Too much coffee I guess

[RanMan]

Although my seizures have been 95% controlled for 31 years, today I had another "petit-mal" seizure and an "aura" yesterday.
I've been drinking a lot of coffee lately and a lack of sleep.
These plus stress are major triggers for me (and maybe you too).
My Neurologist says that if it wernt for my anti-epileptic drug meds, these could have been full blown gran-mal seizures and that just proves the the meds are doing there job.

I feel O-Kay now but I just wanted to share.

Randy

[carlos.fonke]

I have to watch the coffee, too. More accurately, I have to watch my caffeine intake. I've become a bit of a tea snob. Love coffee, but the amount I like to drink is far too much caffeine for me to handle. So I'm back to black and green tea and off the coffee.

Tea is no more expensive than coffee and reportedly is better for overall health. Of course, your preferences and mileage may vary.

Hope this is your last seizure.

[nightfighter]

As bad as coffee is I find that when my bio-rythms are thrown off even slightly I react with strong activity.

[Bernard]

Hi Randy, sorry to hear about the seizure activity. I know my wife has struggled in the past with a cycle of getting good seizure control, feeling bullet proof and slowly increasing indulgences in seizure trigger activities - whether diet, sleep or overscheduling her days (stressful) until she's reminded that she does indeed still have epilepsy.

[dfwtexas]

I haven't had this problem with coffee....but I had an energy drink one day and same thing happened to me!

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

Hi RanMan,

Caffeine is definitely a seizure trigger because it stimulates the nervous system. Adrenaline is released and the liver begins to emit stored blood sugar. Insulin is then released, and blood sugar drops below normal—a common seizure trigger. And caffeine can be a “stealth” drug, too. It can be found as an ingredient in medications, including some antihistamines and decongestants.

[valeriedl]

My neurologist told me to stay away from caffene. I drink decaff coffee and usually get a sprite or something similar when I go out to eat.

[Nakamova]

It's easy to get in a cycle with caffeine, especially with coffee, where the caffeine enters and exits the system at a steeper level. (Tea is more gentle in this respect). When you crash after the caffeine high, you feel more tired, and/or sleep more poorly, so you drink more coffee and it all begins again... It can be hard to break that cycle, but it's worth it for the equilibrium you can achieve without it.