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.
Alcohol withdrawal timeline
The more a person drinks, the harder their mind is fighting to keep itself awake. When you suddenly take alcohol away, the mind remains in this alert state, producing all kinds of symptoms, including seizures. Many people who are thinking of quitting or cutting down have wondered why alcohol withdrawal causes seizures and how dangerous this process is.
Behavioral Treatment
Comprehensive patient care entails acute management and outpatient support in the hospital setting. In the inpatient setting, nurses perform frequent assessments that inform the treatment plan. Following alcohol cessation, alcohol withdrawal syndrome typically presents as minor symptoms such as mild anxiety, headache, gastrointestinal discomfort, and insomnia. This syndrome can further progress to severe manifestations, such as alcohol withdrawal delirium, which poses significant diagnostic and management challenges. Mild symptoms may progress to alcohol hallucinosis, characterized by visual or auditory hallucinations that usually subside within 48 hours after alcohol cessation. Withdrawal seizures can occur in patients within just a few hours of alcohol cessation.
Epilepsy and Alcohol: Triggers and Safe Drinking
However, alcohol, along with other depressants, is among the most dangerous substances during the withdrawal phase, especially if you quit cold turkey. The overstimulating effects of alcohol withdrawal can lead to increased blood pressure, heart palpitations, https://edutechinsider.com/top-5-advantages-of-staying-in-a-sober-living-house/ sleeplessness, fever, hallucinations, panic, and seizures. It’s also important to understand that quitting alcohol after a period of alcohol abuse or misuse may be harder for people diagnosed with epilepsy than it is for those without it.
Alcohol-Related Neurologic Disease
The heart is a major site of alcohol-induced organ damage, including disturbances of heartbeat rhythm (Smith 1995). For example, the “holiday heart syndrome” consists of episodes of abnormal cardiac rhythms following Top 5 Advantages of Staying in a Sober Living House a bout of drinking (Smith 1995). Because arrhythmia generally occurs after a binge, rather than during intoxication, AW may be a contributing factor to the occurrence of alcohol-related arrhythmia (Smith 1995).
Social Support and Treatment Programs
In the United States, most states have low-cost or free rehabilitation programs for those who are uninsured. This process temporarily restores homeostasis, or chemical balance, in an effort to counteract the impact of long-term alcohol use on the brain. It’s important to be honest about your alcohol use — and any other substance use — so your provider can give you the best care.
You may need to get fluids intravenously, or through your veins, to prevent dehydration and medications to help ease your symptoms. Some people can be treated at home, but others may need supervised care in a hospital setting to avoid potentially dangerous complications such as seizures. Ninety-five patients (30.7%) were alcohol-experienced but had been abstinent in the last year. If you or someone you care about abuses alcohol, you might be concerned about the negative consequences of drinking too much.
- The alcohol will continue to circulate in the bloodstream and eventually affect other organs.
- This is so your doctor can monitor your condition and manage any complications.
- The prodrome stage can last for 10 minutes and involves some of the first signs that a seizure may be about to happen.
- If you’re interested in quitting alcohol in a safe way that will benefit your recovery in the long run, our medically monitored detox may be right for you.
- A high fever, hallucinations, and heart disturbances are all reasons to seek immediate help.
- According to a 2017 article, alcohol withdrawal seizures in those without epilepsy may occur 6–48 hours after a person consumes their last alcoholic drink.
Can alcohol trigger seizures?
- Only 2.9% of our interviewed study subjects were AUDIT positive indicating hazardous and harmful alcohol intake.
- Before a seizure, people may experience an aura or feel a change in sensation — such as smell, taste, sound, or vision — due to abnormal activity in the brain.
- Usually, when a person experiences a tonic-clonic seizure or a seizure due to alcohol withdrawal, they may become stiff and lose consciousness.
- They do not generally happen while a person is drinking, or even within a few hours of stopping.
By Rachael Zimlich, BSN, RNZimlich is a critical care nurse who has been writing about health care and clinical developments for over 10 years. Below is a collection of FAQs based on what we do know about this subject. Use of this website and any information contained herein is governed by the Healthgrades User Agreement. At any moment, someone’s aggravating behavior or our own bad luck can set us off on an emotional spiral that threatens to derail our entire day.
- Wernicke’s syndrome is a disorder of the nervous system caused by thiamine deficiency, and alcoholics account for most cases in the Western world (Victor et al. 1989).
- Increasing interest is expressed in the potential of gabapentin as a treatment for alcohol withdrawal (74–78) and of topiramate in alcohol dependence (79).
- When someone drinks alcohol for a prolonged period of time and then stops, the body reacts to its absence.
- People with alcohol use disorder should be monitored by a medical professional when withdrawing from alcohol.
People with epilepsy who drink alcohol may also be less likely to adhere to their medication schedule. If you are especially sensitive to either your AED or alcohol, it may be best to avoid drinking while taking that particular medication. Behavioral treatment programs are helpful for people who want to quit drinking. These programs involve working with a team of mental health professionals in a group and individual setting. Tap into your social network to help support you through alcohol withdrawal. Find a supportive friend or family member to be with you while you withdraw and support your new non-drinking lifestyle.
