Community Forum Archive

The Epilepsy Community Forums are closed, and the information is archived. The content in this section may not be current or apply to all situations. In addition, forum questions and responses include information and content that has been generated by epilepsy community members. This content is not moderated. The information on these pages should not be substituted for medical advice from a healthcare provider. Experiences with epilepsy can vary greatly on an individual basis. Please contact your doctor or medical team if you have any questions about your situation. For more information, learn about epilepsy or visit our resources section.

Grand Mal seizures after night of drinking, advice please

Sun, 07/18/2010 - 22:12
Hi, I am a 22 year old male who is generally health, although for the last about 3 months I have been slacking off with exercising. As a child (younger than 3 years old), I had a few absence seizures (less than 10) and then apparantely grew out of them. 2 months ago I had my first grand mal seizure the morning after a night of hard drinking, I was out for a friends birthday and did not get home until 2:30am. When I woke up in the morning I started playing video games, and within about 20 minutes I had a the grand mal. After going to the hospital and getting a CT scan and EEG, both which returned normal. My doctor told me that it appeared I have a mild seizure disorder, and there was a very low likelihood of another seizure occuring. 6 weeks later I had another grand mal, again after a night of hard drinking and lack of food. Today, 7 weeks after my first seizure I had my third grand mal, again after a night of drinking, but this night I had eaten very well and drank plenty of water throughout the night. But did go to bed very late, and threw up in the middle of the night. It seems to me that my seizures are occurring as a result of drinking too much. I am just about to finish university and have so much in my life I still want to do, does anyone here agree that the seizures are occurring because of my drinking? If I were to quit drinking alltogether for a long period of time do you think I could raise my seizure threshold, and also not worry about having an unprovoked seizure? Thank you. UPDATE: First of all, thank you for your responses. After quitting drinking and continuing to have seizures, and visiting the doctor again it has been determined that I have Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy, and have been put on Valproic Acid for it.

Comments

Re: Grand Mal seizures after night of drinking, advice please

Submitted by Mr. B-rad on Sun, 2010-07-18 - 23:00
Hey, I would suggest not drinking or for sure not so much and so late into the night! A small amount of alcohol has triggered a seizure for me before. Sleep deprivation is definitely another factor that lowers your seizure threshold. I would be careful if I were you. Your brain is not something to mess with. I would not drink anything but if you want to experiment do so very carefully!!

Re: Grand Mal seizures after night of drinking, advice please

Submitted by Seruzies on Mon, 2010-07-19 - 00:20
I quit drinking years ago when I started having seizures. When I do have a seizure, I don't have to ask myself if it was the drinking that caused me to have a seizure. Just quit drinking, I'm surprised a doctor hasn't already told you to.

Re: Grand Mal seizures after night of drinking, advice please

Submitted by greastipher on Mon, 2010-07-19 - 00:42
Do you still have seizures after you quit drinking?

Sign Up for Emails

Stay up to date with the latest epilepsy news, stories from the community, and more.