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Hi I'm Sam and I'm the big 4-0! I was diagnosed with Epilepsy (Grand Mal) 2 years ago. Had the Mini Mal's since i was 12 years old. They had me on Depakote which was a placebo as far as i was concerned. I'm in the same boat as another person on this site is, didn't have a single big seizure until my Neurologist forced me into one via rapid flashing LED lights. Been having 1-2 full blown seizures a month ever since ! As the other gentleman, I'm as mad as hell !, should of never agreed to let him do that to me. I'm on 2500mg if Keppra daily. I'm also a weekend drinker and have been since i was 17 years old. They told me to stop or limit my consumption now that I'm on Keppra. Why !?,never had as much as an eye twitch all those years before my EEG ! I'm not going to lie and tell you, oh I'm just going to have a glass of wine or 1 beer, just not going to happen. I have read that people on Keppra that continue to drink (Weekends only) have switched to beer only and still drink as they did before have had pretty good results. I'm in no way an alcoholic (No I'm not in denial) but i do hit it fairly hard on weekends in the summer, but hardly touch a drop in the winter months. I drink on weekends because i really enjoy it and we have large camp outs and big get togethers on a regular basis in the summer. Yes we get pretty darn happy and party until the sun comes up, but its never a black out, puke your guts out type of thing. Believe it or not we are very responsible drinker's. I always get good sleep before hand and eat well. I take my keppra at 4am and 4pm everyday and if I'm going to drink i wait about an hour after i take my keppra. Does anyone here have a successful management plan for taking keppra and drinking ? I have never had a seizure while drinking or the following day. Its always after i get home from work or first thing in the morning right before my 4am pill. Thanks for letting me aboard ! Sam.

Comments

To start with the neurologist

Submitted by just_joe on Sun, 2017-03-12 - 14:44

To start with the neurologist was doing a test that showed the electrical output coming from your brain. The TEST ie EEG did not cause your grand mal seizures. It showed where the abnormalities came from. Abnormalities are spikes, waves or epileptiform aka as seizure activity. It you had been having petite mal (mini) since you were 12 then tests should have been done back then and the abnormalities would have shown up then too.Now if you talked to most neurologists half of them would say no alcohol period. The other half would want it limited. It has nothing to do with KEPPRA because all seizure medications are like it in many ways. One thing can affect how the other works. Sugar in water sweetens it. Bleach poured on a blue shirt takes the color out. Alcohol taken into the body can counter the way medications are supposed to work. So the neurologists are telling you that it can affect how the medication can work even if you take it and give it time before you start drinking. Been there done that. I too loved going out with friends and hitting the clubs and bars. However after a night on the town I had a seizure after going 3 years without any of any kind. So from that point in time I limited my drinking to a drink a night or 2 beers in a 4-5 hour period of time. You see that have beer that is non alcoholic that does have flavor and tastes like real beer. At clubs they have Shirley Temples which are drinks that look like everybody else's but have no alcohol. Now you won't get the buzz or high headedness but you can enjoy the time out. Oh and yes fishing trips or camping I did too. I was a rock hound and climbed mountains.If you want the seizures controlled then follow the neurologists and limit your alcohol. I did and now I have a seizure every 8-14 days lasting a few secondsOh and when I went on vacation to where my brother lives we went to the bar and he ordered. He kept ordering more beers around. I stayed on one beer and moved the new one over and he thought it was his. He finished 4 before I was half way through my first. He sure had trouble with my sis in law that night...Just think and use common sense. Just because you have a match and like it does that mean you want it near a lot of gun powder? Medications can be countered by alcohol

To start with the neurologist was doing a  test that showed the electrical output coming from your brain. The TEST ie EEG did not cause your grand mal seizures. It showed where the abnormalities came from. Abnormalities are spikes, waves or epileptiform aka as seizure activity. It you had been having petite mal (mini) since you were 12 then tests should have been done back then and the abnormalities would have shown up then too.Now if you talked to most neurologists half of them would say no alcohol period. The other half would want it limited. It has nothing to do with KEPPRA because all seizure medications are like it in many ways. One thing can affect how the other works. Sugar in water sweetens it. Bleach poured on a blue shirt takes the color out. Alcohol taken into the body can counter the way medications are supposed to work. So the neurologists are telling you that it can affect how the medication can work even if you take it and give it time before you start drinking. Been there done that. I too loved going out with friends and hitting the clubs and bars. However after a night on the town I had a seizure after going 3 years without any of any kind. So from that point in time I limited my drinking to a drink a night or 2 beers in a 4-5 hour period of time.  You see that have beer that is non alcoholic that does have flavor and tastes like real beer. At clubs they have Shirley Temples which are drinks that look like everybody else's but have no alcohol. Now you won't get the buzz or high headedness but you can enjoy the time out. Oh and yes fishing trips or camping I did too. I was a rock hound and climbed mountains.If you want the seizures controlled then follow the neurologists and limit your alcohol. I did and now I have a seizure every 8-14 days lasting a few secondsOh and when I went on vacation to where my brother lives we went to the bar and he ordered. He kept ordering more beers around. I stayed on one beer and moved the new one over and he thought it was his. He finished 4 before I was half way through my first. He sure had trouble with my sis in law that night...Just think and use common sense. Just because you have a match and like it does that mean you want it near a lot of gun powder? Medications can be countered by alcohol

To start with the neurologist was doing a test that showed the electrical output coming from your brain. The TEST ie EEG did not cause your grand mal seizures. It showed where the abnormalities came from. Abnormalities are spikes, waves or epileptiform aka as seizure activity. It you had been having petite mal (mini) since you were 12 then tests should have been done back then and the abnormalities would have shown up then too.Now if you talked to most neurologists half of them would say no alcohol period. The other half would want it limited. It has nothing to do with KEPPRA because all seizure medications are like it in many ways. One thing can affect how the other works. Sugar in water sweetens it. Bleach poured on a blue shirt takes the color out. Alcohol taken into the body can counter the way medications are supposed to work. So the neurologists are telling you that it can affect how the medication can work even if you take it and give it time before you start drinking. Been there done that. I too loved going out with friends and hitting the clubs and bars. However after a night on the town I had a seizure after going 3 years without any of any kind. So from that point in time I limited my drinking to a drink a night or 2 beers in a 4-5 hour period of time. You see that have beer that is non alcoholic that does have flavor and tastes like real beer. At clubs they have Shirley Temples which are drinks that look like everybody else's but have no alcohol. Now you won't get the buzz or high headedness but you can enjoy the time out. Oh and yes fishing trips or camping I did too. I was a rock hound and climbed mountains.If you want the seizures controlled then follow the neurologists and limit your alcohol. I did and now I have a seizure every 8-14 days lasting a few secondsOh and when I went on vacation to where my brother lives we went to the bar and he ordered. He kept ordering more beers around. I stayed on one beer and moved the new one over and he thought it was his. He finished 4 before I was half way through my first. He sure had trouble with my sis in law that night...Just think and use common sense. Just because you have a match and like it does that mean you want it near a lot of gun powder? Medications can be countered by alcohol

Drinking water before, during

Submitted by mereloaded on Tue, 2017-03-14 - 17:18

Drinking water before, during and after.Have a full meal before drinking and snacks duringKeep it at two drinks and no more