A person with epilepsy should speak with their doctor to determine how much alcohol, if any, is safe to consume with their condition. When people stop consuming alcohol after chronic use, they lose the inhibitory effects of the GABA receptors, resulting in the central nervous system being overstimulated. This may be due to alcohol’s effect on the brain, sleep, and anti-seizure medications. Those neurons constantly communicate through chemical signals called neurotransmitters that trigger electrical activity in the brain.

• Alcohol use disorders cover a range of severity from mild to moderate to severe.
• In some cases, excessive alcohol consumption may lead people to miss meals or medication, which can also make seizures more likely in people with epilepsy.
• We aim to raise public awareness and improve education through publications, conferences, outreach initiatives and our website.
• All that is required to safely stop using alcohol is the willingness to ask for help.
• You can have a seizure without a diagnosis of epilepsy or a history of seizures.

Buprenorphine treatment does not require hospitalization, can be prescribed by practicing physicians, and is typically available in conjunction with counseling and behavioral therapy. If your reasons for quitting benzodiazepines are that you were abusing them or unable to control your use, then you may require further substance use treatment. This is particularly true if you are also giving up other substances, like alcohol or opioids.

Types of Withdrawal

Several types of benzodiazepines are sold under popular brand names like Valium, Xanax, and Klonopin. People can help prevent breakthrough seizures by taking medications as a doctor prescribes and avoiding known triggers. A 2017 article notes that 60–70% of people with epilepsy achieve remission from seizures when they use antiseizure medications properly.

Alcohol dependence occurs after a period of consistent drinking or frequent binge drinking. Drinking every once in a while and even heavy drinking on the weekends may not lead to chemical dependence on alcohol, although it could lead to other dangerous consequences. Dependence is a chemical response to the consistent presence of alcohol in your brain and body. Alcohol is one of the most common recreational substances in the world. Despite its legal status and cultural acceptance, it is a serious psychoactive substance that can profoundly affect your health.

What is the difference between seizures and epilepsy?

It is also possible to experience seizures as a result of alcohol withdrawal. This can happen after someone who has misused alcohol for a long time stops consuming it. Heavy drinking, what causes withdrawal seizures particularly withdrawal from heavy drinking, may trigger seizures in those with epilepsy. Alcohol may also affect anti-seizure medications, which could trigger seizures.

Other ways to get help include talking with a mental health professional or seeking help from a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous or a similar type of self-help group. If your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, you likely have alcohol use disorder. However, even a mild disorder can escalate and lead to serious problems, so early treatment is important. When you regularly take a substance for a period of time, your body may build a tolerance and dependence on that substance. Withdrawal is the combination of physical and mental effects a person experiences after they stop using or reduce their intake of a substance such as alcohol and prescription or recreational drugs.

Traumatic Brain Injury

With prescription opiates, withdrawal symptoms begin in 8-12 hours, peak at hours, and can last 5 to 10 days. Withdrawal, like addiction itself, reflects the capacity of the brain to adapt to experience. When that substance is suddenly stopped, those nerve pathways are caught short. In the weeks and months after substance use is stopped, the brain rewires itself to essentially reverse the adaptations it made to the substance and return to normal, but that process takes time.

Falls, car accidents, or a variety of other injuries are often experienced in this way. Providers usually recommend against treating first-time unprovoked seizures. An exception to that is if the person has a higher risk of having another seizure, or when a person has status epilepticus. Stopping status epilepticus is critical because it can lead to permanent brain damage or death. Healthcare providers can use your medical history and tests like EEG, CT scan or MRI scan to determine if you have a higher risk of having another seizure.