Coffee and seizures - Epilepsy Message Board

Ladystang · 10-19-2003, 02:50 AM

Hi all,

I was here that coffee may cause seizures.. is it the caffein or something else? I have had seizures since I was 14 and yes I started with alot of pepsi at the age of 14 then when I was around 18 started drinking coffee.. my seizures have never really been controlled but now I am wondering if it's been from all the crud I put in my body (caffeine) and I love my coffee but would rather not have the seizures if it helps me I'd rather not drink the coffee. infact I started cutting back on it after I read it was a trigger so we'll see what happens from here.

Hugs
Lady

mommajessibelle · 10-19-2003, 11:22 AM

im not sure about coffee but i am a faithful mountain dew drinker lol i mean i drink 12-18 cans in a day i have drank mountain dew since i was little my parents drank it and ya know as a kid you drink what your parents drink and you drink theirs or atleast i did. i questioned my dr about this because in one 12oz can of mountain dew there is 46 grams of sugar and im not sure about the caffiene i know it has it but how much im unsure how that is measured or whatever so anyways since i drink so much pop and i have for a long time i questioned my dr about it i just asked her if i should stop drinking so much or stop period and she told me that if i stopped all together it would probably do more harm to me than good it would kinda throw my system into shock and trigger more and more so she said it was ok to continue drinking my mountain dew i just need to start equaling the amount of water i drink for example if i drink one 12 oz can of pop i need to drink one 12 oz glass of water and so on im not sure how much truth there is to that but its what i was told

------------------
mother of 3
ages 4,3,and 1
my pride and joy

diagnosed with epilepsy jan. of 97

live life to its fullest you never know when it may be to late to do all the things you would have done tomorrow

peasinapod · 10-19-2003, 11:28 AM

Caffine is a stimulant.

Nicotine is a stimulant.

I tried to quit smoking cold turkey once, and stop all the caffine to feel more healthy. And I had a seizure. Someone quickly got me a cig, and I felt better immediately after smoking.

AED's are stimulants, or not all are? If so, and nicotine, I know is a stimulant, and has effected me before messing with my rhythem, I had to slowly cut back, and Nicorette helped immensely. I have started smoking again, but I am still posing the question...

how much of an effect to these two things have on our epilepsy/seizure patterns?

PS I am a typo queen lol, hence my edited posts.

[This message has been edited by peasinapod (edited 10-19-2003).]

raistlynne · 10-19-2003, 01:00 PM

In my personal experience any big change in my routine (be it diet, sleep, etc) seems to lower my seizure threshold, which makes it more likely that I'll have a seizure. So for me, if I want to stop drinking coffee or start a diet, etc, I have to start really gradually. It's a pain in the a##, but I find that's the only way for me to make any change safely. It's taken me too long to become seizure-free for me to do otherwise.

KittyMom · 10-19-2003, 01:22 PM

If that is the case and you must make changes gradually then I need to slowly decrease my stress level. I have been so stressed out for so long that if I quit now I would have that thing (can't remember the name) when you have seizures one right after the other for a long long time...more than 30 min. Oh boy, and I wanted to quit having stress NOW!! There I go wishing again...

God Bless,
KittyMom

Oh Yeah......GO YANKEES!!!! We still love you all the way out here!!