However, “withdrawal” seizures may occur 6 to 72 hours later, after drinking has stopped. You should avoid drinking alcohol when you are taking seizure medications for epilepsy until you’ve discussed this with your doctor. Stay away from hazardous activities requiring mental alertness and good reflexes, such as driving. If drinking worsens your seizures, you should avoid alcohol completely.
Alcohol-related seizures in people without epilepsy
Someone with epilepsy should not drink alcohol without first discussing the potential risks with a doctor who is familiar with their specific condition. Alcohol has the potential alcohol withdrawal delirium to enhance some side effects of anti-seizure medications, including drowsiness and dizziness. Alcohol can also impact how certain medications are absorbed by the body.
- At certain times in your life, such as young adulthood, or at social events like weddings and parties, it might feel isolating if you are not able to drink alcohol.
- That will help you decide on the best plan to stop drinking, with support which can include specific prescription medication to take during your withdrawal.
- A transcranial magnetic stimulation study on patients with genetic generalized epilepsy demonstrated that motor cortex excitability was significantly increased in the early morning (24).
- To keep health risks from alcohol to a low level, the UK Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) advise it is safest not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis.
- Alcohol misuse can lead to neurological damage that can affect multiple areas of a person’s health and well-being.
- State Rep. Jamie Thompson, a Republican whose district covers parts of Wayne and Monroe counties, said she knows Michigan has reporting requirements for people who specifically have epileptic seizures and still want to drive.
When to see a doctor
” You need to consider more factors than just the alcohol itself — especially your medications. Be sure to ask your doctor about the effects of alcohol on any medications you might be taking. However, other people with epilepsy find they can drink moderately without triggering a seizure. In fact, research shows that a drink or two does not increase seizure activity. Electroencephalogram (EEG) tests show brain activity remains the same, as long as the amount of alcohol ingested is small. Some common epileptic triggers are physical or emotional stress, eating certain foods, flashing lights, and even lack of sleep.
What is alcohol-related neurologic disease?
In fact, stopping drinking is a great way to improve the quality of your sleep. If you experience insomnia, it’s worth remembering that your sleep patterns will almost certainly start to return to normal as your brain recovers from withdrawal. a closer look at substance use and suicide american journal of psychiatry residents’ journal If you are concerned you might be dependent on alcohol, you should seek medical advice to help you cut down and stop your drinking safely. Heavy drinkers who suddenly decrease or stop drinking altogether may experience withdrawal symptoms.
For people with epilepsy, alcohol may interact with epilepsy medications and worsen their side effects or make the medications less effective in preventing seizures. Heavy drinking, particularly withdrawal from heavy drinking, may trigger seizures in those with epilepsy. Alcohol may also affect anti-seizure medications, which could trigger seizures. Approximately global news: busting myths on alcohol and covid-19 one in 10 people with alcohol withdrawal syndrome are affected by seizures.7 If left untreated, up to one in three of these patients go on to experience delirium tremens. Studies(1) show that persons who regularly consume large amounts of alcohol can increase their risk of seizures by abruptly reducing or discontinuing consumption (withdrawal seizures).
In some cases, excessive alcohol consumption may lead people to miss meals or medication, which can also make seizures more likely in people with epilepsy. Alcohol consumption or withdrawal may trigger seizures in those with epilepsy. Some experts link excessive alcohol consumption to the development of epilepsy. Alcohol abuse is a medical problem that can lead to other health issues. Long-standing alcohol abuse can increase a person’s risk of developing epilepsy.
Below is a collection of FAQs based on what we do know about this subject. In a 2019 study, researchers showed that quitting alcohol had a positive effect on most people’s mental well-being. Avoiding alcohol is the best way to treat these conditions and relieve symptoms. Fetal alcohol syndrome can occur when a person is exposed to alcohol before birth.
Unprovoked seizures that occur more than 48 hours after a person’s last drink may be due to another cause, such as head injury or withdrawal from other drugs. It is also possible to experience seizures as a result of alcohol withdrawal. This can happen after someone who has misused alcohol for a long time stops consuming it.
All patients who had a proximate well-known provoking cause of seizure (e.g., subdural hematoma, dyselectrolytemia and hypoglycemia) other than alcoholism were excluded from the study. Though smokers were included patients with other substance abuse were excluded. In addition to that, alcohol intake significantly suppresses REM sleep periods (30). Reduced sleep quality and consecutive sleep deprivation have long been discussed to facilitate the occurrence of seizures in patients with epilepsy (31), and especially in those with generalized genetic epilepsy (32–34).