Can Alcohol Withdrawal Seizures Kill You?

Is it true you can die from alcohol withdrawal seizures?

If you are afraid to quit drinking because you’re worried about seizures, this article is for you. It will help you understand everything you need to know about alcohol withdrawal seizures and give you the courage to get sober.

When I was trying to quit drinking, I came across information on the net about seizures. Quite honestly, it was scary stuff!

There was a lot of information warning people not to quit drinking because they might experience a withdrawal seizure and die.

It was all a bit vague and confusing and I really didn’t understand why I might die if I stopped drinking. Surely that was a good thing, right?

To get a bit of perspective and clarity, I asked Dr. Daniel Gibbons from Birmingham UK to explain more.

As a geriatric specialist, Dr. Dan has experience working with elderly alcoholics who have experienced withdrawal seizures, so I asked him to shed some light on the subject so I could better understand the risks involved. Let’s dive into it.

What Are Seizures?

In its simplest form, a seizure is an unregulated activity in the brain.

Generally, our brain is a well-oiled machine that operates a multitude of highly systemised and regulated activity.

Think of your brain like a computer. When the software is performing well, everything goes smoothly, but when there’s a glitch, systems break down and either don’t work as expected or fail completely. The same thing happens when you have a seizure.

When Do We Get Seizures?

A seizure occurs when something such as alcohol interferes with the smooth running and operating functions of the brain.

Alcohol is like a computer virus. It breaks through your brain’s protective barrier and rewrites your software so that it acts in a different way. For example, shouting instead of talking.

When you add alcohol to your body, all hell can break loose in your brain.

As a result, your neurons (nerve cells) which are responsible for controlling everything in your body from talking to digesting food and everything in between go crazy.

Some neurons will shut down completely, others will work partially. They may no longer follow systems or standard operating procedures, instead, they act in an unpredictable way.

In short, your brain goes into chaos mode. But what happens in your brain also happens in your body. This means your body also becomes unregulated and uncontrolled (think of the drunks you’ve seen in the street who have pissed themselves).

It’s a little like pouring diesel into the tank of a Formula 1 racing car and expecting it to still perform perfectly and win. It can’t and it won’t.

Are There Different Types of Seizures?

There are 3 categories of seizures and they vary in intensity.

Absence Seizures

So called because you literally go blank for 15/20 seconds and don’t respond to stimuli.

These are the least noticeable and you will probably only know you’ve had one because of the aftereffects.

You might feel confused or very drowsy after an absence seizure. This type of seizure affects your fine motor skills, which makes it difficult to operate machinery or drive a car. This makes you a risk to others.

Partial Seizures

This type of seizure affects a specific part of your body. You might experience twitching in your fingers, or your arm might jerk. Normally, it affects just one side of the body.

Global Seizures

This is the most noticeable type of seizure. Your whole brain is affected and because the whole of the brain gets lit up, so does your body. It’s the type of seizure we’ve all seen in films where a person starts to shake and jerk violently. It can be accompanied by a spike in temperature.

Why Do We Get Withdrawal Seizures?

Alcohol is a downer.

Yes, it initially makes you happy, but in reality, it is suppressing your brain activity and dumbing everything down. We think slower; we are uncoordinated and we move slower.

When we drink alcohol, our brain goes into battle with it. Drinking lowers functionality and performance. As a result, the brain is forced to fight the toxic effects of alcohol and try to restore normal operating levels.

Consistent heavy drinking permanently lowers the level of your brain activity. Alcohol wins over time and the lower level of performance becomes the new norm. The brain doesn’t give up, and it keeps trying to increase activity.

It’s really like a tug of war with alcohol gaining the most ground.

You pour in alcohol; it tries to push back and improve performance.

When you suddenly quit drinking, it takes the brain by surprise as its expecting the arrival of alcohol. It continues to push back and try to restore the brain to normal levels. As a result, the brain gets over-stimulated, which increases the risk of seizure.

Consequences of Alcoholic Seizure (Withdrawal Seizure)

Prolonged episodes or when the seizures go unnoticed or untreated can ultimately result in brain damage and death. The seizures create a medical emergency which must be dealt with.

Experiencing “delirium tremens” meaning shaking frenzy is an extreme version of a withdrawal seizure that can be experienced when withdrawing from alcohol. It generally starts on the third day of withdrawal, initially there is a rapid onset of confusion followed by severe shaking, which can last for two to three days. It requires immediate medical treatment.

Can Alcoholic Seizures Cause Death?

Although alcohol withdrawal is widely recognised to cause seizures, the evidence that they cause death is hard to find, so it is not as common as people make out. In a 2007 study which specifically investigated deaths caused by seizure, it was stated that,

“It has not been possible to find any well-documented deaths due to alcohol-induced seizures. This does of course not necessarily mean that this type of death does not exist at all. But it does suggest that the significance may actually be overestimated on an everyday basis.”

Avoiding Seizures with Managed Withdrawal

In the UK, there are two tests applied to measure the severity of alcohol withdrawal symptoms. The CIWA and the GMAWS.

Depending on the severity, a surrogate drug that mimics the effect of alcohol and suppresses brain functioning such as benzodiazepine may be given.

However, doctors are reluctant to recommend this pathway, as ultimately it doesn’t solve anything. The drugs help you with the chemical regulation of your brain and body, but they cannot help you fix the emotional issues that caused you to drink in the first place.

Which is why so many people who try detox end up drinking again.

That’s the problem with drinking, I thought, as I poured myself a drink. If something bad happens you drink in an attempt to forget; if something good happens you drink in order to celebrate; and if nothing happens you drink to make something happen.”

― Charles Bukowski, Women

Final thoughts

If you want to quit and stay sober, you need to work on yourself first.

If you’ve been drinking heavily for a prolonged period, it’s a good idea to have a word with your doctor before you consider going cold turkey.

You will never be wrong to limit the amount of alcohol you drink. Remember, it’s a poison, so treat it as such. The less you put in your body, the better.

Live Strong, Love & Be Sober

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