All those extra chemicals flood your brain, and the excess activity causes symptoms like anxiety and sweating. Consequently, experts recommend you take benzodiazepines for no more than 2 weeks if you use them daily. If you only use them once every few days, you may be able to take them for up to 4 weeks. If your reasons for quitting benzodiazepines are that you were misusing them or unable to control your use, then you may require further substance use treatment.

Tapering off supratherapeutic doses

It can help lessen, and in some cases, might even prevent withdrawal symptoms. Creating a personalized detox plan is crucial, tailored to factors like benzo type, dosage, and individual health, ensuring a smoother journey. Avoiding self-tapering or abrupt cessation is essential; instead, collaborate with Alcoholics Anonymous healthcare providers for a gradual tapering schedule. This explains why most people quit during the withdrawal period, as they can’t live normally. Moreover, these symptoms can cause anxiety and panic, making the patient feel worse after feeling better. When analyzing patients going through opiate withdrawal only versus those experiencing both opiate and benzos withdrawal symptoms, it’s been found that the latter is more severe.

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Use of this website and any information contained herein is governed by the benzos withdrawal symptoms Healthgrades User Agreement. Join us in making a difference today by supporting BIC with a tax-deductible donation. Long-term sobriety requires structure, accountability, and ongoing care. Some supplements, such as valerian and melatonin, might also help you get some relief from your symptoms, but research has found mixed results.

2. STANDARD CARE FOR WITHDRAWAL MANAGEMENT

On the other hand, mandated tapers, without complete understanding and assent by the patient, often fail. To access the reference library, which provides links to over 1000 benzodiazepine-related scholarly papers, click here. If you or a loved one is ready for benzodiazepine detox and withdrawal, or treatment for benzodiazepine addiction, reaching out to your doctor or a treatment facility can be an important step in getting the help you need. Each person’s unique needs require an individualized plan, which can provide the specific help you need for recovery. Some people who use inhalants regularly develop dependence, while others do not. Patients may have been taking benzodiazepines for an anxiety or other psychological disorder; following withdrawal from benzodiazepines, the patient is likely to experience a recurrence of these psychological symptoms.

Benzo Withdrawal Timeline: How Long Do Symptoms Last and What to Expect

Protracted symptoms continue to fade over a period of many months or several years. For short-acting benzodiazepines, such as alprazolam, rebound symptoms may appear between doses,1 which typically leads to dose escalation with temporary relief of these symptoms,4 as in this case scenario. This patient has developed numerous concerning adverse effects, including tolerance, physiologic dependence, and withdrawal. Additionally, her use of supratherapeutic doses of alprazolam poses a safety concern. Because risks of continued use outweigh any potential benefits, tapering her down and off of the medication should be discussed. The benzo withdrawal timeline varies for each benzodiazepine medication, depending on its particular half-life.

• Some herbal teas and medications can help with benzo withdrawal, but these should be taken under the doctor’s supervision to avoid creating another dependency.
• Some, however, continue to have changes in their cognitive abilities following long-term benzodiazepine prescription.
• Voluntary tranquilliser support groups (self-help groups) can be extremely helpful.
• Secondly, benzodiazepine withdrawal may uncover life problems that have never been fully addressed.

Severe depression may result from biochemical changes in the brain induced by benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines are known to decrease the activity of serotonin and norepinephrine (noradrenaline), neurotransmitters believed to be closely involved in depression. Antidepressant drugs including the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs such as Prozac) are thought to act by increasing the activity of such neurotransmitters. The mechanisms of these bizarre symptoms are probably similar to those which cause delirium tremens (hallucinations, classically of pink elephants or rats, in the “DTs” of alcohol withdrawal). Poor memory and concentration are also features of benzodiazepine withdrawal, and are probably due to continued effects of the drug.

Common symptoms include muscle tension, tremors, headaches, digestive issues, and heart palpitations. These symptoms can be extremely uncomfortable and can make it difficult for individuals to function in their daily lives. The last phase, protracted withdrawal, is thought to affect less than 15 percent of those in benzodiazepine withdrawal.