At 24 weeks, significant improvements were found, including accuracy of information processing improved, but a decline was seen in those who remained on benzodiazepines. Further improvements were noted at the 52-week follow-up, indicating ongoing improvements with benzodiazepine abstinence. Younger people on benzodiazepines also experience cognitive deterioration in visual-spatial memory but are not as vulnerable as the elderly to the cognitive effects. Improved reaction times were noted at 52 weeks in elderly patients free from benzodiazepines.

Withdrawal timeline for prescription opiates

The best resource in your quest to quit benzodiazepines is your prescribing doctor. If you prefer someone else, any primary care physician or psychiatrist can help you taper your dose. Stimulants include Ritalin and Adderall, often prescribed to manage symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Prescription opiates include codeine, morphine and oxycodone, typically prescribed to manage pain.

Identifying and Treating Symptoms of Benzodiazepine Withdrawal

• The severity of BZWS symptoms depends on many factors, and varies from imperceptible to debilitating.
• The best resource in your quest to quit benzodiazepines is your prescribing doctor.

This often requires the physician to address messages of safety and intrinsic need for benzodiazepines, which patients have heard from other physicians who are unaware of the dangers and symptoms of physiologic dependency. For long-term benzodiazepine users, this 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 Twelve-step program of long-term benzodiazepine use, high dosage or frequent use of these medications, abrupt discontinuation of treatment, and concurrent substance abuse. Benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome can manifest in various types of symptoms, including physical and psychological effects. Physical symptoms may include tremors, sweating, nausea, and muscle pain, while psychological symptoms can range from anxiety and irritability to insomnia and even hallucinations.

Signs and Symptoms of Benzodiazepine Withdrawal

Symptoms will be milder than acute withdrawal and they can disappear for weeks at a time. Benzodiazepine withdrawal can also lead to disturbances in mental function that persist for several months or years after onset of symptoms (referred to as post-acute-withdrawal syndrome in this form). Benzodiazepines include diazepam, lorazepam and temazepam, and are designed to alleviate anxiety, insomnia and other conditions. The authors also warned of the similarities in pharmacology and mechanism of action of the newer nonbenzodiazepine Z drugs.

• It can be too difficult to withdraw from short- or intermediate-acting benzodiazepines because of the intensity of the rebound symptoms felt between doses.
• Benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms can be categorized into psychological, neurophysiologic, and somatic symptoms (see tables below).
• Benzodiazepines are commonly prescribed medications primarily intended for managing conditions such as anxiety disorders, panic disorders, and insomnia.
• In addition, over half of the survey respondents said benzodiazepines’ side effects or withdrawal symptoms caused them to consider suicide.
• 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.

Inpatient treatment

Although differentiating withdrawal reactions from recrudescent psychiatric symptoms after drug withdrawal is always difficult, a number of factors favored the former interpretation of the newly-appearing symptoms and signs. First, the benzodiazepine withdrawal frequency (10 of 11 patients) of new symptoms or signs soon after withdrawal. Fourth, a slower onset and subtler development of this syndrome than that from meprobamate or barbiturates….If large doses of chlordiazepoxide are used, the drug should not be abruptly discontinued.

In turn, this would in most likelihood minimize the enormous burden of what could be termed benzo-brain injury experienced by far too many. 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. The severity of BZWS symptoms depends on many factors, and varies from imperceptible to debilitating. 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”.

• The rate of dosage reduction is best carried out so as to minimise the symptoms’ intensity and severity.
• There is a large body of literature on BZWS, ranging from peer-reviewed publications to personal anecdotes.
• This syndrome can occur due to a sudden change in the brain’s chemical balance caused by the removal of the medication.
• With sufficient motivation and the proper approach, almost anyone can successfully withdraw from benzodiazepines.
• For a more complete list of benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome symptoms, see the Ashton Manual.