The effects can be felt usually within an hour of consumption and can last for anywhere from between two hours to days. This is dependent on if the type of benzo is ketamine withdrawal symptoms and recovery short, immediate, or long-acting as well as the dosage. Talk to your doctor about stopping if you have been taking benzodiazepines regularly for 4 weeks or more.
- There are three possible phases for benzo withdrawals, each with an estimated timeline.
- Some medical professionals recommend unregulated supplements, such as vitamins, minerals and herbal remedies, as they have shown positive results in a clinical setting.
- Every 1 to 4 weeks after that, they’ll reduce your dose by another 5% to 25% of the original dose.
Many people who start using benzos do so because they suffer from anxiety. Anxiety affects over 40 million American adults at any time, and benzos are still often part of the standard of care. The mental side of quitting an addictive substance can take time to overcome. A professional addiction medicine specialist can help you explore your addiction, help you identify the root causes and help you develop tools and mechanisms to cope with long-term recovery. Benzodiazepines are unique because, in many cases, they’re prescribed to the people who become dependent on them. Benzo prescriptions are found in medicine cabinets across the country, and while having these medications in your home may seem normal, it’s not conducive to long-term abstinence.
Even benzodiazepine tapers lasting one to two years can be successful. Benzos fall under central nervous system depressants and are typically used to treat anxiety disorders, insomnia, and seizures. Types of benzodiazepines are Valium, Xanex, Klonopin (Oxazepam), Librium, Clobazam, Dalmane, Flurazepan, Clorazepate, Lorazepam, Clonazepam, Temazepam, Estazolam, Midazolam, Halcion, Triazolam, and Ativan. Older people can withdraw from benzodiazepines as successfully as younger people, even if they have taken the drugs for years.
Treatment and support
There is absolutely no doubt that anyone withdrawing from long-term benzodiazepines must reduce the dosage slowly. Slow withdrawal means tapering dosage gradually, usually over a period of some months. The aim is to obtain a smooth, steady and slow decline in blood and tissue concentrations of benzodiazepines so that the natural systems in the brain can recover their normal state. As explained in Chapter 1, long-term benzodiazepines take over many of the functions of the body’s natural tranquilliser system, mediated by the neurotransmitter GABA. As a result, GABA receptors in the brain reduce in numbers and GABA function decreases.
Whether it takes 6 months, 12 months or 18 months is of little significance if you have taken benzodiazepines for a matter of years. By limiting withdrawal symptoms through a medically managed taper, you increase your chances of successfully staying off benzos long-term. Recent studies have shown that combining therapy and other psychological care with tapering or medical crack vs coke crack and cocaine differences and drug risks detox is often more successful than tapering by itself. People with mental health problems may end up needing more intensive treatment, but as of now their rates of successful stopping with or without psychological support are not known. Although some patients may prefer a quicker taper, this must be balanced with the severity of potential withdrawal symptoms.
If your reasons for quitting benzodiazepines are that you were abusing them or unable to control your use, then you may require further substance use treatment. This is particularly true if you are also giving up other substances, like alcohol or opioids. During your taper, you may still experience some of the symptoms of withdrawal. If you experience unpleasant withdrawal symptoms during your taper, your care team can help you explore options to address those symptoms and get relief. If you take away the blockades gradually, your brain can reduce its chemical traffic to match.
How to Stop Benzos and Stimulants
Although many symptoms subside after the acute withdrawal phase, lingering side effects are possible. To learn more about how you or a loved one could benefit from treatment for benzo addiction, contact FHE Health today. This is why quitting benzos isn’t the same as, say, cutting down on screen time or deciding to read more. With this in mind, here are a few strategies that can help you quit using benzodiazepines successfully.
How To Taper Off Xanax Safely
For example, someone with panic disorder may have been prescribed the drug as a form of treatment. After a period of long-term use or misuse, the person become hooked on the drug. Tapering off it not only brings with it the discomfort of withdrawal, but also a strong resurgence of panic disorder symptoms.
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Brett, Jonathan; et al. “Management of benzodiazepine misuse and dependence.” Australian Prescriber, October 1, 2015. Psychological symptoms are irritability, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and memory loss. A 2018 analysis also revealed that drug misuse accounts for about 17% of benzodiazepine use among adults in the United States.
A rebound effect is the reoccurrence of a symptom after a person stops taking the medication that was treating it. For instance, someone taking Xanax for anxiety is likely to have a reoccurrence of their anxiety symptoms during withdrawal. If you have been taking Xanax several times a day, then quitting is going to take time, patience, and determination.
Withdrawing from benzodiazepines can be a difficult, even dangerous process. You might feel irritable and hypersensitive to everything around you. During the first week, you can also expect physical symptoms like headaches and hand tremors.
As a very rough guide, a person taking 40mg diazepam a day (or its equivalent) might be able to reduce the daily dosage by 2mg every 1-2 weeks until a dose of 20mg diazepam a day is reached. From 20mg diazepam a day, reductions of 1 mg in daily dosage every week or two might be preferable. This would take a further weeks, so the total withdrawal might last weeks. Yet some people might prefer to reduce faster and some might go even slower. The best way to try to lessen the severity of your Xanax withdrawal symptoms is by slowly tapering down your dose of Xanax. Tapering means taking progressively smaller doses over the course of several weeks.
It’s important to follow prescription guidelines, and never take Xanax and other benzodiazepines without a doctor’s prescription. However, even individuals who use Xanax in smaller doses can have trouble quitting this drug. After safely detoxing, patients enter the prolonged recovery phase. This should involve some form of behavioral therapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychotherapy, or individual and group counseling.