Can you still drink alcohol not loads... - Epilepsy Research...
Can you still drink alcohol not loads just wondered if you can still drink a few glasses or not
Hi,
The safest and simplest answer is that alcohol is best avoided. There are so many subtle differences in how a person is affected by their epilepsy that the after effects of drinking can be equally varied. Speaking from personal experience when I was first diagnosed, I did drink from time to time a few glasses if wine and beers at times too. The next morning I would feel the usual headaches etc but found that my jerks were less controllable and I felt more at risk. The alcohol dilutes the blood, cause and effect of this is the anti convulsants are diluted in the blood stream. A wine or a beer here and there may not be high risk but it depends on you, your seizure history, your seizure control and your triggers. I don't miss drinking to be honest, I do have the odd glass but only at home and when I know I don't have to do anything the next day. But it only needs to be a glass and a half to have a detrimental affect on the anticonvulsant. You have total freedom of choice but like everything else when it comes to epilepsy it's just about reducing the risks, but that doesn't have to mean stopping, just regulating. Your neurologist would be a good rational ear to bend on the subject.
Regards GM
Moderation is the key. Again, drinking can cause seizures and lessens the effect of one's medication. Have the willpower to say "NO". There are many other mineral/juices available and one just has to make the effort to stop. I don't drink. Many people try to talk a glass of wine into me, even if mixed with Soda or water. I don't want to drink so keep the alcohol away. The decision is yours, but it is also detrimental to your health. 39 years with epilepsy and I am still proud to say, "I don't drink or smoke."
When I was first diagnosed I thought having a couple of glasses of wine couldn't be that harmful surely? How wrong was I? Apparently Carbamazepine increases the effect of alcohol in the body but I didn't know that. I became very drunk very very quickly and was very ill for a full two days - vomitting repeatedly and feeling so much worse than just hungover. My daughter is a nurse and said she'd never seen anyone so ill from alcohol!! Unsurprisingly I don't drink at all now. Its just not worth it.
I take pregabalin & i only occasionaly drink 2-3 drinks, 3 at the most. I find that i get drunk more easily. A pharmacist told me that if a person taking pregabalin drinks 1 drink it's like having 3 drinks. I however have been taking pregabalin for 4 years now & wouldn't quite say after 1 drink i had felt like i'd had 3. The safest thing is to prob not drink at all but it's all in moderation & how u feel in yourself. Listen to your body. Hope this helps.
I take Carbamezapine (200mg) twice a day and have done for about 16 years. When I first started taking it I was advised not to drink at all and didn't for about 3 months. I then discussed with my GP if I could have a drink and he advised me that I could, but in moderation. I now enjoy a drink but no more than about 6 units a week and not all at once. You have to be sensible and going on a binge is a definite no no. Unlike McAdoo I don't have any side effects, like feeling drunk.
As other members have said you must talk with either your GP or neurologist first and get professional advice about your own circumstances and medication etc.
Hope this helps.
Hi,
When I went to uni at the age of 20, my epilepsy was still uncontrolled. Of course, I didn't want to let it hold me back at all so I drank like a regular student, which is more than even a healthy person should be drinking!!! I was basically idiotic about it, but I was determined to be the same as everyone else. Drinking definitely increased the amount of seizures I was having and I was genuinely thinking of dropping out after my first year to move back in with my parents because I was struggling to look after myself.
However, lucky for me, only about 4 or 5 months after I started uni I was finally put on a medication (Epilim Chrono) that fully controls my seizures and doesn't effect how much I can drink either. So although a few years and a bit more common sense have hugely reduced my drinking, I can basically drink as much as I want now. I have also completed a BSc, MSc and nearly finished my PhD at uni!!!
So my answer would be that it definitely depends on whether or not your seizures are controlled and what medication you are on. This is the kind of thing that your epilepsy nurse should be able to help you with (I hope you have one, I think mine is great, but I don't know if they are available all over the country - if not talk to your doctor).
Amy
I have had epilepsy for about 8 years now and finally, about 3 years ago, I was put on Lamotrigine - now at 500mgs a day - and my seizures are controlled. However, I am fortunate enough to live in France now where, as you can guess, wine is fairly high on the social list!! I have never had a problem with drinking red wine - I need a LOT of it before I even feel in the slightest bit drunk - as I hate feeling drunk I stop voluntarily before I get there. I have absolutely NO side effects with my meds/seizures if I stick to red wine. The moment I have anything else (white/rosé wine, champagne and ANY kind of spirits), I get drunk incredibly quickly and feel very strange - so I never touch them. Again, like everyone else has said, I think it has to be down to the individual as well as their particular type of medication -as well as ordinary healthy(??) amounts of alcohol!!!
I have been on many medications and didn't have any problems drinking alcohol in moderation until I started taking Keppra. I am unable to drink any alcohol now, so it goes to show that any medication affects individuals differently.
Yes just a few as some medication does say no alcohol
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Moderation team
