Beyond being in an alternate dimension like the characters in the show, seizures can happen for many different reasons — even ones that may seem unrelated, such as alcohol withdrawal. 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. In the alcohol withdrawal seizure morning, the client returns to the rehab center to receive a full, structured day of treatment.
What are the effects of alcohol withdrawal symptoms on the nervous system and potential seizure development?
Kindling is caused by the chronic use of drugs that cause GABA receptors’ downregulation. Chronic depressant use and withdrawal can cause hypersensitivity in your nervous system. It’s worth noting that opioids share many similarities with depressants, but they don’t work with GABA in the brain as alcohol does. If you’ve gone through opioid withdrawal before, you may need to experience the kindling effects.
Prolonged Alcohol Abuse
Although excessive alcohol consumption is detrimental to your health, suddenly stopping chronic alcohol use can pose severe risks. Alcohol withdrawal syndrome is a condition that causes physical and mental side effects when the body doesn’t get alcohol. For individuals with co-occurring epilepsy and AUD, avoiding alcohol is critical, as it can interfere with antiseizure medications and increase seizure risk. Newer antiseizure drugs, such as ezogabine, have shown promise in clinical trials, but they may have side effects and require monitoring. Certain metabolic disturbances caused by alcohol overdose, such as significantly low blood sugar, can also lead to seizures.
Seizing the Opportunity for Health and Well-Being
The longer someone has been drinking heavily, the greater their risk of experiencing withdrawal seizures. Chronic alcohol use suppresses the central nervous system, and when alcohol is removed, the brain becomes hyperactive, leading to symptoms like tremors, anxiety, and, in severe cases, seizures. These seizures are typically generalized tonic-clonic seizures, meaning they involve sudden, uncontrollable muscle contractions and loss of consciousness. They can happen as early as six hours after the last drink but are most common within 24 to 48 hours. For individuals struggling with alcohol addiction, the road to recovery can feel overwhelming, and the risks of withdrawal can feel like an insurmountable obstacle.
Considerations for Co-occurring Conditions
The interaction between alcohol and antiseizure medications can exacerbate the situation, highlighting the need for caution among those with epilepsy. The pathophysiology of alcohol seizures involves the central nervous system (CNS) and is related to the abrupt reduction in alcohol intake after prolonged heavy consumption. Ethanol, the active ingredient in alcoholic beverages, acts as a CNS depressant.
Evidence-Based Treatment Recommendations
In clients who are https://www.helium10hub.com/is-vodka-cranberry-healthy/ no longer abusing alcohol, naltrexone blocks the effects people typically experience after drinking. Therefore, consuming alcohol while taking naltrexone no longer produces the same feelings the individual once enjoyed. Taking naltrexone after detox helps alcohol rehab clients maintain their sobriety. Doctors will need to monitor and manage your condition for any complications.
- While vitamin B supplements and dietary changes can help address nutritional deficiencies common in alcohol use disorder, they won’t prevent withdrawal seizures on their own.
- Delirium tremens is considered one of the gravest consequences of alcohol withdrawal – the symptoms onset in about three to five days since you last drank alcohol and may put your life in danger.
- Behavioral therapies help individuals identify and modify patterns of thought and behavior that contribute to alcohol misuse.
- Our programs, including Substance Abuse Treatment and Addiction Therapy Programs, are designed to address both the physical and emotional challenges of alcohol withdrawal.
Alcoholic seizures are a serious potential side effect of alcohol withdrawal. Due to seizures and other dangers, it may be important to make sure that treatment for alcohol addiction includes medically supervised detoxification. Finally, the severity and duration of alcohol withdrawal symptoms grow with each subsequent episode of alcohol withdrawal in general, and this intensifies the seizures in particular. This is independent of the amount and duration of alcohol consumed but seems to have more to do with the number of alcohol Drug rehabilitation withdrawal episodes that someone has experienced. This is thought to be through a sensitization process, although the exact mechanisms are currently unknown.
The 6 Stages of Mental Health Recovery
- These seizures are mediated largely in the brainstem, although the hippocampus may be invaded after seizure initiation (10).
- Coupled with the brain’s decreased sensitivity to GABA this severely reduces the ability of the brain to moderate signals and slow itself down.
- Despite its legal status and cultural acceptance, it is a serious psychoactive substance that can profoundly affect your health.
- The periaqueductal gray is thought to trigger clonic seizures, whereas the pontine reticular formation is implicated in the generation of the tonic phase of audiogenic seizures (18).
When your body adapts to alcohol, your sudden choice to stop drinking or drinking a limited amount of alcohol can be dangerous. Your brain chemistry is so used to the presence of alcohol in your system, that it overloads the central nervous system. When receptors that are regularly affected by alcohol can transmit signals between nerve cells without obstruction, you may experience anxiety, tremors, and even alcohol withdrawal seizures. Additionally, there is a shocking 4.8x increase in the mortality rate of those who experience seizures compared to those who do not experience seizures during withdrawal. This does not seem to be due to the seizures themselves, but rather due to complications which arise from severe alcohol withdrawal. This suggests that alcohol withdrawal seizures may indicate deeper underlying issues that may warrant a further diagnosis, treatment, and care.