Our thanks…

Epilepsy Action would like to thank Dr Mike Marsh, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at King's College Hospital, London, UK and Jan Bagshaw, epilepsy nurse specialist at Taylor Street Clinic, Heywood, UK, for checking this information.

Introduction

The aim of these web pages is to explain how the menopause might affect you if you have epilepsy. It explains what we know about how hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may affect your epilepsy. It also has information about how epilepsy and the menopause may have an effect on the health of your bones.

There has been little research carried out into the effects of the menopause and HRT on women with epilepsy. This means the information we can give you is very general. It’s not possible to predict exactly how the menopause and HRT will affect each person individually. Every woman is different and will have different experiences.

In this section:

• About the menopause
• Symptoms of the menopause
• The menopause and seizure patterns
• The menopause and anti-epileptic drugs
• Epilepsy and early menopause
• Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
• HRT and epilepsy
• HRT and seizures
• HRT and anti-epileptic drugs
• Sources of information about the menopause and HRT
• Bone health and epilepsy
• Sources of information about bone health
• How you can help Epilepsy Action

About the menopause

Every woman goes through the menopause. It’s sometimes called ‘the change of life’. Around the time of the menopause your body stops releasing eggs and your periods stop. Because you no longer produce eggs after the menopause, you are no longer able to get pregnant naturally.

In the UK, most women reach the menopause around the age of 51. However it can happen earlier or later than this.

Around the time of the menopause your ovaries produce less of the hormones oestrogen and progesterone. Among many other things, these two hormones cause the lining of your womb to build up and then be shed as a period.

What are the symptoms of the menopause?

Around the time of the menopause, your periods become less frequent and you may experience hot flushes and night sweats. You may also have difficulty sleeping. This can lead to poor concentration and general irritability. All these symptoms may start before your periods stop.

The menopause and seizure patterns

The menopause is a time of hormonal and emotional changes. It’s possible that you’ll find that when the hormones in your body change, so will your seizure pattern. You may have more seizures or you may have fewer seizures.

Generally speaking, the hormone oestrogen can increase the risk that you’ll have seizures. The hormone progesterone is thought to reduce the risk of you having seizures. The amount of both these hormones in your body gets less during the menopause. For this reason, it’s difficult to predict how seizures will change. However, some research suggests that most women with epilepsy notice a change in their seizure pattern.

If your seizures follow a pattern that is connected to your periods, there is research which suggests that you might have more seizures than usual in the time leading up to the menopause. After the menopause, you might find that your seizures happen less often.

The menopause and anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs)

You might gain weight or lose weight during the menopause. Any change to your weight might cause your AEDs to work less well. This could cause you to have more seizures. A change to your weight could also cause you to have side-effects from your AEDs.

The menopause is a good time to ask your doctor to review your epilepsy and AEDs. This is to make sure that you are getting the best possible treatment for your epilepsy.

Epilepsy and early menopause

Many women with epilepsy start their menopause at a similar age to women who don’t have epilepsy.

Some research suggests that you may go through the menopause about two or three years earlier than women without epilepsy. This is if you have frequent seizures or have had epilepsy for a long time.

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