How much can I drink before I have a seizure?

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy Forums

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy forums - a peer support community for folks dealing (directly or indirectly) with seizure disorders. You can visit the forum page to see the list of forum nodes (categories/rooms) for topics.

Please have a look around and if you like what you see, please consider registering an account and joining the discussions. When you register an account and log in, you may enjoy additional benefits including no ads, access to members only (ie. private) forum nodes and more. Registering an account is free - you have nothing to lose!

Azusa

Azusa

New
Messages
127
Reaction score
0
Points
0
I went with some of my friends and probably drank to much but I am young what do you expect? :mrt:

So anyway I have seizures and I take lamoTRIgine 250 morning and evening
Zonisamide 100 morning and evening

I got really dizzy after the first two shoots and first game of beer pong, I was worried I would have one but thank goodness I didn't..........:banana:
 
I think it really depends on the person. I got completely wasted for years before I found out about the epilepsy and have a few times since without an event but wouldn't recommend it anyways and don't plan to again. Some people can't at all some can and some it varies I believe
 
Whenever you mix the AED's with alcohol, it can cause dizziness and drowsiness. It also does lower the seizure threshold, so depending on your seizure history, it is best to limit your alcohol. For me, once in a while I can handle one glass of wine with dinner, usually at holiday time.
 
Cint said:
Whenever you mix the AED's with alcohol, it can cause dizziness and drowsiness. It also does lower the seizure threshold, so depending on your seizure history, it is best to limit your alcohol. For me, once in a while I can handle one glass of wine with dinner, usually at holiday time.
Click to expand...


I had a little the week before but no real shoots and felt absolutely nothing at all.

And yeah I got that extremely quick and I was very worried something mite happen.
 
I agree it depends on the person with how much they can drink.

If it affects you I'd suggest drinking very little or not at all. I know you probably wouldn't like doing that because everyone around you is getting nice and drunk, and you aren't.

But I'd look at it this way - Would you rather get drunk or have a seizure? You decide....
 
I haven't had a drink since I was 18. The doctor told me not to drink because it can lower my seizure threshold. I took her advise and just never drank.
 
It's hard being young with limitations...heck it's hard being 42 with limitations. Rather than play with fire, it's better to stick to one or two (very little amount). Drinking was a hard thing for me to give up, but I learned that even a small amount sets me off quick.
I love beer pong and I kick butt at it...I just play with apple juice now. haha
 
I have never been interested in drinking alcohol, I probably only have a drink maybe once or twice a year. When I do have a drink it is usually only a small quantity of alcohol & the rest is something else (eg a tiny bit of baileys irish cream & the rest of the glass is milk) then I usually have no more then 2 drinks.

My Dad recently had a 65th birthday party & 2 of my brothers came down for his birthday. I'm the only one in the family who doesn't drink much alcohol so when the time came closer to my Dads birthday I was thinking of being different by having a few drinks at the party. Before I made the decision I emailed my epilepsy nurse to get her opinion on whether it was safe to drink.
My epilepsy nurse said that it was OK to drink in moderation but advised me that since I am not used to drinking it would be better if I stuck with what I would usually drink instead of experimenting with drinks I'm not used to because she didn't want me to risk having a seizure.
I ended up taking my epilepsy nurses advice & apart from having a tiny bit of my sister in laws drink (rum & ginger beer) I stuck to water for the rest of the day.
 
Last edited:
valeriedl said:
I agree it depends on the person with how much they can drink.

If it affects you I'd suggest drinking very little or not at all. I know you probably wouldn't like doing that because everyone around you is getting nice and drunk, and you aren't.

But I'd look at it this way - Would you rather get drunk or have a seizure? You decide....
Click to expand...

Take the risk and have fun, I am NOT a big fan of alcohol, I just like it with friends so I can guarantee you when I'm older I won't be drinking at all unless its with friends.

Let me ask you this as well, would there be any point at all going to a drinking party and not drink? If I wasn't going to I would have just declined all invites.

I'm sounding like a total ass.:soap:

I was just lucky that I didn't puke :rock:
 
Last edited:
I go to parties and bars with my friends a good bit and might only have one drink but usually none at all. No one has anything to say about it. They all know I have epilepsy so they don't pressure me into drinking. I have a ton of fun doing the same things they are doing and we will also subistute the alcohol for something else. Sometimes someone else will take the drink for me, it puts a little bit of a twist on things that way.

Plus the next day you don't feel like crape and you remember everything that went on that night. You don't find out that you were standing on a table twirling your underware above your head.

One of the best things when I go to a bar and order soft drinks I usually end up getting them for free because the bartender thinks I'm the one driving, save a good bit of money that way.
 
You're not an ass, it's a fair question, hell I carried on doing stupid loads of narcotics and going to raves long after I'd been diagnosed. Not that I'm advising that- coz it didn't do me much good at all.

I still have the UK habit of doing a mental friday night alcohol binge with my mates. Guess I'm lucky that it doesn't trigger any seizures, but after turning 40 I definately pay for it the next day.

