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Along with these https://ecosoberhouse.com/ symptoms, the person may experience severe cravings for the drug or other drugs to sedate them. Withdrawal symptoms may begin after as little as 3–6 weeks of use, even when a person uses the drugs as the doctor directed. During the early stages of withdrawal, the person may notice the symptoms of the condition that the drug was treating start to return, or rebound. For example, symptoms of anxiety or insomnia may come back or get worse without the drugs. Individuals undergoing benzodiazepine withdrawal may also experience mood swings, irritability, and agitation.

Approaching Treatment

This is particularly true if you are also giving up other substances, like alcohol or opioids. Accessing these resources can help you navigate the challenges of benzodiazepine withdrawal and increase your chances of achieving long-term sobriety and well-being. While these medications serve important medical needs, they are also subject to recreational abuse. Symptoms such as insomnia, cravings for Xanax, and anxiety, might take longer to leave the body and brain. Most of them are actual schedules which have been used and found to work by real people who withdrew successfully.

Sign 1: Increased Anxiety and Panic Attacks

Understanding a rough benzos withdrawal timeline will help you develop a better plan as drug addiction you work alongside a professional care team. There are three possible phases for benzo withdrawals, each with an estimated timeline. A person should always withdraw from benzos under the guidance of a healthcare professional. They should never quit benzos suddenly without first consulting a professional and developing a plan with them. Not everyone who undergoes benzodiazepine withdrawal will experience seizures.

What is Benzo Withdrawal?

• People usually take benzos for only 2–4 weeks, according to Rethink Mental Illness.
• Medication-assisted treatment may also be an option for some individuals.
• Withdrawal symptoms from short-acting drugs, such as Xanax, may come on faster than withdrawal symptoms from long-acting drugs, such as Valium.
• ” Though it may initially seem like a tempting option to try to detox from benzodiazepines at home, it is not a good idea for several reasons.
• No matter how long you’ve been taking benzos, always talk to your healthcare provider before stopping.

Seizures are usually not a risk for those employing a slow taper method, with the limited exception of people benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome who have taken benzodiazepines for a seizure disorder. Furthermore, psychosis is rare, but not unheard of, in those who taper their benzodiazepine slowly. Just like with opioids and alcohol, using benzos can lead to physical dependence.

• When tolerance develops, “withdrawal” symptoms can appear even though the user continues to take the drug.
• This can trigger a cascade of physiological and psychological changes that can be highly uncomfortable and even life-threatening in severe cases.
• By Corinne O’Keefe OsbornCorinne Osborn is an award-winning health and wellness journalist with a background in substance abuse, sexual health, and psychology.
• For example, for those addicted to short-acting benzos, such as alprazolam, or those using benzos with alcohol, chlordiazepoxide may be prescribed.
• However, a sufficiently slow, and smooth, departure of benzodiazepines from the body permits the natural systems to regain control of the functions which have been damped down by their presence.
• Abrupt (cold-turkey) or over-rapid withdrawal, especially from high dosage, can give rise to severe symptoms such as convulsions, psychotic reactions, acute anxiety states and even death.
• If you go into withdrawal without tapering, you also risk experiencing delirium and hallucinations that cause you to lose touch with reality—a terrifying and dangerous experience.

How benzos interact with GABA receptors is incredibly complex, as several types have been identified. GABA is the brain chemical that produces a calming effect, offering anti-seizure and anti-anxiety benefits. Join us in making a difference today by supporting BIC with a tax-deductible donation.

Conclusion: Understanding Benzodiazepine Withdrawal and Navigating the Recovery Process

In my experience, the only exception to the general rule of slow reduction is triazolam (Halcion). This benzodiazepine is eliminated so quickly (half-life 2 hours) that you are practically withdrawn each day, after a dose the night before. For this reason, triazolam can be stopped abruptly without substitution of a long-acting benzodiazepine. If withdrawal symptoms occur, you could take a short course of diazepam starting at about 10mg, decreasing the dosage as shown on Schedule 2.

Common Withdrawal Symptoms of Benzodiazepines

Typically, symptoms start within 6 hours for short-acting benzos and hours for long-acting ones. The acute withdrawal phase usually lasts 2-4 weeks, but those with severe addiction or coexisting mental health issues might have longer-lasting symptoms. For people withdrawing from these potent, short-acting drugs it is advisable to switch to a long-acting, slowly metabolised benzodiazepine such as diazepam. Diazepam (Valium) is one of the most slowly eliminated benzodiazepines. It has a half-life of up to 200 hours, which means that the blood level for each dose falls by only half in about 8.3 days.