prior to having the baby. Having a baby is a huge toll on the body and it takes time to get back to normal both physically, hormonally/emotinally for many people. You're not alone on this. Your fortuante to be aware of your state rationally at this point, but even this can start to take a bigger toll on you to where the emotional will surpass the rational. Postapartum depression is very serious and you can potentally get worse, so please talk to your doc about this or see one that will help you. Many blessings to you, hang in there.

Thank you both for the info.

My new neurologist just called me this morning, aggravated after she got the message from her secretary (I just talked to her yesterday, explaining I have downed my meds to 200 mg twice a day on my own). She practically argued with me back and forth about staying on a higher level. I was supposed to get my blood tested to check levels last week, but when my fiance drove me to the hospital on his only day off to get the labwork done, they ran me from registration department to registration department, filling out a billion forms, only to get to the lab and have the phlebotomist tell me that he couldn't do it because I had taken my morning dose that day. Would've been nice if someone had mentioned that would be an issue, eh?

This whole experience has been so aggravating. I never imagined how much of a toll it can take on someone with these ailments. Not to mention the effects on your personal/home life. Everyone else gets aggravated, too. (Rightly so, I feel). But then it comes back down on the original sufferer (in this case, myself). I can understand throughout history how bipolar/mental illness/epilepsy sufferers, all those famous artists and composers, ended up in suicide. I am all the more determined to hang in there because of it. It does give me a heads-up on the fact that over all the years of research and development of drugs, there is still no proven 100% sure cure for anything.

I will check on the postpartum stuff with my OB/GYN and I'm definitely going to an epilepsy support group meeting. Perhaps they can recommend a good counselor or therapist to work with that deals with these issues specifically.

Again, thanks guys!