Drugs That Cause Seizures
According to the Defective Drugs website, approximately 2 million people have suffered seizures in their lifetimes. Some antipsychotics, antidepressants, antiepileptic drugs, and illegal drugs can cause seizures. Alcohol may also result in a seizure when being processed through the body. Mixing alcohol with any medicine automatically raises your vulnerability to a seizure. Thus it is imperative that when you take a drug, you know the possible consequences that could occur. Individual drugs as well as drug combinations can cause seizures, making treatment of issues such as mental illness potentially very dangerous, as patients are often given a cocktail of drugs.
Antipsychotics
Antipsychotics are prescribed for depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other disorders. They are known to induce seizures, tremors, extreme muscle rigidity and varying types of dyskinesia. Dyskinesia is a series of repetitive involuntary muscle spasms and movements within different parts of the body. The effects of antipsychotics are widely known, so when someone is prescribed an antipsychotic they are also given a medicine to counteract the tics and seizure symptoms. They also cause acute dystonic reactions, which cause a twisting and tightening of the muscles. Stiffness and rigidness in the jaw, back and neck also can occur. Common antipsychotics that can induce seizures are Haloperidol, Abilify, Geodon, Risperdal, and Zyprexa. The act of mixing any of these drugs with alcohol increases your risk for a seizure.
Antidepressants
Antidepressants taken alone may cause seizures in patients. Commonly used antidepressants include Wellbutrin, Paxil, Zoloft, and Lexapro. The occurrence of seizures with antidepressants is relatively low, but if you have a history of seizures or manic states, antidepressants may trigger them. Antidepressants also counteract drugs taken to stop seizures and will cancel out the effect of the antiseizure medication, allowing a seizure to occur. The risk of mixing these drugs with alcohol increases your risk for a seizure as well.
Antiepileptic Drugs
Oddly enough, antiepileptics have been shown to create a paradoxical effect in people, aggravating and worsening preexisting seizures in some patients. Drugs such as carbamazepine, lamotrigine, alprazolam, gabapentin, vigabatrin and tiagabine are known to aggravate and exacerbate preexisting seizures as well as to generate a higher frequency of them.
Alcohol
Alcohol is also a culprit for inducing seizures. As alcohol leaves your body after a binge drinking session, you are at a high risk of having a seizure. In addition, alcohol, when mixed with medicines, will override the antiseizure medication's ability to prevent a seizure. Alcohol can also produce seizures when mixed with illegal drugs, psychotropics, antidepressants or antipsychotics.
Illegal Drugs
Illegal drugs, especially stimulants like heroine, GHB, cocaine, PCP, Ecstasy, amphetamine, steroids and aerosols used in "huffing" can cause dangerous seizures and reactions when used frequently and in increasingly higher dosages. Mixing alcohol with any illegal substance will also heighten your risk of a stroke.
Conclusion
Mixing drugs--whether prescribed or illegal-- with one another and/or alcohol may put you at a higher risk for seizures. Whenever taking any prescription medicine, always check to see if it interacts with any drugs.Contact your doctor if you have any concerns or reactions. Illegal drug use is not advised because it is also highly dangerous and can induce seizures or death.