” You need to consider more factors than just the alcohol itself — especially your medications. Be sure to ask your doctor about the effects of alcohol on any medications you might be taking. Binge drinking is defined as a pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration to 0.08 percent or higher.

Alcohol and risk of SUDEP in a person with epilepsy

You could develop status epilepticus, which is multiple seizures, or prolonged seizures, and can lead to permanent brain damage or death. However, there have epilepsy and alcohol been reports that the risk of seizure increases in an alcohol-dependent person who misuses a sedative and takes nonsedative AEDs. Alcohol poisoning can lead to seizures, but these may not result from the alcohol intake itself. Lower blood sugar or head trauma caused by a sudden fall could be the underlying cause. However, withdrawal symptoms accompanying delirium tremens do not need to be present when a person experiences a seizure. In a 2020 study, research found that the risk of SUDEP was twice as high in people with a history of alcohol dependence or substance misuse disorder.

• The researchers also found that the risk of epilepsy increased as alcohol consumption increased.
• Be sure to ask your doctor about the effects of alcohol on any medications you might be taking.
• Apart from this, there is little research on the occurrence of alcohol-related seizures in patients with epilepsy.
• It has been demonstrated that assessing alcohol consumption is biased by recall even when the recall period is only 1 week (25).
• Possible confounding variables that were included in the logistic regression model regarding the occurrence of alcohol-related seizures in patients with epilepsy within the last 12 months.
• Let’s take a look at the relationship between alcohol and seizures to shed some light on why drinking is a potential trigger.

Alcohol and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy: do not pop the cork

• A heathcare provider can assess whether light or moderate alcohol drinking is safe.
• Delirium tremens is the most severe form of alcohol withdrawal and affects about 2% of people with alcohol use disorder.
• ” You need to consider more factors than just the alcohol itself — especially your medications.
• A double-blinded, randomized, interventional study on 52 subjects with epilepsy demonstrated that a social alcohol intake over a 4-month-period did not increase seizure frequencies (2).
• Ultimately, everyone’s brain is different and responds to alcohol in different ways.
• Alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous for many reasons, but seizures and the possible development of delirium tremens increase the risk of severe complications or even death.

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. Moreover, patients were seen at our institution at scheduled outpatient visits and did not attend the clinic after acute manifestations of alcohol-related seizures. Only a minority of patients documented details on alcohol-related seizures in seizure diaries. Our retrospective data collection on alcohol-related seizures also depended on subjects’ recall capability, and may reflect bias due to recall errors.

Your introduction to emergency seizure medication

Even if alcohol itself doesn’t trigger your or your loved one’s seizures, it’s important to understand whether your antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are compatible with alcohol. Withdrawing (stopping drinking) from alcohol causes people’s  brains to become more excitable. This means that some people who do not actually have epilepsy may also experience seizures when they stop drinking. This is especially true for alcoholics or people who often drink heavily.

Medical

This rapid intoxication can surprise a person and cause them embarrassment, stress, and anxiety — which can, in turn, trigger seizures. In one small study from 2018, people with epilepsy who reported seizures after drinking had consumed seven or more standard-sized drinks before their seizures occurred. Nearly all of the seizures occurred within 12 hours after they stopped drinking. Furthermore, seizures seemed particularly likely if the participants did not regularly drink that much alcohol. Fifteen out of 95 (15.8%) alcohol-experienced but now abstinent subjects had experienced alcohol-related seizures in the past.

Symptoms of an Alcohol Seizure

The CMA suggests patients with alcohol dependence, including alcohol withdrawal seizures, should not be allowed to drive any type of motor vehicle. If a patient wishes to regain their licence, s/he must complete a recognized rehabilitation program for substance dependence and remain sober and and seizure-free for 12 months. People who drink a lot of alcohol for an extended period can develop permanent changes in their brains, and removing alcohol can lead to withdrawal symptoms. Seizures, and a severe condition called delirium tremens, are possible complications of alcohol withdrawal.

Overall, from the data presented, are we convinced of the real, complex, and fatal relationship between alcohol consumption and epilepsy? In addition, further clinical and experimental studies are required to more clearly define the mechanism and obtain accurate epidemiological data on the relationship between alcohol consumption and SUDEP. Another one of the big reasons people with epilepsy are warned not to consume alcohol is that many of the anti-seizure and anti-epileptic drugs that treat epilepsy do not mix well with alcohol.

Alcohol can be a big part of many people’s social life, so you may be wondering if it’s ever safe. Remember that even a small amount of alcohol is bad for your health, and it is lower risk to avoid alcohol altogether, according to the CDC. Common triggers include lack of sleep, stress, alcohol, and not taking their prescribed anti-seizure medication (ASM).

About half of all people with alcohol withdrawal will have two to four seizures within the six hours that follow the first.5 Without prompt treatment, these episodes can be life-threatening. Others have seizures when they try to quit drinking after long periods. These can be life-threatening episodes, so it’s critical to know what they look like and how they’re treated. The effect of alcohol on people with epilepsy will vary from person to person, even on the same medication. People with epilepsy who drink alcohol may also be less likely to adhere to their medication schedule. If you are especially sensitive to either your AED or alcohol, it may be best to avoid drinking while taking that particular medication.

The amount of alcohol intake before alcohol-related seizures was at least 7 standard drinks, or the equivalent of 1.4 liters of beer or 700 milliliters of wine. In almost all cases, seizures occurred within 12 hours of stopping alcohol consumption. 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). In multivariate analysis, alcohol consumption within the last 12 months was independently related to AED monotherapy.