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Alcoholic Husband with Epilepsy

To make a long story short, my husband was a recovering alcoholic. I say was because hes begun having relapses after being alcohol free for nearly a year. Last year in August he began having seizures and they diagnosed him with epilepsy 6months later after ruling out alcohol withdraw. He was banned from driving until he was seizure free for 6months. After much trial and error he was finally placed on medication that works for him and just this past May he was cleared to not only drive his car but to resume any driving activity at work.

Unfortunately, he has begun to relapse. The same day his Dr cleared him to drive, he dropped me and our boys off at the playground and was supposed to come pick us up. After 3hrs of waiting, I realized he wasnt coming back and thankfully found a friend to take myself and 2 tired and hungry boys home. This same friend took me back to the playground so I coukd wait in vain for my hubby to come back. I then got a phone call from him telling me he was at a local bar but he swore he wasnt drinking but just having a pepsi. I knew he was lying and my friend took me to said bar where my suspicions were confirmed. He was trashed.

Then this Friday he got off work and it was payday. He called to tell me he was "stuck in traffic" and would try to be home by 8p. When it was 830p I called him and got no answer. My gut instinct came into play - I knew he was up to no good. Sure enough I found him at the same bar, drinking alcohol. He had money for our car payment so I walked in and demanded the money then left him there. I was LIVID this is the biggest "**** you" he has done to me. After I had to take him to work every morning RIGHT after I got off at 6am then pick him up every night he got off at varying times. Whats worse is his lying about it on top of it all. Then he asks if Im mad at him... which of course I am but I just telk him I didnt want to talk about it. Why? Because I know it will start a huge fight and he will leave to god knows where until god knows when.

Come Monday I am going to call his Dr and let her know what hes been doing. I am doing this because I am worried about him despite how badly he pisses me off. Im scared he will have more seizures and that one of these days he will be hurt badly by a seizure.

What should I watch out for? How will his relapses be with his meds?
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Avatar universal
Now i understand why you r so freaked out. Its worrysome and you are doing this out of love. Sometimes newborn babies challenges might push someone over and he is just thinking of a coping strategy within his comgort zone.
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refused my suggestion to visit the ER*
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Avatar universal
He did it again last night!!! He came home and looked terrible but he refused my suggestion which I knew something was wrong then. After our boys were in bed, I went out to two bars that hes a regular at and found out at one he had been there. He had drank 2 ******* pitchers of beer!

I cant ******* talk to him because he blows me off like its a joke. Wtf can I do? I want him to stop! There is no reason he should have ****** up... and its just seriously pissing me off... the lies, the downright "**** you" feeling I get when Ive done nothing but been by his side through everything!

But god forbid I get angry... because then he blames me for EVERYTHING and he takes off for god knows how long. I love him to death but I feel like he doesnt give a **** about himself or anyone.
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1756321 tn?1547095325
No problem. :) I've read the gold standard for neurotransmitter testing is cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). I believe this test is seldom used outside of research settings. How accurate other labs are i can't say. You could ask for a blood test. There is also companies that test urinary neurotransmitters such as NeuroScience (testing is performed by Pharmasan Labs), and Sanesco.
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Avatar universal
Wow... thank you for the information RedStar. Im going to mention this to his Dr when I call them. Can dopamine levels be detected via blood test?
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1756321 tn?1547095325
"Commonly used antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) can cause vitamin B12 or folate deficiency, which is, in turn, associated with hyperhomocysteinemia, new research published in Annals of Neurology has found."

Vitamin B12 and folate deficiencies lower dopamine as well. They are essential to methylation (along with vitamin B6). These are three nutrients you want in good supply!
Helpful - 0
1756321 tn?1547095325
Addictive behaviour is a symptom of low dopamine (brain neurotransmitter).  Raise that dopamine level and the addictive behaviour all that go with it (lies etc) improves.  And once dopamine levels are low it will take time to increase those levels.  There is a product you can purchase called L-tyrosine but you need to also improve the underlying cause/s as well. Of interest, i've read two studies that showed every epileptic had low cellular magnesium. Brain chemistry always wins against will power. It's in the rulez. :P

"Dopamine deficiency signs/symptoms:

Reduced ability to feel pleasure
Flat, bored, apathetic and low enthusiasm
Depressed
Low drive and motivation
Difficulty getting through a task even when interesting
Procrastinator/little urgency
Difficulty paying attention and concentrating
Slowed thinking and/or slow to learn new ideas
Crave uppers (e.g. caffeine/nicotine/diet soft drinks)
Use these to improve energy/motivation/mood
Prone to addictions (e.g. alcohol)/addictive personality
Shy/introvert
Low libido or impotence
Mentally fatigued easily and physically fatigued easily
Sleep too much and trouble getting out of bed
Put on weight easily
Family history of alcoholism/ADD/ADHD

Dopamine levels may be low due to a combination of genetic and acquired reasons. Dopamine can be raised effectively using either nutrient based therapies or medications. Dopamine is synthesized form the amino acid tyrosine.

Factors which reduce dopamine levels:

Chronic stress
Inadequate sleep
Hypothyroidism
Lead, arsenic and cadmium exposure
Under-methylation
Tyrosine (precursor) deficiency
Magnesium, iron, zinc & vitamins B3/B6/C/D deficiency
Excess copper levels
Genetic dopamine receptor abnormalities
Chronic opioid, alcohol & marijuana use
Adrenal insufficiency
Glutathione deficiency
Parkinson's Disease
Influenza
Estrogen deficiency
Human growth hormone deficiency"
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