A number of people are expressing fears that some benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms last for ever, and that they can never completely recover. Particular concerns have been raised about impairment of cognitive functions (such as memory and reasoning) and other lingering problems such as muscle pains and gastrointestinal disturbances. Gastrointestinal symptoms may be prolonged after withdrawal, usually in people who have a previous history of digestive troubles. Such people may develop apparent intolerance to certain foods, although reliable tests for true food allergy (e.g. antibodies against specific food constituents) are nearly always negative.
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- Unless the patient is elderly, it is helpful to switch to a long-acting benzodiazepine in both withdrawal and maintenance therapy.
- Excessive doses of benzodiazepines, like alcohol, cause unsteadiness of gait, slurred speech and general incoordination, including inability to walk in a straight line.
- Abuse and misuse can result in overdose or death, especially when benzodiazepines are combined with other medicines, such as opioid pain relievers, alcohol, or illicit drugs.
They want to taper the patients off the benzodiazepines, but the patients are convinced that they need the drugs, and that their symptoms must be related to other diseases. Continuing the prescription of benzodiazepines will please the patient, but not cure the problems. On the other hand, mandated tapers, without complete understanding and assent by the patient, often fail. There are various things that people may try to deal with benzo withdrawal on their own, but this may not be recommended.
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As discussed in Chapters I and II, benzodiazepines disrupt the function of many neurotransmitters and hormones and depression could be the result, for example, of low serotonin activity combined with the stress of withdrawal. If severe enough to require definitive treatment, the depression in withdrawal responds to antidepressant drugs and/or cognitive therapy and usually diminishes gradually over 6-12 months. Depressive symptoms are common both during long-term benzodiazepine use and in withdrawal. It is not surprising that some patients feel depressed considering the amalgam of other psychological and physical symptoms that may assail them. Sometimes the depression becomes severe enough to qualify as a “major depressive disorder”, to use the psychiatric term. This disorder includes the risk of suicide and may require treatment with psychotherapy and/or antidepressant drugs.
What is the most important information I should know about benzodiazepine withdrawal?
Among respondents whose symptoms lasted months or years, over half said caffeine or alcohol worsened their PAWS symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms may vary from person to person, although there are some common symptoms. On Oct. 1, 2024, the FDA began implementing a reorganization impacting many parts of the agency. This can be done by regular dispensing of small quantities at a local pharmacy with clinical review, for example daily dispensing with fortnightly clinical review. Cost of treatment may feel overwhelming but there are various options to help cover rehab. To find out if your insurance covers treatment at an American Addiction Centers facility, click =https://ecosoberhouse.com/ here, or fill out the form below.
How to Taper off Benzodiazepines
Unless the patient is elderly, it is helpful to switch to a long-acting benzodiazepine in both withdrawal and maintenance therapy. The dose should be gradually reduced over weeks to lower the risk of seizures. There are several good references for methods to come off of benzodiazepines.
If you stop or reduce your dose suddenly, you will experience withdrawal symptoms. If the person’s original symptoms return once they stop taking prescription benzodiazepines, doctors may also prescribe a different class of medications, or other drugs or therapies, to help manage them during withdrawal. Tapering the drug by slowly reducing the prescription strength may help make withdrawal symptoms much easier to manage. Additionally, medical supervision allows doctors to respond much more quickly to potential side effects and withdrawal symptoms. Benzo withdrawals can be severe, and life threatening complications can occur.
- These sensations return towards normal as withdrawal progresses, and some people are pleased with the new, seemingly extraordinary, clarity of their perceptions.
- There may even be circumstances when you need to stop for a while at a certain stage.
- 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.
- According to the National Center for PTSD, the most beneficial kind of therapy for benzodiazepine withdrawal is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
- A minority of people who have withdrawn from benzodiazepines seem to suffer long-term effects – protracted symptoms that just don’t go away after months or even years.
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It depends benzodiazepine withdrawal on many factors including the dose and type of benzodiazepine used, duration of use, personality, lifestyle, previous experience, specific vulnerabilities, and the (perhaps genetically determined) speed of your recovery systems. Usually the best judge is you, yourself; you must be in control and must proceed at the pace that is comfortable for you. You may need to resist attempts from outsiders (clinics, doctors) to persuade you into a rapid withdrawal. The classic six weeks withdrawal period adopted by many clinics and doctors is much too fast for many long-term users. Actually, the rate of withdrawal, as long as it is slow enough, is not critical. Whether it takes 6 months, 12 months or 18 months is of little significance if you have taken benzodiazepines for a matter of years.
- Going through detox and withdrawal with medical support and supervision can make the experience as safe and comfortable as possible.
- At the same time, the nerves to the muscles are hyperexcitable, leading to tremor, tics, jerks, spasm and twitching, and jumping at the smallest stimulus.
- The Recovery Village aims to improve the quality of life for people struggling with substance use or mental health disorder with fact-based content about the nature of behavioral health conditions, treatment options and their related outcomes.
- Many people have found that giving up smoking is easier when they are off benzodiazepines, when the desire for nicotine may even wane somewhat.
- Dependence and withdrawal can happen to anyone, even if you take your medication exactly as instructed.
- Such hypervigilance is part of the normal fear and flight response which is damped down by benzodiazepines but undergoes a rebound during withdrawal.
Short-acting benzodiazepines complicate withdrawal with too many ups and downs. Diazepam, a long-acting benzodiazepine, is the most common choice for dose tapering. According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), withdrawal symptoms from short-acting benzodiazepines peak on the second day and improve by the fourth or fifth. The onset of benzodiazepine withdrawal depends on the specific medication you are taking. Short-acting drugs like Xanax (alprazolam) and Ativan (lorazepam) leave the system quicker, which means withdrawal symptoms can appear in as little as eight to 12 hours. If you have been using benzodiazepines for longer than six months, suddenly stopping your dose can cause grand mal seizures and delirium—this is why it’s best to involve your doctor or healthcare professional in your withdrawal process.
Stopping them abruptly or reducing the dosage too quickly can result in withdrawal reactions, including seizures, which can be life-threatening. Depression may be caused or aggravated by chronic benzodiazepine use, but is also a feature of the withdrawal syndrome. Depressive symptoms may appear for the first time after Sober living home withdrawal, sometimes after a delay of a few weeks, and it can be severe and protracted for some months. It is not clear whether people who have had depression before, or have a family history of depression, are more prone to this complication, and its causes are not understood.