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Alcohol and Epilepsy medicine

Wed, 11/05/2008 - 01:22

       Ive been taking Epilepsy medicine for 4 years now. I just turned 21 and would like to drink alcohol.  Does alcohol really negate the medicine or are the doctors just saying that? Even if it wears the medicine down a little bit, do you think it would still be fine to drink as long as I still take my medicine on time?

Any thoughts would be great!

Comments

Re: Alcohol and Epilepsy medicine

Submitted by G on Fri, 2008-11-14 - 21:45

I have some red wine once in a while but I watch how much I have.  I do feel the difference when I have the wine and I know it is not something I want to make a habit of doing.  Remember that you have a lot of medication in your system and mixing alcohol is not safe.  If you are going to have a drink every once in a while, make sure you do not go overboard because it can be dangerous and possibly life threatening if you mix too much.  I was on Depekote for 18 years and that is a heavy drug and not one to mess with too much.  Good luck.

I have some red wine once in a while but I watch how much I have.  I do feel the difference when I have the wine and I know it is not something I want to make a habit of doing.  Remember that you have a lot of medication in your system and mixing alcohol is not safe.  If you are going to have a drink every once in a while, make sure you do not go overboard because it can be dangerous and possibly life threatening if you mix too much.  I was on Depekote for 18 years and that is a heavy drug and not one to mess with too much.  Good luck.

Re: Alcohol and Epilepsy medicine

Submitted by LaurenG1211 on Wed, 2008-11-05 - 18:22

Hey there,

The doctors have no reason to just warn you against drinking for the sake of just doing so. It really IS dangerous to your health because A. you're Epileptic and B. on AED's (anti epileptic drugs). Alot of Aed's are time release, meaning the drug does not breakdown all at one time it breakdowns slowly through out the day, alcohol can mess with the time release of anti-eps which there fore messes with the balance of the drug in your system, which in turn can cause siezures. This is not the only problem, you may feel fine while you are drinking and while you are drunk, it is however when your brain is recovering, during your hangover that your brain is going to go haywire and you are more likely to increase your odds of seizure activity. so if you're on meds and you have breaktrough seizures, or your meds do not have you controlled I cannot say with confidence that it is a good idea that you drink alcohol. I m 22 years old and trust me when I say I am no angel, there are days when i drink and every time I do, I end up regretting it, because with out fail I always end up having seizures. Keep in mind it only takes ONE TIME to end up in the hospital or worse...I am not trying to scare you but this is the simple truth and there are a lot of people on this site that will agree or tell you the same. However it is also your choice. I do not know the severity of your situation or your knowledge of the effects of alcohol on AED's but if I were you, I would do some research before drinking. Good Luck, and if you have any more questions I'm happy to answer.

-Lauren

Hey there,

The doctors have no reason to just warn you against drinking for the sake of just doing so. It really IS dangerous to your health because A. you're Epileptic and B. on AED's (anti epileptic drugs). Alot of Aed's are time release, meaning the drug does not breakdown all at one time it breakdowns slowly through out the day, alcohol can mess with the time release of anti-eps which there fore messes with the balance of the drug in your system, which in turn can cause siezures. This is not the only problem, you may feel fine while you are drinking and while you are drunk, it is however when your brain is recovering, during your hangover that your brain is going to go haywire and you are more likely to increase your odds of seizure activity. so if you're on meds and you have breaktrough seizures, or your meds do not have you controlled I cannot say with confidence that it is a good idea that you drink alcohol. I m 22 years old and trust me when I say I am no angel, there are days when i drink and every time I do, I end up regretting it, because with out fail I always end up having seizures. Keep in mind it only takes ONE TIME to end up in the hospital or worse...I am not trying to scare you but this is the simple truth and there are a lot of people on this site that will agree or tell you the same. However it is also your choice. I do not know the severity of your situation or your knowledge of the effects of alcohol on AED's but if I were you, I would do some research before drinking. Good Luck, and if you have any more questions I'm happy to answer.

-Lauren

Re: Alcohol and Epilepsy medicine

Submitted by jderry on Thu, 2008-11-06 - 15:05
  I've had'nt had a drink in over 5yrs now. It's not killing me but I would like to have one once in a while. Some people have to say still not drinking I see to me or some remark like that to me. If they really anoy me I say still drinking to much to them. Every doctor has told me not to drink so I don't.

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