Short-acting benzos tend to cause withdrawal symptoms sooner, while longer-acting benzos may take longer for symptoms to appear. Secondly, benzodiazepine withdrawal may uncover life problems that have never been fully addressed. For example, the impairment of memory caused by benzodiazepines may prevent the normal resolution of personal stresses such as bereavement or a car crash.
- Psychologically, users might struggle with feelings of hopelessness, cravings, and exacerbated anxiety when attempting to cease use.
- Depressive symptoms may appear for the first time after 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.
What are Benzodiazepines?
Overall, the combination of high doses, prolonged use, poly-substance abuse, and existing mental health issues significantly increases the chances of severe withdrawal complications. Proper medical supervision, gradual tapering, and close monitoring are crucial to minimize these risks and ensure patient safety. Benzodiazepine withdrawal refers to the physical and mental signs of benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms that can occur when someone stops taking benzodiazepines, especially after long-term use or high doses. These medications are commonly prescribed for anxiety, insomnia, seizures, and muscle relaxation. While they are effective for short-term relief, their prolonged use can lead to dependence, making discontinuation challenging. Gradually tapering off benzodiazepines under medical supervision is recommended to minimize withdrawal symptoms.
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Poor memory and concentration are also features of benzodiazepine withdrawal, and are probably due to continued effects of the drug. Mentors should be prepared to repeat encouragements again and again, week after week, as their words are soon forgotten. The sleep engendered by benzodiazepines, though it may seem refreshing at first, is not a normal sleep. Benzodiazepines inhibit both dreaming sleep (rapid eye movement sleep, https://admin-landing.longtu.club/how-excessive-alcohol-consumption-damages-your/ REMS) and deep sleep (slow wave sleep, SWS). The extra sleep time that benzodiazepines provide is spent mainly in light sleep, termed Stage 2 sleep.
Difficult tapers
These include anxiety, insomnia, depression, various sensory and motor symptoms, Sobriety 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.
According to the National Center for PTSD, the most beneficial kind of therapy for benzodiazepine withdrawal is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This type of therapy can help you challenge and reframe unhelpful beliefs and behaviors and replace them with more productive ones. If you experience unpleasant withdrawal symptoms during your taper, your care team can help you explore options to address those symptoms and get relief. That’s what makes it essential to stop taking benzodiazepines slowly, with support from a medical professional. If you take away the blockades gradually, your brain can reduce its chemical traffic to match.
There is a school of thought, mainly amongst ex-tranquilliser users, that is opposed to the taking of any other drugs during withdrawal. But suicides have occurred in several reported clinical trials of benzodiazepine withdrawal. If depression is severe during benzodiazepine withdrawal as in any other situation, it seems foolhardy to leave it untreated. They can be life-saving in status epilepticus (repeated fits, one after another) and in fits caused by overdose of certain drugs (for example, tricyclic antidepressants). However, rapid withdrawal, especially from high potency benzodiazepines, can precipitate epileptic fits as a rebound reaction. Such an occurrence is extremely rare with slowly eliminated benzodiazepines (e.g. diazepam) or with slow dosage tapering.