Thereby, we attempted to increase subjects’ receptivity to the questions and avoid patients answering the questions in a more socially acceptable way. In several test-interviews, patients were intimidated when being asked about nicotine, alcohol, and illicit drug intake in front of their companions. Therefore, all interviews were held in a separate study room where only the interviewer and the patient were present.

Can Alcohol Cause You to Have Seizures?

1. Avoiding alcohol is the best way to treat these conditions and relieve symptoms.
2. Study subjects passed through the domains of the questionnaire with an increasing social stigma degree.
3. Seizure types also vary by where they begin in the brain and how far they spread.
4. Drinking water in between alcoholic drinks can help reduce the chances of a hangover, but will not prevent seizures from occurring.
5. Alcohol withdrawal seizures typically occur 6 to 72 hours after you stop drinking and there is a rapid drop in blood alcohol concentration.

Those with epilepsy who have alcohol dependence and stop drinking suddenly have an additional risk of withdrawal-induced seizures. For people with epilepsy, alcohol may interfere with anti-seizure medications and increase the risk of seizures. In people with epilepsy, drinking three or more drinks may increase the risk of seizures. 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.

Lifestyle Quizzes

Not everyone who stops consuming alcohol suddenly will have episodes, but seizures can occur between six and 48 hours after a person stops drinking. Many people with epilepsy have heard that alcohol consumption can change the blood levels of their AEDs. More maverick house sober living recent research shows that having one to two drinks a day does not seem to affect these levels in most medications. However, some medications are more likely than others to metabolize differently when alcohol is used.

Study population

In addition, about 40 to 60 percent of people who experience chronic alcohol misuse also experience alcohol-related myopathy. When seizures do happen as a result of alcohol, they occur within six to 72 hours after drinking. They do not generally happen while a person is drinking, or even within a few hours of stopping. For this reason, if you do choose to drink, it’s important that you pay attention to your seizure activity for up to three days afterward. Many people diagnosed with epilepsy have been told that alcohol and epilepsy should never mix because alcohol can trigger seizures.

Independent predictors for the occurrence of alcohol-related seizures within the last 12 months in patients with epilepsy. A typical alcohol withdrawal seizure is a tonic-clonic seizure (also called a grand-mal seizure).4 This episode involves a loss of consciousness accompanied by violent muscle spasms. But some people can experience smaller episodes that don’t seem like full-body seizures. Others have seizures when they try to quit drinking after long periods. These can be life-threatening episodes, so it’s critical to know what they look like and how they’re treated.

If you do drink, avoid binge drinking or chronically high consumption, which may help reduce your seizure severity or frequency. The authors report that over 90% of alcohol withdrawal seizures occur within 48 hours after the last drink. 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.

Many doctors and pharmacists recommend total abstinence from drinking, if possible. Some common epileptic triggers are physical or emotional stress, eating certain foods, flashing lights, and even lack of sleep. But one of the most discussed triggers on MyEpilepsyTeam is alcohol. Let’s take a look at the relationship between alcohol and seizures to shed some light on why drinking is a potential trigger.