It is unrealistic to think that withdrawal management will lead to sustained abstinence. Rather, withdrawal management is an important first step before a patient commences psychosocial treatment. If you or your loved one is struggling with your use of benzos, you should know that professional detox can ease withdrawal symptoms from benzodiazepines. No one should attempt to get off benzo drugs without the supervision of a healthcare professional. Severe symptoms and reactions can occur, and working with a professional can help a person avoid or manage these symptoms. Research indicates that physical dependence may begin in just a few weeks, even while taking the drugs in low therapeutic doses.
Going through detox and withdrawal with medical support and supervision can make the experience as safe and comfortable as possible. Tips for managing withdrawal on your own may include various recommendations but seeking care and support https://ecosoberhouse.com/ from a medical provider will provide a greater chance at completing detox and working toward recovery. Research showed that 40% of people taking benzos for longer than 6 months experienced moderate-to-severe withdrawal symptoms.
Withdrawal Phases
Doctors may also prescribe them for use in withdrawal from alcohol, as muscle relaxants, to treat epilepsy, and as a pre-surgery relaxant. Benzodiazepines are often used illegally for those seeking their intoxicating effect. Since the initial introduction of Librium, approximately 30 different types of benzodiazepines have been developed worldwide. 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.
A 2018 analysis also revealed that drug misuse accounts for about 17% of benzodiazepine use among adults in the United States. Withdrawal symptoms may vary from person to person, although there are some common symptoms. Withdrawal side effects are not generally lethal, although they are best managed with professional medical attention and supervision. Some supplements, such as valerian and melatonin, might also help you get some relief from your symptoms, but research has found mixed results.
6. WITHDRAWAL MANAGEMENT FOR ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE
Withdrawal symptoms may be mild in people who take the drugs for short periods. However, there is still a possibility of severe reactions and withdrawal symptoms. During the acute withdrawal phase, doctors may monitor the person and benzodiazepine withdrawal recommend other drugs to control problematic symptoms. A therapist or other mental health professional can offer support with navigating these effects and helping improve your overall quality of life during the withdrawal period.
- The rate of taper is a reduction in dosage of approximately 25 percent per quarter of the withdrawal period (e.g., 25 percent per week for one month).
- The dosage is maintained for three to six months and discontinued by gradually tapering the drug over two weeks.4,9 However, desipramine is not recommended routinely for management of withdrawal.
- On presentation, the patient was intubated, and intravenous access was obtained.
- This will prevent you from altering the taper, but it might mean frequent trips to the pharmacy.
- The safest way to manage benzodiazepine withdrawal is to give benzodiazepines in gradually decreasing amounts.
- People who use large amounts of stimulants, particularly methamphetamine, can develop psychotic symptoms such as paranoia, disordered thoughts and hallucinations.
Your care team can offer more guidance on safely trying these supplements. Medical experts continue to debate the best way to taper these medications, so there’s no single agreed-upon approach. After a month or so, your brain gets used to sending off more neurotransmitters just so some can get past the benzodiazepine blockade. When benzodiazepines attach to your neurons, they invite a bunch of chloride ions inside. These ions change the neuron’s electrical charge, so it has to work much harder to activate and send signals. Among respondents whose symptoms lasted months or years, over half said caffeine or alcohol worsened their PAWS symptoms.
3. WITHDRAWAL MANAGEMENT FOR OPIOID DEPENDENCE
It just seems that the dependency is so ingrained and the withdrawal symptoms you get are so intolerable that people have a great deal of problem coming off. The other aspect is that with heroin, usually the withdrawal is over within a week or so. With benzodiazepines, a proportion of patients go on to long term withdrawal and they have very unpleasant symptoms for month after month, and I get letters from people saying you can go on for two years or more.
- Protracted symptoms continue to fade over a period of many months or several years.
- Tapering the drug by slowly reducing the prescription strength may help make withdrawal symptoms much easier to manage.
- The longer the interval between reductions, the more comfortable and safer the withdrawal.
- Symptomatic treatment (see Table 3) and supportive care are usually sufficient for management of mild opioid withdrawal.
- Tapering can help take the edge off withdrawal symptoms like tremors and nausea, though it may not prevent withdrawal symptoms entirely.
- In other words, your body may rely on benzodiazepines to function if you take them frequently and for more than a short period of time.
- The physician should screen the patient for the presence of other sedating drugs to avoid untoward drug interactions, particularly oversedation.
Withdrawal symptoms may include both physical and psychological side effects that may be powerful in nature. Therefore, stopping a benzodiazepine medication suddenly without medical help is not recommended and could be dangerous. When people take benzos for longer than a few months, or when they take high doses of benzos, the brain comes to depend on these drugs. When they are removed, people may experience anxiety, panic, hallucinations, and/or seizures. The safest way to deal with a benzo addiction is to enroll in a medical detox program.
What to Know About Benzodiazepine Withdrawal
The greater the amount of opioid used by the patient the greater the dose of codeine phosphate required to control withdrawal symptoms. Symptoms that are not satisfactorily reduced by codeine phosphate can be managed with symptomatic treatment as required (see Table 3). One special situation involving benzodiazepine withdrawal deserves mention.
