Alcohol abuse can affect every area of an individual’s personal and professional life. Not only can excessive drinking strain interpersonal relationships, but too much alcohol can harm the body as well. Because chronically abusing alcohol can lead to addiction, physiological dependency can make it difficult to stop drinking even if alcohol consumption is affecting a person’s health. When an individual has become dependent on alcohol, he or she may experience alcohol withdrawal when abstaining from drinking. Entering a treatment for alcohol use disorder can minimize the risk of seizures and other potentially life-threatening symptoms.
Alcohol Withdrawal and the Risk of Seizures
In most cases, alcohol affects these targets only at high, suprapharmacologic concentrations. However, certain GABAA-receptor isoforms are exquisitely sensitive to alcohol so that functionally relevant effects can occur at concentrations within the intoxicating range (32,33). DTs can develop in anyone who meets the criteria for heavy alcohol use. For people AMAB, that means drinking three or more drinks per day and 15 or more drinks per week. For people AFAB, that means drinking two or more drinks per day and eight or more drinks per week. However, DTs becomes more withdrawal seizures symptoms and more likely the more you drink and the longer this continues.
- Most people with a seizure disorder (epilepsy) can drink small amounts of alcohol occasionally without experiencing an increase in seizure activity.
- If you are attempting to detox independently, be sure you have a responsible adult watching closely to ensure your safety.
- The current evidence favors symptom-triggered treatment, as it reduces the average length of stay, the total dosage of administered benzodiazepines, and the level of patient sedation.
Alcohol-related seizures in people without epilepsy
Alcohol use becomes disordered when the individual has difficulty controlling or stopping his or her alcohol consumption. Substance use disorder includes what people commonly think of as alcoholism. A primary mental health disorder should not be diagnosed during the acute withdrawal period, as signs and symptoms may overlap (anxiety, sleeping disturbance, agitation) (79).
Support for AUD
Heavy drinking, particularly withdrawal from heavy drinking, may trigger seizures in those with epilepsy. Alcohol may also affect anti-seizure medications, https://ecosoberhouse.com/ which could trigger seizures. Detox is an inpatient setting with medical staff available at all times.
The Link Between Alcohol and Epilepsy
- Of all alcohol-related seizures, 30% to 39.3% are related to alcohol withdrawal (51).
- These agents also have no activity against delirium or seizures so should not be used as monotherapy.
- Medical professionals often recommend that people with epilepsy avoid or consume a moderate amount of alcohol.
- This section answers some frequently asked questions about alcohol and seizures.
- This article discusses alcohol withdrawal, its symptoms, and potential complications.
Alcohol is on one side, slowing down central nervous system (CNS) activity. Your CNS controls your body’s automatic processes like breathing and heart rate. Your CNS is on the other side of the rope pulling back by increasing its own activity to keep things running.
