This medicine may also be used to treat certain seizure disorders and help relax muscles or relieve muscle spasm. Diazepam buccal film is used as short-term treatment for seizure clusters (also known as acute repetitive seizures) in patients 2 to 5 years of age. Benzodiazepines belong to the group of medicines called central nervous system (CNS) depressants, which are medicines that slow down the nervous system. Medications can play an important role in treating mental disorders and conditions. They are often used in combination with other treatments, such as psychotherapy and brain stimulation therapy.
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Check with your doctor right away if blurred vision, difficulty with reading, or any other change in vision occurs during or after treatment. Your doctor may want your eyes to be checked by an ophthalmologist (eye doctor). This medicine may cause some people, especially older persons, to become drowsy, dizzy, lightheaded, clumsy, unsteady, or less alert than they are normally. Do not drive or do anything else that could be dangerous until you know how this medicine affects you. It is very important that your doctor check the progress of you or your child at regular visits to see if the medicine is working properly.
Can one experience withdrawal even if the medication is taken as prescribed?
As chief Clinical Officer at FHE Health, a nationally recognized behavioral health treatment provider, he ensures quality, innovation, and comprehensive treatment for patients. If you’ve used benzos for several years https://ecosoberhouse.com/ or used a significant dosage of them for several months, medical detox can be necessary. If you try to stop taking the drug for a day or so and begin to feel you need the drug at a level you can’t easily control, it’s also beneficial to turn to detox.
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There is scientific evidence that reinstatement of brain function takes a long time. Recovery after long-term benzodiazepine use is not unlike the gradual recuperation of the body after a major surgical operation. Slow discontinuation of benzodiazepines is recommended to avoid withdrawal symptoms (eg rebound anxiety, agitation, insomnia or seizures) particularly when use exceeds 8 weeks. Yes, withdrawal is a possible complication of misusing benzodiazepines.
- Usually the best judge is you, yourself; you must be in control and must proceed at the pace that is comfortable for you.
- Research indicates that physical dependence may begin in just a few weeks, even while taking the drugs in low therapeutic doses.
- They are usually run by people who have been through withdrawal and therefore understand the time and patience required, and can provide information about benzodiazepines.
- The timeline varies based on dosage, duration of use, medication type, and the presence of co-occurring mental health conditions.
- Your doctor may decide not to treat you with this medication or change some of the other medicines you take.
- Stopping benzodiazepines all at once can be dangerous, so your doctor will likely guide you through a tapering regimen that involves gradually reducing your dose over time.
- With relatively short-acting benzodiazepines such as alprazolam (Xanax) and lorazepam (Ativan) (Table 1, Chapter I), it is not possible to achieve a smooth decline in blood and tissue concentrations.
- While this drug does have many useful implementations under physician supervision, Benzos, or benzodiazepines, also carry the risk of being a highly addictive substance.
- However, some individuals can suffer a serious setback such as a seizure even weeks later.
Beta-blockers generally are not recommended for people with asthma or diabetes because they may worsen the symptoms of both conditions. Muse Treatment Alcohol & Drug Rehab Los Angeles has released a new educational resource focused on explaining the benzodiazepine withdrawal timeline and the clinical factors that influence how withdrawal unfolds over time. By publishing this resource, Muse Treatment Alcohol & Drug Rehab Los Angeles Halfway house adds to publicly available education grounded in established medical research rather than anecdotal or unverified sources. 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.
- All those extra chemicals flood your brain, and the excess activity causes symptoms like anxiety and sweating.
- While acute withdrawal symptoms are intense and predominantly physical, protracted withdrawal symptoms can be more subtle, chronic, and often more psychological in nature.
- Common side effects of SSRIs and other antidepressants include upset stomach, headache, or sexual dysfunction.
- These drugs are eliminated fairly rapidly with the result that concentrations fluctuate with peaks and troughs between each dose.
- This medicine may also be used to treat certain seizure disorders and help relax muscles or relieve muscle spasm.
- The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has an online tool to find mental health services in your area.
Psychosis can be related to drug use or a mental disorder such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or severe depression (also known as psychotic depression). Stimulants are safe when taken under a health care provider’s supervision and used as directed. Some children may report feeling slightly different or unlike their usual selves while taking the medication. Health care providers may also prescribe beta-blockers off-label to treat short-term anxiety symptoms, even though the medication is not approved for that specific purpose. For instance, people with a phobia—an overwhelming and unreasonable fear of an object or situation like spiders or public speaking—often experience intense physical symptoms, benzodiazepine withdrawal such as rapid heart rate, sweating, and tremors.