I know it's stupid to keep pushing it, but that's the main way we socialise so I kinda get where you're coming from- without that I'd almost never see anyone :(

If it does affect you in a bad way, then stop completely, if not then drinking sensibly in moderation is obviousily going to be the best with epilepsy, whatever. As has been said, we're all affected differently so the main thing to do is to be as carefull as possible.

I feel a bit of a hypocrite, but at the end of the day I'm guess I'm paying for all my abuses so I recommend you to be carefull ;)
 
Last edited:
valeriedl said:
I go to parties and bars with my friends a good bit and might only have one drink but usually none at all. No one has anything to say about it. They all know I have epilepsy so they don't pressure me into drinking. I have a ton of fun doing the same things they are doing and we will also subistute the alcohol for something else. Sometimes someone else will take the drink for me, it puts a little bit of a twist on things that way.

Plus the next day you don't feel like crape and you remember everything that went on that night. You don't find out that you were standing on a table twirling your underware above your head.

One of the best things when I go to a bar and order soft drinks I usually end up getting them for free because the bartender thinks I'm the one driving, save a good bit of money that way.
Click to expand...
to be brutally honest, I really cannot see me having even 10% as much fun as I did if I didn't drink
It would basically me sitting on the sidelines while watching everyone have fun, actually is probably be out most of the time smoking which I did after I really started feeling like shit and when I lost at beer pong also I remember basically everything that happened, and I'm sure nothing that embrassing did.:clap:
SlimBlue said:
You're not an ass, it's a fair question, hell I carried on doing stupid loads of narcotics and going to raves long after I'd been diagnosed. Not that I'm advising that- coz it didn't do me much good at all.

I still have the UK habit of doing a mental friday night alcohol binge with my mates. Guess I'm lucky that it doesn't trigger any seizures, but after turning 40 I definately pay for it the next day.

I know it's stupid to keep pushing it, but that's the main way we socialise so I kinda get where you're coming from- without that I'd almost never see anyone :(

If it does affect you in a bad way, then stop completely, if not then drinking sensibly in moderation is obviousily going to be the best with epilepsy, whatever. As has been said, we're all affected differently so the main thing to do is to be as carefull as possible.

I feel a bit of a hypocrite, but at the end of the day I'm guess I'm paying for all my abuses so I recommend you to be carefull ;)
Click to expand...

It won't be a nightly thing once a weekend at most



went out again drank quite a bit but didn't get shitfaced and nothing happened:clap:
 
Last edited:
I'm sure you won't thank me for saying this but if my daughter was basically playing Russian roulette with alcohol and seizures, I don't think I'd be very thrilled. We worry enough about her welfare as it is.

She's 17 and is at parties every weekend but limits herself to a couple of drinks at most. We're not even sure if alcohol in itself is a trigger (as opposed to just lack of sleep) but having had tonic-clonics on a couple of occasions afterwards, she seems to have decided it just isn't worth the risk.

It must be hard being sensible when you are 17 but she seems to still enjoy herself nonetheless. A seizures has the potential for horrendous consequences, not just for the person having it but for those who love them. Apologies for the sermon but, as a parent, that's the way I feel.
 
Azusa: Hello. My advice is to be the designated driver. I lost a neighbor at the age of 15 this past March. I had raised him from infancy when needed. He was recently diagnosed with epilepsy, & couldn't resist the lure of alcohol and peer pressure. While peer pressure may not apply to you, please, please know your limit.
 
I've never been much a drinker to begin with, even despite those years I lived on university residence. I would have at most 1/2 glass of wine or cooler at holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving at that was it. So when I was diagnosed all my doctor had to to do was talk about lowering of seizure threshold and interaction with medication to swear me off drinking 100%.
 
I must echo what others are saying. It really all depends on the person, and the tolerance they have. I used to "party hard" back in college, but now I'll just have a few glasses of wine, or a few beers at the pub. I don't get to the point where I'm stumbling though, lol. Especially since I've had a lot of activity lately.

My theory is this. If you start feeling weird, stop. Don't get me wrong, it is nice to "let your hair down" and have some fun, but I wouldn't overdo it.
 
Ann T. said:
Azusa: Hello. My advice is to be the designated driver. I lost a neighbor at the age of 15 this past March. I had raised him from infancy when needed. He was recently diagnosed with epilepsy, & couldn't resist the lure of alcohol and peer pressure. While peer pressure may not apply to you, please, please know your limit.
Click to expand...

Cannot drive
 
Azusa: Ah, my apologies for assuming you could drive even though you have epilepsy. I'm sure epilepsy rules & driving in CA are the same or stricter, as in IL. (6 months seizure free). I can't drive either.
 
I think I'm alone in the crowd here, but I can have several glasses of wine or a couple of mixed drinks without any problem. I know that alcohol and AEDs (in my case Lamictal) are self-reinforcing in terms of sedative effects, so I'm careful about getting too drowsy if I'm driving afterwards. I drink responsibly -- I drink plenty of water, and avoid drinking on an empty stomach. I'm old enough that I know my limits and how to pace myself.

But everyone's different, and until you know exactly how alcohol affects your system, it's wise to proceed with caution. And keep in mind that the effects can be cumulative. For instance, if you are drinking several nights in a row, you may feel fine the first night, but then suffer down the road from secondary fatigue or dehydration.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom