Frequently Asked Questions Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Support

Protracted symptoms continue to fade over a period of many months or several years. For people withdrawing from these potent, short-acting drugs it is advisable to switch to a long-acting, slowly metabolised benzodiazepine such as drug addiction diazepam. Diazepam (Valium) is one of the most slowly eliminated benzodiazepines.

Do benzodiazepines cause structural brain damage?

• Tapering the drug by slowly reducing the prescription strength may help make withdrawal symptoms much easier to manage.
• Chapter I described what benzodiazepines do when they are in the body and how tolerance and dependence develop.
• Many women complain of menstrual problems but these are common in the general population and there is no clear evidence that they are directly attributable to benzodiazepines.

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. Possible factors contributing to protracted symptoms are outlined in Table 4. Although the above symptoms are often made worse by stress, they are clearly not simply due to anxiety. They suggest a dysfunction in motor and sensory pathways in the spinal cord and/or brain. A possible clue to their mechanism is provided by a trial with flumazenil (Anexate, Romazicon) a benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, published by Lader and Morton (Journal of Psychopharmacology 1992, 6, ). The symptoms were improved by percent and the greatest response occurred in patients with the lowest anxiety ratings.

PROTRACTED WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS

To successfully benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome detox from benzodiazepines, one of the key factors is to be aware of exactly what to expect during withdrawal. It may take a long time for these people to regain, or attain, full confidence in themselves. 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. Many women complain of menstrual problems but these are common in the general population and there is no clear evidence that they are directly attributable to benzodiazepines. A proportion of female long-term benzodiazepine users have had hysterectomies, but again there is no evidence of a direct link with benzodiazepine use.

How Long Does Withdrawal From Benzodiazepines Last?

• Withdrawal management alone is unlikely to lead to sustained abstinence from benzodiazepines.
• Some people during benzodiazepine withdrawal report feeling unsteady on their feet; sometimes they feel they are being pushed to one side or feel giddy, as if things were going round and round.

Depending on your situation, your doctor may think it best to prescribe very small amounts of medication at a time. This will prevent you from altering the taper, but it might mean frequent trips to the pharmacy. Anyone taking them on a daily basis can develop a tolerance and dependence.

( Some days I feel so good, but then it seems the symptoms come right back. What does this mean?

Visual hallucinations, distortion of the body image (“my head feels like a football/balloon”), feelings of insects crawling on the skin, muscle twitching and weight loss are not uncommon in benzodiazepine withdrawal but unusual in anxiety states. The last phase, protracted withdrawal, is thought to affect less than 15 percent of those in benzodiazepine withdrawal. Protracted https://ecosoberhouse.com/ withdrawal may continue for months or even years after stopping a benzodiazepine drug.

They should never quit benzos suddenly without first consulting a professional and developing a plan with them. People looking to get off benzos should do so under the guidance of a healthcare professional, who may recommend coping strategies and other tools to make the withdrawal process more comfortable. These drugs are habit-forming and can easily result in physical dependence.