Benzodiazepine Withdrawal: What to Expect How to Taper How to Cope

Though therapy generally can’t address withdrawal symptoms specifically, it can help improve some symptoms, like anxiety and insomnia. When tapering off benzodiazepines, you’ll always want to work with a trained healthcare professional who can monitor you for side effects and adjust your pace accordingly. In addition, over half of the survey respondents said benzodiazepines’ side effects or withdrawal symptoms caused them to consider suicide. The best resource in your quest to quit benzodiazepines is your prescribing doctor. If you prefer someone else, any primary care physician or psychiatrist can help you taper your dose. During your taper, you may still experience some of the symptoms of withdrawal.

Panic attacks

Complications in the digestive system, such as constipation or diarrhea, may occur in some individuals. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ This class of medication can also cause dizziness and drowsiness, affecting an individual’s ability to perform tasks requiring focus and alertness. The term ‘withdrawal management’ (WM) has been used rather than ‘detoxification’. This is because the term detoxification has many meanings and does not translate easily to languages other than English.

Should every patient be withdrawn?

This hyperexcitability is the root cause of most of the withdrawal symptoms discussed in the next chapter. However, a sufficiently slow, and smooth, departure of benzodiazepines from the body permits the natural systems to regain control of the functions which have been damped down by their benzodiazepine withdrawal presence. There is scientific evidence that reinstatement of brain function takes a long time.

• Calculate how much diazepam is equivalent to the dose of benzodiazepine that the patient currently uses, to a maximum of 40mg of diazepam (Table 8).
• The severity of benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms can fluctuate markedly and withdrawal scales are not recommended for monitoring withdrawal.
• If so, the receptors would continue to be resistant to the natural calming actions of GABA (See Chapter I), and the effect could be to prolong the state of nervous system hyperexcitability.

3. WITHDRAWAL MANAGEMENT FOR OPIOID DEPENDENCE

These drugs tend to be readily available because they are used so routinely in the treatment of a variety of disorders and symptoms. They are often used to treat anxiety disorders such as panic attacks and can be used to help with seizure management and to relieve insomnia. While this drug does have many Drug rehabilitation useful implementations under physician supervision, Benzos, or benzodiazepines, also carry the risk of being a highly addictive substance.

Illegal Drug Addiction

• Vulnerability to extra stress may last somewhat longer and a severe stress may – temporarily – bring back some symptoms.
• Short-acting benzos trigger more intense and severe withdrawal symptoms.
• Often the help of a clinical psychologist, trained counsellor, or other therapist is valuable, especially for teaching relaxation techniques, deep breathing, how to deal with a panic attack etc.
• Deciding to seek help is the first step on your journey to reclaiming your life from addiction.
• These symptoms can range widely in both type and severity, influenced by the specific benzodiazepine used, the duration and dosage of use, and individual health factors.
• Most people do okay with tapering their benzodiazepines at home with the help of their primary care doctor or psychiatrist.

If you want to stop taking benzodiazepines after consistent long-term use, your doctor can help you gradually taper off your medication. Tapering can help take the edge off withdrawal symptoms like tremors and nausea, though it may not prevent withdrawal symptoms entirely. There is a risk that people who quit benzodiazepines without a taper may experience a life-threatening grand mal seizure. If you go into withdrawal without tapering, you also risk experiencing delirium and hallucinations that cause you to lose touch with reality—a terrifying and dangerous experience. The best way to quit benzodiazepines is to avoid withdrawal by asking your doctor to taper down your dose. Tapering means taking progressively smaller doses over the course of a few weeks or months.

Tapering off supratherapeutic doses

• Reductions tend to get harder in the second half of the process, so it’sOK to slow down as you need to, as you approach the finish line.
• It’s essential to consult a medical professional before attempting to detox from benzodiazepines.
• Patients withdrawing from inhalants should be observed every three-four hours to assess for complications such as hallucinations, which may require medication.
• Symptomatic medications should be offered as required for aches, anxiety and other symptoms.
• Individuals can navigate this complex process with appropriate support and management, moving toward recovery and returning to health.

Usually this state settles in a few weeks but occasionally disturbing sensations persist. Individuals may find they are intolerant of certain foods although this is not usually a true allergy. In this case, let common sense prevail and avoid such foods for a while. 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.

• When benzodiazepines attach to your neurons, they invite a bunch of chloride ions inside.
• With prolonged use, the brain’s neurochemistry adjusts to compensate for the drug’s presence.
• Everyone is different and some people, with the right schedule and the right support, get no untoward symptoms at all.
• As above, provide 20mg diazepam every 1-2 hours until symptoms are controlled.
• Opioid withdrawal can be very uncomfortable and difficult for the patient.