Alcohol & epilepsy?

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!

ekm12

New
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Points
0
I have drank alcohol recently & it wasn't much...at all. I have anxiety like crazy & I like to drink a little to relax & that's all. I don't like getting drunk or anything at all. There's nothing enjoyable about that to me. It just helps me relax because I & wound up very tightly most of the time. & I was wondering if you aren't supposed to drink when you have epilepsy. I haven't noticed anything weird happening when I do but I don't know.

When I say I like drinking to relax, I mean I sip. I sip everything I drink but especially alcohol & I am very in tune with my body. So as soon as I start to feel like its really in my system and I start relaxing, I don't drink anymore. I will nurse a bottle of beer for hours, til it gets warm anyways because I can't drink warm beer. Gross. But, I was curious because if it will potentially cause something bad to happen then I would stop. I am not currently on seizure medication, however I plan to get on it at least by next summer at the earliest. Would it be bad then as well? When I drink its not that often. 2 times a week if that.

Is that okay or no? I really detest alcohol for my own personal reasons. My dad was an alcoholic and I'd rather not touch it but a little alcohol here and there helps me relax. Other than that, I don't bother with it. So what are y'all's experiences with it?
 
There are two reasons not to drink alcohol if you have epilepsy:
1. If you drink a lot, it can affect your metabolism (loss of sleep, dehydration, etc.) or judgement (missed dose of meds) in ways that might trigger a seizure.
2. In combination, alcohol and anti-seizure meds tend to reinforce each other's sedative effects, so a person might get zonked faster than you would otherwise.

That said, everyone has different thresholds. I have no problem having a few beers or cocktails. For someone else that could be big trouble. It sounds like you may be fine consuming in moderation. Take it slow -- try a little bit, make sure you drink water as well and have food in your stomach. Take your cues from how you feel.

Here are a few threads on the topic:
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f22/epilepsy-alcohol-caffeine-etc-496/
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f20/alcohol-epilepsy-17512/
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/alcohol-seizures-9714/
 
No warm beer? Have you not discovered the wonders of cask? :p

Just like anything else, understand how beer effects you when you are on your medicine. I went out the other night and had plenty of the heavy stuff and was drunk easier and for longer than the other folks. I don't enjoy that. I DO enjoy a few beers or a glass of bourbon.

As usual, I completely agree with Nakamova. When you start your medicine, be conservative until you understand the combined effects.
 
Just like anything else, understand how beer effects you when you are on your medicine.

And understand how beer/alcohol effects you when you are NOT on medicine. It can do crazy things to the brain, so for some alcohol cold bring on a seizure, especially if not on medication. Alcohol can lower the seizure threshold, so be cautious.
 
I used to drink a couple glasses of wine two or three times a week, then I kind of lost the taste for it and didn't drink at all for maybe three years, now I have the occasional glass of wine again. I keep a record of all my seizures and there did not seem to be any difference one way or the other in my seizure frequency or my drowsiness or med intake. I think it's a matter of intake and your own metabolism. If there's alcoholism in your family that is probably something to watch out for. Obviously talk with your doc about it before you start on your meds, since, as the others said, alcohol can alter the action of AEDs.
 
years ago I use to go out with my sisters and have one mixed drink.
That would be it for me.It's been years since I've had a drink and don't care for alcohol.
 
I have had a couple of seizures after drinking; one of them I had actually broke my nose( had a seizure walking down steps). But I do get what you are saying just having like a beer to relax and. You just want to be careful and ask ur Dr what they think about an occasional beer.
 
I never really drank that much before I had epilepsy. I never liked getting drunk so I was usually the one who drove when I went out. I will have a drink every so often now. I could probably count the times I've had something with alcohol in it since I've had epilepsy.

A few years ago I was at a picnic. There were to big orange coolers with drinks in them, one was labeled iced tea and the other was some sort of fruit punch. I drank several glasses of the fruit punch before I noticed that it said 'Adults Only' on it. I asked what that meant and it turned out it was some sort of mixed drink with alcohol in it. I was surprised because I never got drunk and I didn't have any seizures from drinking it. Haven't done anything like that since though.
 
Back
Top Bottom