If you experience withdrawal problems from benzodiazepines, you may have some of the following symptoms: abdominal cramps. agoraphobia (fear of situations which feel difficult to escape) anxiety, including physical symptoms such as muscle tension, tight chest, fast heartbeat, sweating, trembling or shaking.
The symptoms that may be associated with withdrawal from relatively high doses of benzodiazepines include hallucinations, psychotic behavior, altered mental status, and seizures.
Withdrawal from normal dosage benzodiazepine treatment can result in a number of symptomatic patterns. The most common is a short-lived "rebound" anxiety and insomnia, coming on within 1-4 days of discontinuation, depending on the half-life of the particular drug.
If benzodiazepines are taken for two weeks or longer, it is recommended that the user should not abruptly stop taking this drug. Rather, the dosage of benzodiazepines should be gradually tapered over an extended period of time.
Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Timeline
The first signs of withdrawal, typically anxiety and insomnia, may emerge within several hours after stopping use. This depends on how long it takes for the substance to leave the system. Withdrawal symptoms usually appear in 6-8 hours for those taking short-acting Benzos.
Withdrawal symptoms vary according to the drug of dependence and severity of dependence, but often include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, anxiety and insomnia.
Some of the symptoms that could possibly occur as a result of a withdrawal from benzodiazepines after long-term use include emotional clouding, flu-like symptoms, suicide, nausea, headaches, dizziness, irritability, lethargy, sleep problems, memory impairment, personality changes, aggression, depression, social ...
Benzodiazepine Taper:
Reduce dose by 50% the first 2-4 weeks then maintain on that dose for 1-2 months then reduce dose by 25% every two weeks.
Benzo withdrawal is not permanent. With time, benzo withdrawal symptoms will subside. Protracted withdrawal is when mild benzo withdrawal symptoms last 12 months or more.
Long-term effects of benzodiazepines
Using benzodiazepines on a regular basis can lead to significant health problems, including: impaired thinking or memory loss. anxiety and depression. irritability, paranoia and aggression.
If you experience withdrawal problems from benzodiazepines, you may have some of the following symptoms: abdominal cramps. agoraphobia (fear of situations which feel difficult to escape) anxiety, including physical symptoms such as muscle tension, tight chest, fast heartbeat, sweating, trembling or shaking.
Persistent symptoms included clouded thinking, tiredness, muscular symptoms such as neck tension, depersonalisation, cramps and shaking and the characteristic perceptual symptoms of benzodiazepine withdrawal, namely, pins and needles feeling, burning skin, pain and subjective sensations of bodily distortion.
Acute withdrawal may last between two weeks and several months. Some people, around 10 percent according to a study published by ABC News, may experience protracted withdrawal syndrome that can extend several months or even years after stopping use of a benzodiazepine.
Use of sedatives like barbiturates and benzodiazepines can also produce withdrawal responses that resemble alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Autonomic and psychomotor dysfunction often characterize the withdrawal symptoms. The symptoms tend to develop 2 to 10 days after discontinuation of the agent.
For its high-potency and long-lasting effects, the most potent benzodiazepine is Clonazepam, also known as Klonopin. Other high-potency but short-acting benzos are alprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (Ativan), and triazolam (Halcion).
Muscle Pain, Weakness, Stiffness: the weakness can feel like "jelly legs"; the stiffness occurs mainly in the arms and legs, back and jaw muscles.
Interventions for promoting benzodiazepine withdrawal have been assessed in several studies. After a gradual reduction of dose, rates of successful withdrawal, maintained at 12 months, ranged from 24 to 51%.
There are three types of benzodiazepines: long, intermediate and short-acting.
Flumazenil is a selective competitive antagonist of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor and is the only available specific antidote for benzodiazepine (BZD) toxicity. It will reverse the effects of BZDs but must be used with caution.
Drugs with a shorter half-life are linked with higher potential for addiction and dependence because the effects wear off faster. That is one reason why doctors are typically hesitant to prescribe Xanax for long periods of time.
Many of the symptoms of SSRI discontinuation syndrome can be minimized or prevented by gradually lowering, or tapering, the dose over weeks to months, sometimes substituting longer-acting drugs such as fluoxetine (Prozac) for shorter-acting medications.
Benzodiazepines increase the risk of addiction, withdrawal, cognitive decline, motor vehicle crashes, and hip fracture. The risk of overdose is particularly great when combined with sedative drugs such as opioids or alcohol.
Regular use of BZDs has been shown to cause severe, harmful psychological and physical dependence, leading to withdrawal symptoms similar to that of alcohol withdrawal. Some of these withdrawal symptoms can be life threatening.
It is these alterations in the brain that produce protracted withdrawal, or post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS). Long-term aftereffects of substance abuse, according to SAMHSA, can include any of the following: Anxiety and irritability. Difficulty focusing on tasks, concentrating, and making decisions.