Epilepsy can shape your social life in different ways, but it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun, make friends, or be independent. Lots of people worry about having a seizure in public or what others might think, and that’s completely normal. Sometimes this can make you anxious about going out, joining in, or trying new things. But most friends are understanding once they know what’s going on, and having even one or two people who “get it” can make social situations feel much easier.
Over time, you will figure out what helps you feel safe, who you trust, and how to balance fun while staying healthy. You might need to plan ahead more than others, or take breaks when you’re tired, but epilepsy doesn’t have to stop you from having a social life. With the right support and a bit of confidence, you can still hang out, go to events, and enjoy the same things as everyone else.
You should be aware that substances like alcohol and recreational drugs can create problems.
Alcohol
Alcohol (and drugs) can increase the risk of you having a seizure. Alcohol may cause seizures in a number of situations such as drinking too much, too quickly or too often, and also when withdrawing from alcohol.
It’s important to think seriously before making any decisions about taking recreational drugs or binge drinking.
It may seem like a fun thing to do at the time, but the consequences might not be worth it.
For example, if you have a seizure out of the blue, especially if you are seizure-free, it can change your lifestyle dramatically – you will lose your drivers licence and possibly your job as a result, you may get injured or regular seizures could start happening again.
Want to know why this can happen? There are heaps of reasons drugs and alcohol can cause seizures.
- Alcohol and drugs get metabolised in the liver and compete with the enzymes that metabolise the anti-seizure medication; therefore there is less anti-seizure medication circulating in your blood which can cause an increase in the number of seizures.
- Alcohol and drugs disrupt sleep cycles and can cause a severe lack of sleep – even if you feel like you slept.
- Alcohol depresses your water retaining hormone, causing you to pass a lot of urine and become dehydrated.
- Stimulant drugs are known to cause seizures.
- Seizures can occur when alcohol levels in the bloodstream drop. Alcohol can act as a depressant and temporarily inhibit seizures while it’s in the bloodstream, but when you stop drinking you can have what is known as a withdrawal seizure.
- When people party hard its easy to forget to taking regular medication, and they sleep less or erratically, and can also become dehydrated and not look after themselves.
Remember that people taking medications for epilepsy are likely to be more sensitive to the effects of alcohol.
Each person will react differently but alcohol can:
- Mix poorly with some anti-seizure medication
- Make the medication side effects worse
- Make you feel drunk and out of control after drinking only a small amount of alcohol.
Missing a dose, taking extra medication or changing the time of taking your anti-seizure medications before drinking will not alter this reaction and may cause worse side effects or seizures.
Some doctors recommend that alcohol should always be avoided when taking medication for epilepsy, while others say a small amount will do no harm. This may depend on the type of epilepsy that you have. Small amounts of alcohol do not usually increase seizures or significantly affect anti-seizure medication, but the effects of alcohol can be very different from person to person.
Some types of epilepsy are more sensitive to alcohol. Speak to your doctor about your type of epilepsy.
It’s best to avoid drinking alcohol if seizures related to alcohol have happened in the past. If unsure whether you can or cannot drink with the medication you are taking, talk to your doctor about it.
Further Information
EAA Factsheet – Alcohol & Epilepsy
Dr Andrew Bleasel (Neurologist) discusses – Alcohol and epilepsy video
Recreational Drugs
Recreational drugs are typically made up of many different substances of unknown quantity. They are illegal, harmful, and there are no regulations to control quality. Like alcohol, each person will have different reactions to various drugs.
Many recreational drugs, especially stimulants and synthetic drugs all have the potential to cause seizures and it is uncertain what interactions these, or any recreational drugs, may have with prescription medicines.
As the name suggests, stimulants are types of drugs that stimulate brain activity causing an increase in alertness, attention, and energy.
Recreational drugs can impact sleep, cause you to become dehydrated, and cause you to forget taking medication. These alone are common triggers of seizures.
The decision to take recreational drugs is a personal one, but it is important to be aware that they increase the risk of seizures.
Also remember that the use of these substances is illegal in Australia.
Marijuana contains dozens of chemicals called cannabinoids. THC is one of the active ingredients to produce the high. Whilst its short term effects feel good, long term it binds to receptors in the brain cells, affecting brain function, and can cause:
- learning and memory problems
- mental health problems
- addiction
- breathing problems.
There is a big difference between medical cannabis and recreational use of marijuana. There is now prescription medical cannabis products which has no THC or very low THC, depending on the formulation, and some people with epilepsy report benefits of a decrease in seizures.
The cannabis products bought for recreational purposes, have no control in the THC concentrations as this differs from plant to plant whilst medicinal cannabis is specially grown for consistency in cannabinoids.
Further information
Epilepsy Action information about medical cannabis
ADF Information about recreational cannabis and medical cannabis
Over-the-counter drugs
A few medicines that you can get over-the-counter (without prescription) can potentially cause or increase seizures in people with epilepsy, or even cause first-time seizures.
A common one is the active ingredient in some colds and flu medicines which is used for allergies, and to promote sleep.
It is important to remember that these products do have physical effects on the body, and can possibly affect your epilepsy medication and seizures.
Before taking any additional medication to your epilepsy medication, its best to speak to your pharmacist or doctor to make sure it’s OK.
