They can range in severity, though for some people, they remain mild and manageable. Medical detox involves tapering off the benzo drug under the supervision of a doctor. In most cases of benzo withdrawal, suddenly stopping the medication is not recommended, as it can be dangerous. Dependence appears to occur in a similar way to how it does with other addictive drugs. Dopamine is a type of messenger that is partly responsible for how humans feel pleasure. Along with these symptoms, the person may experience severe cravings for the drug or other drugs to sedate them.

How Long Does Benzo Withdrawal Last?

In the first week of tapering off, your doctor may reduce your dose as much as 30% to get you to a safe amount. After that first leap, the steps become smaller, usually 5% to 10% of the original dose. Depending on your situation, your doctor may reduce your dose on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis. For example, say you’re tapering off a dose of 20 milligrams (mg) of diazepam (Valium). A very quick taper would involve reducing the dose by 5 benzodiazepine withdrawal mg (25%) each week. In most cases, your doctor will reduce your dosage by 5% to 25% in the first week.

Symptoms of benzodiazepine withdrawal

Whether you are dealing with Klonopin withdrawal, Valium withdrawal, Xanax withdrawal, or another benzo, it is essential to detox under medical supervision to avoid severe complications and reduce the risk of fatal outcomes. The medical alcoholism symptoms team can monitor your symptoms, provide necessary medications, and offer emotional support throughout the withdrawal process. If you have received a prescription for benzos, you may wonder if they are addictive. If so, what is the benzo withdrawal timeline when you want to quit taking them?

• Thus the symptoms suffered by many long-term users are a mixture of adverse effects of the drugs and “withdrawal” effects due to tolerance.
• In time, the majority of people recover completely—often experiencing good mental and physical health for the first time in a long time.
• A 45-year-old woman with a history of anxiety and insomnia transferred to our clinic requesting alprazolam (Xanax), which she had been taking for the past year.
• These drugs are eliminated fairly rapidly with the result that concentrations fluctuate with peaks and troughs between each dose.
• Our medical drug detox program offers a safe and compassionate environment to help you through withdrawal and start your path to recovery.

Emotional Symptoms

• But you can reassure your doctor that you intend to be in charge of your own program and will proceed at whatever pace you find comfortable, although you may value his advice from time to time.
• This explains its positive effects in general for the treatment of benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome.
• Alprazolam should not be prescribed at a higher dose than is US FDA-recommended, and providers should consider discontinuation if patients are requesting higher doses, as it may signal therapeutic tolerance and/or misuse.
• When you are physically dependent on a drug, it means your body can’t operate normally without it.
• Anyone taking them on a daily basis can develop a tolerance and dependence.
• Benzodiazepine withdrawal can also lead to disturbances in mental function that persist for several months or years after onset of symptoms (referred to as post-acute-withdrawal syndrome in this form).

Ideally, after a person completes detox, they will go on to complete further benzodiazepine addiction treatment. For some, this includes enrolling in an inpatient addiction treatment, where they can address the underlying causes of their benzo misuse and/or addiction. Clonazepam is a benzodiazepine drug used for the acute treatment of panic disorder, epilepsy, and nonconvulsive status epilepticus. The drug also has many off-label indications, including restless leg syndrome, acute mania, insomnia, and tardive dyskinesia. Clonazepam is a long-acting and high-potency benzodiazepine; it behaves as a GABA-A receptor agonist. Benzodiazepines facilitate GABA-A action by increasing the frequency of chloride channel opening resulting in hyperpolarization of the neurons and reduced firing, thus producing calming effects on the brain by decreasing the excitability of neurons.

Contact Mayflower Detox and Inpatient Rehab in Massachusetts

Withdrawal seizures typically occur in individuals who took high dosages of benzos for a long period of time. Seizures have also happened when patients used benzos for less than 15 days even when taken as prescribed by a doctor. There have been reports of Benzo withdrawal seizures ranging from single-episode seizures to multiple seizures, coma, and death. The quickest withdrawal from benzos should be in a hospital setting for high-dose abusers, but must be done slower in an outpatient facility for those who took benzos for medical reasons. In another study of patients with panic disorder, neither anxiolytic tolerance nor daily dose increase was observed after 8 weeks of alprazolam treatment, with continued efficacy at 6 months (Schweizer et al., 1993).

Withdrawal for short-acting benzos begins within hours of stopping the drug, whereas with longer-acting benzos it may take a few days for withdrawal symptoms to manifest. Just like the intensity or severity of symptoms, the duration of withdrawal can vary as well. For some, the withdrawal can take weeks or months—and for some it will last for years or never =https://ecosoberhouse.com/ fully resolve.

Protracted withdrawal syndrome

The patient should take the ODT tablet with water by swallowing it immediately after removing it from the package. GABA receptors are also classified into various BZD receptors based on the isoforms of the alpha subunit. The benzodiazepine type-1 receptors (BZ1), which contain alpha-1 subunits, are abundant in the cortex, thalamus, and cerebellum and are responsible for their anticonvulsant and sedative effects. Whereas benzodiazepine type-2 receptors containing alpha-2 subunits, mostly concentrated in the limbic system, motor neurons, and dorsal horn of the spinal cord, mediate the anxiolytic effects of BZDs. Alprazolam has been reported to cause withdrawal and sedation in the newborn and should be avoided during pregnancy and lactation.

• Additionally, positive lifestyle changes, such as regular exercise, healthy eating, and engaging in stress-reducing activities, may help alleviate withdrawal symptoms and support long-term recovery.
• There have been reports of Benzo withdrawal seizures ranging from single-episode seizures to multiple seizures, coma, and death.
• If you experience unpleasant withdrawal symptoms during your taper, your care team can help you explore options to address those symptoms and get relief.
• Head-to-head benzodiazepine comparison studies in general have been scant.

Well-designed human studies addressing alprazolam’s reinforcing effects and the discontinuation syndrome are needed, and must consider important issues such as selection of appropriate comparison drug, dose, formulation, and population. Future research should also further investigate the misuse liability of alprazolam XR, and should attempt to clarify the role of carbamazepine, clonidine, other anticonvulsant drugs, and related compounds in the treatment of the alprazolam withdrawal syndrome. Withdrawal symptoms occur during dose reduction and may include insomnia, anxiety, distress, weight loss, dizziness, night sweats, shaking, muscle twitches, aphasia, panic attacks, depression, dissociation, paranoia, indigestion, diarrhea, and photophobia. As withdrawal progresses, patients often find their physical and mental health improves with improved mood and improved cognition. Approximately 10 percent of benzodiazepine users may experience protracted withdrawal, which can significantly impact relationships, employment, and financial security due to benzodiazepine dependence.