This is why it is important to identify what type of seizure an individual is having in order to provide the most suitable and appropriate form of care and support. Moreover, family therapy offers loved ones an opportunity to learn healthy boundaries, cope with the emotional toll of a family member’s addiction and strengthen their own resiliency. A united family front can be instrumental in maintaining long-term recovery success. Family dynamics can play a pivotal role in both the development of and recovery from AUD. Family therapy sessions bring together spouses, siblings, parents and other close relatives to address dysfunctional patterns and improve communication skills. By helping families understand the nature of addiction and its impact, therapy sessions create a supportive atmosphere that can reinforce the individual’s commitment to sobriety.
What Causes Alcohol Seizures?
The short-term effects of alcohol result from its actions on ligand-gated and voltage-gated ion channels (2–4). Prolonged alcohol consumption leads to the development of tolerance and physical dependence, which may result from compensatory functional changes in the same ion channels. Abrupt cessation of prolonged alcohol consumption unmasks these changes, leading to the alcohol withdrawal syndrome, which includes blackouts, tremors, muscular rigidity, delirium tremens, and seizures (5,6).
- Why it happens involves those neurotransmitters and receptors discussed earlier.
- Nestled in a tranquil setting just outside of Orlando, our mental health facility provides patients with a safe place to reflect, reset and heal.
Binge Drinking Seizures
Drinking with epilepsy is not recommended, as alcohol can directly increase the risk of seizures. I thank Prosper N’Gouemo for insights into the physiology of alcohol withdrawal seizures. Naltrexone is a non-addictive, non-opioid treatment for alcohol use disorder and opioid use disorder. Doctors typically prescribe the drug to discourage relapse after the client can alcohol withdrawals cause seizures is no longer dependent on alcohol. Using naltrexone before completely detoxing from alcohol may cause strong side effects like nausea and vomiting.
Preventive Strategy
Alcohol throws a wrench in the works by mimicking GABA and increasing its depressant effects. This significant disruption to our brain activity can trigger seizures for those who may have epilepsy and even for those who don’t. If someone is experiencing a seizure or other serious symptoms, it’s important to seek emergency medical assistance right away.
If you suddenly stop drinking after a long period of use, your nervous system and brain aren’t able to quickly adjust. Alcohol withdrawal seizures are usually generalized tonic–clonic seizures that involve both sides of the brain, although partial seizures involving only one part of the brain can also occur. In some instances, an addiction specialist may determine that sleeping at home is the best option for an alcohol rehab client. Hybrid treatment programs provide the structure of a residential program while allowing the client to return home in the evening only to sleep.
Alcohol withdrawal also disrupts the balance of stress hormones and the autonomic nervous system. This disruption can lead to increased cortisol levels, heightening stress responses and contributing to mood instability. At the same time, autonomic dysregulation may result in symptoms such as a rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, and excessive sweating.
Health Conditions
These types of seizures can also be common in the night time – something which can require additional care and support from individuals around the individual who is struggling with seizures. This can be especially dangerous, as the individual has the risks of both the seizure itself but also the risks and dangers that come with alcoholism and high alcohol consumption. Seizures occur as a result of an increase in electrical activity in the brain through the neural network.
Treatment Programs
When examining the relationship between alcohol and seizures, it’s important to understand the different types of seizures that can occur. Furthermore, alcohol-related seizures have unique characteristics that set them apart from other types of seizures. Inpatient and residential treatment can provide additional medical monitoring to ensure your safety and sobriety. When GABA comes to bind to the nerve cell, it opens up a channel to a negative charge that slows down brain activity.
What happens when seizure medication is mixed with alcohol?
- In the following sections, we will explore the link between alcohol and seizures in more detail, including how alcohol affects the brain and the different types and characteristics of alcohol-related seizures.
- This threshold refers to the amount of alcohol needed to trigger a seizure in susceptible individuals.
- Benzodiazepines like diazepam or lorazepam are commonly used for their soothing and anticonvulsant properties, providing rapid seizure control.
- A detox focuses solely on the physical health and withdrawal of the individual rather than the mental health effects of their addiction.
Reach out to us to learn more about on-site detox, residential, outpatient, and hybrid programs that provide alcohol recovery services. Regular alcohol consumption may begin as a way to bolster confidence in social settings or unwind after work or on weekends. Over time, the body adapts to frequent consumption and Oxford House needs more alcohol to achieve the same effect. The term alcohol use disorder (AUD) refers to a spectrum that includes varying degrees of alcohol abuse, dependency, and addiction. Alcohol use becomes disordered when the individual has difficulty controlling or stopping his or her alcohol consumption. Preventing alcohol-induced seizures is crucial for managing alcohol withdrawal and ensuring the safety of individuals with a history of excessive alcohol use.
- Addiction treatment often involves cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), family therapy, group and individual therapies, and therapies to address co-occurring mental health issues.
- Establishing a regular sleep schedule and creating a restful environment are key strategies.
- The Recovery Village Cherry Hill at Cooper offers comprehensive addiction treatment for drug and alcohol addictions and co-occurring mental health conditions.
- In these models, the withdrawal seizures are triggered by neuronal networks in the brainstem, including the inferior colliculus; similar brainstem mechanisms may contribute to alcohol withdrawal seizures in humans.
- Most people with a seizure disorder (epilepsy) can drink small amounts of alcohol occasionally without experiencing an increase in seizure activity.
- When the seizure begins during the aura stage, it may be called a partial seizure or a simple focal seizure.
Someone with an alcohol withdrawal seizure may experience convulsions and lose consciousness. Binge drinking and alcohol withdrawal together can cause seizures, even in people not previously diagnosed with epilepsy. Binge drinking refers to a scenario where you drink a lot in a short period of time, and the seizures related to binge drinking can stem from withdrawal.