Benzo Withdrawal: Symptoms, Timeline & Treatment

This would take a further weeks, so the total withdrawal might last weeks. Yet some people might prefer to reduce faster and some might go even slower. Your doctor may have views on whether it is appropriate for you to stop your benzodiazepines. Some doctors, particularly in the US, believe that long-term benzodiazepines are indicated for some anxiety, panic and phobic disorders and some psychiatric conditions.

What makes benzodiazepine withdrawal so dangerous?

Some drugs related to major tranquillisers have sedative effects and are also used for nausea, vertigo and motion sickness. These are sometimes prescribed during withdrawal, especially prochlorperazine (Compazine). However, such drugs can have serious side effects (motor disorders like Parkinson’s disease) and are not recommended for long-term use or as a substitute for benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines undoubtedly have effects on the endocrine system, but these have not been closely studied in humans, either during long-term benzodiazepine use or in withdrawal.

Supportive care

We utilize holistic techniques such as mindfulness, stress management, and wellness activities to promote overall healing. When appropriate, medication-assisted treatment is available to ease withdrawal symptoms and make the detoxification process more comfortable. Our goal is to address not just the symptoms but also the underlying causes of benzodiazepine dependence. Certain withdrawal symptoms are more severe and require immediate what is Oxford House medical attention. Older individuals are at an increased risk during benzos withdrawal, facing potential falls and serious cardiac events like heart attacks.

Benzodiazepines

Symptoms vary based on personal biology, drug history, and mental health. Medical guidance and structured care are necessary when detoxing from benzodiazepines. Withdrawal symptoms can vary but commonly include increased anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, irritability, tremors, sweating, nausea, headaches, muscle pain, and difficulty concentrating.

Benzo Addiction Treatment Near Me

These include anxiety, insomnia, depression, various sensory and motor symptoms, gastrointestinal disturbances, and poor memory and cognition. Probably many factors are involved, some directly due to the drug and some to indirect or secondary effects (See Table 4). Thus from almost any starting point, the motivated long-term user can proceed in good heart. All sorts of strange tinglings, pins and needles, patches of numbness, feelings of electric shocks, sensations of hot and cold, itching, and deep burning pain are not uncommon during benzodiazepine withdrawal. It is difficult to give an exact explanation for these sensations but, like motor nerves, the sensory nerves, along with their connections in the spinal cord and brain, become hyperexcitable during withdrawal.

• These excitatorytransmitters play important roles in memory, muscle movement, alertness,emotional regulation, heart rate and blood pressure and hormonal secretions.
• Withdrawal from shorter-acting Benzos tends to cause more intense and severe symptoms.
• Besides detox, you need a comprehensive treatment plan to address addiction’s psychological aspects and break the drug use cycle.
• However, for those on long-acting benzos, this period may mark the peak of benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms.
• A properly managed taper (gradual dosage reduction) can help minimize the intensity of these symptoms and reduce the risk of life-threatening complications.
• Among people taking benzodiazepines for longer than six months, about 40% experience moderate to severe withdrawal symptoms when they quit suddenly.

When the deficit of REMS is made up, usually after about 4-6 weeks, the nightmares become less frequent and gradually fade away. Another way that people attempt to detox is by quitting “cold turkey,” which is when benzo use is cut off altogether. Stopping the drug so abruptly will cause a person to have very intense withdrawal symptoms that can occur very quickly. It is as if the nervous system has a “memory” of the withdrawal(s) and/or damage from a substance like benzodiazepines. This “memory” of prior withdrawal(s) and/or damage somehow remains “imprinted” within the nervous system.

Incorporating Therapy

It was prescribed by another physician who had since retired, and she insisted that it was the only thing that helped her symptoms. Over the past several months, she had been taking more alprazolam during the day and at bedtime, because it had not been working as well as when initially prescribed. The Guideline notes that individuals who have been using benzodiazepines for years may need to slowly taper for a year or more. If benzodiazepines were prescribed for psychiatric conditions Oxford House like anxiety or insomnia, developing an alternative strategy to manage your mental health is essential. After acute withdrawal, many individuals experience lingering symptoms—this is known as PAWS (Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome).

Benzodiazepine Detox Medications

Individuals may find they are intolerant of certain foods although this is not usually a true allergy. If in doubt, get the advice of a reliable and unbiased nutritionist, but in general stick to a normal healthy diet without food fads. Before diets became “fashionable” thousands of people successfully came off their benzodiazepines in many different countries with widely varying dietary habits without restriction – and this continues today. One particular patient who was confined to a wheelchair with a spastic paralysis and who was also blind, was able to come off all his benzodiazepines with the help of a meditation technique. However, not everyone is able to devote the mental and physical concentration required for these techniques. Poor memory and concentration are also features of benzodiazepine withdrawal, and are probably due to continued effects of the drug.