These can include anxiety, irritability, restlessness, insomnia, muscle stiffness, tremors, sweating, and even seizures in severe cases. Benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome happens when someone abruptly stops or reduces the use of benzodiazepine medications, which are commonly prescribed for anxiety or sleep problems. This syndrome can occur due to a sudden change in the brain’s chemical balance caused by the removal of the medication. Benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome (BZWS) can result from the chronic prescription and use of benzodiazepines or Z-drugs. It can occur whether or not the patient stops using the drug, although the withdrawal syndrome is usually of a more severe nature when the drug is withdrawn.
- Collaborating these different methods aids in reaching an accurate diagnosis and developing an appropriate treatment plan for the individual experiencing benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome.
- When opioids are tapered, short-acting forms of those medications can be added to ameliorate the withdrawal symptoms while the long-acting opioids are decreased over time.
- Benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome (BWS) poses a complex challenge during medication cessation.
- Long-term treatment after benzodiazepine withdrawal will depend on your reasons for taking them in the first place and your reasons for quitting.
Short-term symptoms
If you are pregnant or are thinking about becoming pregnant, talk to your OBGYN or psychiatrist about your plans. Your doctor can help you weigh the potential risks and benefits of benzodiazepine use and your pregnancy. Symptoms will be milder than acute withdrawal and they can disappear for weeks at a time.
- Understanding these underlying causes is crucial for healthcare providers to effectively manage benzodiazepine withdrawal and support patients through the process.
- According to the British National Formulary, it is better to withdraw too slowly rather than too quickly from benzodiazepines.67 The rate of dosage reduction is best carried out so as to minimize the symptoms’ intensity and severity.
- In fact, if you take your medication every other day, you may notice rebound symptoms on the day between doses.
- For an in-depth discussion of the withdrawal syndrome, please start here or go to the For Prescriber’s page and browse through the topics listed under “Dependence and Withdrawal”.
- Avoid formulaic plans which reduce the dosage to zero in a fixed amount of time.
The Post-Taper Recovery Period
For long-term benzodiazepine users, this benzodiazepine withdrawal is a tidal shift in thinking, and will take time, reinforcement, and assurance that the prescriber will help them though the withdrawal and recovery processes. Risk factors for experiencing withdrawal symptoms include a history of long-term benzodiazepine use, high dosage or frequent use of these medications, abrupt discontinuation of treatment, and concurrent substance abuse. Further studies from 2000 and 2011 determined that “Up to 44% of long-term benzodiazepine users have persistent moderate to severe withdrawal symptoms when they attempt to discontinue the drug” (De las Cuevas et al., 2000; Lader, 2011).
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Diazepam, a long-acting benzodiazepine, is the most common choice for dose tapering. When you are physically dependent on a drug, it means your body can’t operate normally without it. If you stop or reduce your dose suddenly, you will experience withdrawal symptoms. According to the British National Formulary, it is better to withdraw too slowly rather than too quickly from benzodiazepines.67 The rate of dosage reduction is best carried out so as to minimize the symptoms’ intensity and severity. Anecdotally, a slow rate of reduction may reduce the risk of developing a severe protracted syndrome. There are several good references for methods to come off of benzodiazepines.
- Withdrawal from this type of prescription drug can be severe and even life-threatening, so a medically supervised drug detox is essential to prevent dangerous complications.
- Supportive counseling and other targeted therapies or medications may help a person manage the symptoms and improve their quality of life.
- However, benzodiazepines can cause physical dependence and withdrawal even when they are taken as directed.
- To access the reference library, which provides links to over 1000 benzodiazepine-related scholarly papers, click here.
- As withdrawal progresses, patients often find their physical and mental health improves with improved mood and improved cognition.
- A 2018 analysis also revealed that drug misuse accounts for about 17% of benzodiazepine use among adults in the United States.
In most cases of benzo withdrawal, suddenly stopping the medication is not recommended, as it can be dangerous. Although many symptoms subside after the acute withdrawal phase, lingering side effects are possible. People tapering off the same original dosage of medication can have drastically different tapering experiences.
Difficult tapers
Nevertheless, the survey findings support and bolster earlier research alcohol rehab on the condition dating from the 1960s and repeated as factors of concern in the 1970s and 1980s. People with benzodiazepine tolerance may take supratherapeutic doses because the recommended range no longer provides relief for their symptoms. The higher dose may help ease your symptoms, but it can also increase your risk of overdose and severe withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal from prescription drugs doesn’t always end when the these symptoms subside.
- 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.
- Due to their rapid onset of action, they are also used to alleviate acute episodes of anxiety and agitation.
- Detoxing safely and effectively from prescription drugs usually needs professional support as trying to detox without medical supervision can be difficult and dangerous.
Acute withdrawal
Click here to access the reference library, which provides links to over 1000 benzodiazepine-related scholarly papers. Many prescribers report that they have long-term benzodiazepine users who have a variety of complaints that the prescriber believes are related to benzodiazepine tolerance. They want to taper the patients off the benzodiazepines, but the patients are convinced that they need the drugs, and that their symptoms must be related to other diseases.