Does alcohol affect your 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!

Janellie8

Janellie8

New
Messages
171
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Hey guys!
I'm turning 21 this Saturday and I wanted to go out and drink with my peeps :) My dad is worried that the alcohol will affect my epilepsy in a bad way :0 Have any of you guys had an issue with alcohol and epilepsy? Or did the alcohol affect your meds?

Thanks,
Janellie :)
 
Hi Janellie

There are quite a few threads about that already as you might guess ;)

Cint recently posted this excellent link with lots of info about it in this thread.

From most of the previous posts (and of course common sense) it seems moderation is the key. Some people find they can't touch a drop, some have a couple of glasses here and there, and others find it doesn't seem to affect them much. Like with any drug we react differently because we're all different. :)

I'm sure all AEDs come with an alcohol warning as they're very powerful, and depend on a constant, stable balance of chemicals inside you to control your seizures. Drinking will upset that balance of course.

The news isn't all bad though. Read that first link, there is some very sensible info in it, and doesn't insist that we be cold robots who can have no fun.

You're 21, and a full adult in the eyes of the law. You can read the facts and make up your own mind. Simple things like making sure your friends know about your condition, and how to react, and having a 'wingman' (not in that way lol) to keep an eye on you etc can help us a great deal. It's what I do when I go out.

The advice I'd give to you is the same I'd give to anyone. Have fun, but be careful..

Have a nice party :)
 
Last edited:
I'm in my 20s too & on Keppra.

I'm mostly immune to alcohol causing me seizures for now... Learned my lesson though after taking it too far back in September (dentist bills $$$).
 
You might find this link helpful:
http://www.ibe-epilepsy.org/downloads/Alcohol and Epilepsy.pdf

In general, the interaction between anti-seizure meds and alcohol is that they reinforce each other, and that you can potentially become more knocked out than you might otherwise. For some people alcohol can triggers their seizures. It's important to remember that everyone reacts differently. I can have a few cocktails without it affecting my meds or causing seizures. Someone else might be in trouble with just a few sips of beer.

If you aren't sure how you will react, play it safe -- drink very minimally or not at all, make sure you are with friends who are aware of your seizure history, and don't drive. Don't drink on an empty stomach or when you are likely to be dehydrated or fatigued. And don't miss your meds.

DO have a happy birthday! :)
 
1 more point I forgot to mention. Make sure you drink a couple of glasses of water before you go to bed.

Dehydration the morning after can be a big seizure trigger, so replenishing before you go to bed is very important.

It will also help lessen the other hangover effects- such as feeling like crap ;)
 
Go easy on the alcohol. I can drink like a fish because I know how I react. No problems with epilepsy, but the reaction with the medicine is what gets me. No slamming down shots, ok? :P
 
:agree: Lol yeah no racking up multiple j-bombs, or snorting tequila :P
 
Yup before my meds were a stable I could guarantee I would have a seizure after drinking. I don't now but I drink A LOT less, I'm talking every weekend before, to once a month-couple of months.

I'm guessing because you are turning 21 that you may have not had alcohol before, but just be careful because I have found that my tolerance for it is waaay lower.
 
Pro-tip to get you super hydrated and stave off that hangover, have a glass of electrolyte drink like gastrolyte or pedilyte, don't know what you guys call it over there but that stuff that you have when you have a stomach bug. Powerade or gatorade is ok but I find the sugar just gives me heartburn especially if I've been having drinks mixed with sugary drinks.
 
George__ said:
dentist bills $$$.
Click to expand...

...had a night like that myself in my 20's. having fun was pretty important (had no idea what the epilepsy was actually about to do to me), so party party. woke up the next day in our hotel room with my front teeth chipped, one only a bit and one the bottom third. looked a bit like a witch.
dentist couldn't do it for three weeks, so working in the public was real fun :( finally got them fixed and it was a good size bill.

i still say it was because of a huge crack in the sidewalk that i fell... yeah. i know there was one there.
 
Nakamova said:
If you aren't sure how you will react, play it safe -- drink very minimally or not at all, make sure you are with friends who are aware of your seizure history, and don't drive. Don't drink on an empty stomach or when you are likely to be dehydrated or fatigued. And don't miss your meds.
Click to expand...

I agree with this very much.

I'm ok having one drink every now and then. And by that I mean every few months. I don't push it. Nothing really strong just a glass of wine or a mixed drink. I don't like beer.

One time I did drink a good bit, at least 5 glasses if not more, not knowing I was doing it. My cousin had a picnic and put a mixed drink in a big gator aide cooler, she forgot to tell everyone there was alcohol in. The next day I was horrible and I know I had a few seizures.

My husband has said that during many of my seizures I do look act like I'm drunk. If they see you have a seizure they may just think you're drunk and give you more to drink to keep you going. So defiantly make sure if you do drink that all of your friends who you are with know you have epilepsy. Make sure they know what you do during your seizures and what to do if you have one.
 
yes to all the above and with nak re: not missing your meds. that's so vital. anyone who's being a DD or a friend who's not a drinker that night?
if there's anyone you can ask/rely on to remind you to take ur meds that would be best.
 
This may be off point but I had my breakthrough seizure even though I didn't have alcohol day before or 2 days before :(
 
George__ said:
This may be off point but I had my breakthrough seizure even though I didn't have alcohol day before or 2 days before :(
Click to expand...

My seizures can happen at any time. There doesn't need to be any sort of thing to trigger it, like alcohol. I know there are many of us who are the same way.
 
Hey everyone! I wanna thank all you guys for ur advice! Ur personal advice and the link really helped ;) I drank moderately at a nice pace, not too much, I ate before and all that good stuff :) excepttttttt, right before we were Gnna go out I had a seizure, fell and hit my face on a corner of this dollhouse :( got a bump on the side of my head, scratched up my face a little and my neck still hurts. I'm okay though. My dad was upset and wasn't even Gnna let me go out at all :( but my mom said it was okay to go out because she'd keep an eye on me and I wasn't Gnna get too crazy. At first when we were going out that's all I was thinking about, then I told myself, "hey! Janellie! Could u not let this ruin ur night!!!?" ... And overall I had a good night because I didn't let that get to my head ;) thanks again guys! Glad I have people like you to help me out!

Hugs,
Janellie
 
I don't drink so alcohol doesn't affect my seizures in the least bit.

I will drink root beer though hehe.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom