What Triggers Seizures? 12 Most common Seizure Triggers

Developing alcohol dependence means you drink enough to have withdrawal symptoms if you stop drinking. Seizures are a potential withdrawal symptom that can be prevented if you drink in moderation. In patients with generalized genetic epilepsy, seizures commonly manifest within 30 min after awakening. A transcranial magnetic stimulation study on patients with genetic generalized epilepsy demonstrated that motor cortex excitability was significantly increased in the early morning (24). However, other people with epilepsy find they can drink moderately without triggering a seizure.

Medical Detox for Alcohol Seizures

• Often, the person will have no bodily control during the seizure and will not remember it, being very groggy as they slowly wake up afterward.
• In multivariate analysis, alcohol consumption within the last 12 months was independently related to AED monotherapy.
• Fifteen out of 95 (15.8%) alcohol-experienced but now abstinent subjects had experienced alcohol-related seizures in the past.
• In this article, learn what alcohol does to the brain, how it can lead to seizures, and what you need to know about alcohol use if you already have a seizure disorder.
• You can prevent low blood sugar by eating regularly and avoiding foods that cause your body to produce more insulin.

While drinking too much alcohol can increase the risk of seizures, most alcohol-related seizures occur during alcohol withdrawal, which happens when you’re dependent on alcohol and stop drinking. If a seizure occurs from alcohol withdrawal syndrome, it will most often happen within 12–48 hours. First, our data on alcohol use depended on patients’ self-reporting and may be affected by recall bias. It has been demonstrated that assessing alcohol consumption is biased by recall even when the recall period is only 1 week (25). In our study population, alcohol consumption is probably underestimated.

Common Seizure Triggers and 9 Tips To Avoid Them

• Even people who do not have epilepsy can have a seizure after taking recreational drugs.
• People with epilepsy who take anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) must drink alcohol with caution.
• The treatment of alcohol dependence is more important and should be prioritised before the prevention of further seizures.
• Some AEDs have side effects that include lowering tolerance for alcohol.
• If it’s not possible to avoid light triggers, you can sometimes lessen the risk of having a seizure by simply covering one eye.
• They do not generally happen while a person is drinking, or even within a few hours of stopping.
• Avoid binge drinking as this can trigger a seizure, even in those who do not have a diagnosis of epilepsy.

Drinking impacts GABA receptors, which have a relaxing influence on the brain. Most of the time, because drinking enhances GABA’s effects, the brain is even more relaxed than normal. When the nervous system is overly depressed, it can lead to conditions that increase the likelihood of seizures when large amounts of alcohol are used.

What are the recommendations for alcohol use with epilepsy?

Alcohol can also trigger seizures by changing your blood levels of AEDs and other medications. Finally, alcohol can also negatively affect your sleep, contributing to potential seizures. Alcohol can have both short-term and long-term effects on individuals with epilepsy. Short-term risks include alcohol withdrawal seizures, which can occur when a person reduces or stops heavy drinking, causing a sudden release of excitatory neurotransmitters in the brain. Long-term alcohol misuse can lead to chronic neurological damage, increasing the likelihood of seizure disorders (CDC, 2022).

Time of Day

This week’s blog looks at how you can stay safe and looks at how some anti-epileptic medication doesn’t mix well with alcohol. Every effort is made to ensure that all our information is correct and up to date. However, Epilepsy Society is unable to provide a medical opinion on specific cases. Responses to enquiries contain information relating to the general principles of investigation and management of epilepsy. Answers are not, and should not be assumed to be, direct medical advice and is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctors. Epilepsy Society and any third party cannot be held responsible for any actions taken as a result of using this service.

The greatest risk of a seizure during a hangover is not due to the hangover itself but to the long-term blood sugar effects of alcohol. Alcohol causes an initial spike in blood sugar levels, followed by a drop below normal levels for the next 12 hours. Misusing alcohol can increase your overall risk of developing epilepsy. Heavy alcohol use of three or more drinks in a day can also increase the frequency of seizures in those who already have epilepsy.

Preventing Alcohol Seizures

The most common reason for a seizure is forgetting to take your anti-epileptic drugs (AED) or deliberately not taking it. However, identifying potential triggers for seizures can be the first step towards better seizure control. If tiredness is can alcohol trigger epileptic seizures a potential seizure trigger for you and you know it is going to be a late-night, try and sleep before you go out, and rest the next day to catch up on your sleep. Delirium tremens is the most severe form of alcohol withdrawal and affects about 2% of people with alcohol use disorder. In this article, learn what alcohol does to the brain, how it can lead to seizures, and what you need to know about alcohol use if you already have a seizure disorder. Signs include needing to drink more to feel the same effects, experiencing withdrawal symptoms, and continuing to drink despite negative consequences.

This is because residential treatment can increase the likelihood of long-term sobriety. Often, the most appropriate rehab program will be medical detox and a long-term residential stay. Afterward, they can transition to an intensive outpatient program that prepares the person for outpatient and aftercare programs. It is imperative for people who have had alcohol-induced seizures to abstain from any alcohol use. This can reduce the risk of future seizures and the development of spontaneous seizure disorders.

Failure to take antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) as prescribed is one of the most common seizure triggers. AEDs work by preventing seizure activity in the brain, but for the medication to work properly, you must have a high enough level of medication in your bloodstream. Missing a dose or taking the wrong dose of your AED can decrease these levels and trigger seizures. Not drinking alcohol is generally the safest approach to avoid alcohol-triggered seizures. However, people who are addicted to alcohol or drink significant amounts of alcohol regularly may be at increased risk of seizures when they stop drinking. If you’re dependent on alcohol, seek medical advice to avoid problems from alcohol withdrawal.

Therefore, treatment typically starts with alcohol detox, followed by residential rehab. Repeated, severe withdrawal with seizures may increase the risk of future spontaneous seizures during withdrawal. However, these seizures may differ in physiology from true epileptic seizures. Whether to drink alcohol or take recreational drugs is a personal choice, but it is worth knowing the possible effects they could have on your epilepsy. It is not possible to simply avoid getting sick, but seeking medical treatment at the first sign of fever, infection, or other illness can help prevent seizures. Emotional or psychological stress, including anxiety, anger, depression, or other heightened emotional states, can trigger a seizure in some people.