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    What You Can Expect from Benzodiazepines Detox?

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    Posted in Benzodiazepines / BenzosVote Up1Vote Down
    For frequent users of benzodiazepines, or “benzos” the life of addiction can be a tough road to travel. After developing a tolerance and taking larger and larger doses, it’s easy to see why you may be considering detox and recovery. If you’re about to take that step, here’s what you can expect.

    When you stop taking drugs your body will go into withdrawal and you’ll begin to experience the symptoms of your body fighting to regain its new balance without the drugs. You might have one, some, or all the below symptoms depending on a few factors.

    • Panic attacks
    • Dizziness
    • headaches
    • Sweating
    • Seizures
    • Hallucinations
    • Irritability
    • Nausea
    • Insomnia

    For users of benzodiazepines, detoxing can cause more than physical symptoms and discomfort. Many users going through benzo withdrawal report heavy emotional side effects as well. For those who’ve progressively taken higher doses or taken the medication for longer periods of time, detox is thought to produce significant and painful withdrawal symptoms. 

    Additionally, quitting the drug “cold-turkey” can cause life-threatening symptoms and pose a risk to the individual, which is why detox from benzos is strongly recommended to be done strictly under the care of qualified medical professionals. 

    If you were taking benzodiazepines that were prescribed for anxiety or insomnia, you may have a recurrence of or an increase in anxiety or restlessness known as the rebound effect. 

    If you’re considering detoxing from benzodiazepines, it’s always best to consult with a medical professional before doing so if you choose not to detox under medical supervision or within a treatment center. Because each person is different and may react differently to withdrawal, it’s not recommended to detox from any substance without the specific instruction or guidance from someone qualified to give medical advice. 

    Reference
    N.D. “What is Benzodiazepine Withdrawal?”. Addiction Center. (Website). 2017

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    • 3 Commentsby Likes|Date
    • Vote Up0Vote Down
      DeanDDeanD
      I took doctor-prescribed Klonopin for a few years for anxiety. I thought if I took it as prescribed, there would be no problems. Boy, was I wrong. I ended up addicted to the drug and foolishly tried to stop taking it cold turkey. I thought I was going to die. I ended up weaning off of Klonopin over a very long period of time. I wrote about my experiences in a couple of blog posts. Links to those posts are below in case anyone's interested in reading them. Benzos are horrible drugs and I will never touch one again.



      Thanks for the post, @FriendlyAdvice.
    • Vote Up0Vote Down
      Aray54Aray54
      It was harder to quit Benzos than Alcohol and Opiates combined. It took MONTHS of a very slow taper to get off that stuff, because of the physical withdrawals and pain. Alcohol I just stopped, same with Opiates. Never again.
    • Vote Up0Vote Down
      DeanDDeanD
      I'm glad you got off benzos, @Aray54. They really are a nightmare.
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