How to Detox From Benzodiazepines: a Complete Guide

While they can quickly relieve symptoms of anxiety and panic, these drugs pose a high risk of dependence. In other words, your body may rely on benzodiazepines to function if you take them frequently and for more than a short period of time. Support groups, such as the Benzo Buddies community, can play a crucial role in the benzodiazepine tapering and withdrawal process. These groups provide a safe and supportive environment for individuals to share their experiences, ask questions, and offer support to one another. Being able to connect with others who are going through a similar experience can provide a sense of validation and reduce feelings of isolation. Benzodiazepine withdrawal can be a challenging and uncomfortable process.

The Importance of Patience and Persistence in Recovery

Xanax, which is known generically as alprazolam, and other benzodiazepines can be both physically and mentally addictive. These drugs are powerful sedatives, and they have a high likelihood of abuse and dependence with continued use. Because of this, most prescriptions for benzos are given on a short-term basis. To taper off Xanax safely, you’ll take decreasingly smaller dosages of the drug over a period of about eight weeks.

Selecting the Right Compounding Pharmacy for Your Ketamine Treatment

The guideline is not meant for palliative care and end-of-life physicians, the authors noted. Abruptly stopping benzodiazepines or ketamine can lead to severe withdrawal symptoms, rebound effects, and potential relapse. Tapering allows the brain and body to gradually adjust to lower doses, reducing the risk of discomfort and complications. 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. If you experience severe withdrawal symptoms during tapering, tell your doctor so they can adjust your care plan as needed. Dr. Leeds specializes in the Ashton Method, a well-established and evidence-based protocol for tapering off benzodiazepines.

Microdosing For Depression and Anxiety: A Modern Approach To Mental Health

However, their potential for dependence and side effects means they should be used with caution and under medical supervision. By understanding their uses, benefits, and risks, you can work with your doctor to determine if benzodiazepines are the right choice for you. Seeking professional help during benzodiazepine tapering and withdrawal is crucial for ensuring safety and maximizing success. Healthcare professionals who are knowledgeable about benzodiazepine withdrawal can provide guidance and support throughout the process. They can help develop an individualized tapering plan, monitor progress, and adjust the plan as needed. Abruptly stopping benzodiazepines can be dangerous and should be avoided.

Tips for Successful Tapering:

Drug rehab involves a structured process of assessment, detoxification, therapy, life skills development, and aftercare to support individuals in overcoming addiction and achieving lasting recovery. Rehabilitation helps individuals overcome drug addiction by addressing physical, mental, and emotional challenges through detoxification, therapy, peer support, and life skills development, fostering lasting recovery. Alcohol detox is the first crucial step toward sobriety, involving safe management of withdrawal symptoms with medical support, tailored treatments, and emotional care. Detoxing from benzodiazepines varies from weeks to months based on medication type, dosage, duration of use, and individual health, requiring gradual, supervised tapering. Some symptoms may be very similar to the condition the medication was being used to treat, which can lead to increased use.

When that drug is absent, the body is thrown into a state of imbalance.
We have lots more helpful advice and guides to help you get the information you need.
Benzodiazepines (benzos) are among the most widely prescribed medications in the United States.
In my experience, hypnotherapy has not been helpful in long-term benzodiazepine users.

A Secret Weapon for Stopping Benzodiazepines Safely

But each schedule must be tailored to individual needs; no two schedules are necessarily the same. Below is a summary of points to consider when drawing up your own schedule. Some supplements, such as valerian and melatonin, might also help you get some relief from your symptoms, but research has found mixed results. Your care team can offer more guidance on safely trying these supplements.

Determining whether you should taper off benzodiazepines under professional medical supervision, such as at Maps for Recovery, depends on several important factors. At Maps for Recovery, we prioritize your safety and comfort by creating individualized tapering plans designed to minimize withdrawal symptoms and complications, ensuring a smoother, safer path to recovery. At MAPS for Recovery, we understand the complexities of benzodiazepine dependence and withdrawal.

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Benzodiazepines, often prescribed for anxiety, insomnia, seizures, and other medical conditions, carry significant risks when discontinued abruptly or without medical supervision. Many patients undergoing withdrawal also experience mood fluctuations, depression, emotional instability, confusion, and cognitive difficulties. Physical manifestations often include muscle aches, tremors, sweating, headaches, dizziness, and nausea. Although rare, these complications can become life-threatening if withdrawal occurs abruptly after prolonged or high-dose use. For this reason, MAPS for Recovery emphasizes a personalized, medically supervised benzodiazepine tapering approach to safely manage withdrawal symptoms and reduce potential health risks. If you’re receiving benzodiazepine treatment through Maps for Recovery, it’s important to carefully follow your personalized medication schedule.

The findings highlight the potential to refine ketamine-based therapies or develop new treatments for depression.
Therapy will help you get to the bottom of why you abused Xanax and equip you with healthy tools that will help you avoid abusing substances in the future.
That’s what makes it essential to stop taking benzodiazepines slowly, with support from a medical professional.
We can help if you’re buying benzos illegally or we can help you make a plan with your prescriber if they have been prescribed.
People who have been on low doses of benzodiazepine for a relatively short time (less than a year) can usually withdraw fairly rapidly.

The classic six weeks withdrawal period adopted by many clinics and doctors is much too fast for many long-term users. Actually, the rate of withdrawal, as long as it is slow enough, is not critical. Whether it takes 6 months, 12 months or 18 months is of little significance if you have taken benzodiazepines for a matter of years.

Some symptoms may continue for weeks or months after stopping benzodiazepines. In severe cases, stopping benzodiazepine or zopiclone suddenly can cause seizures, delirium, or psychosis – these can be life-threatening. Members of the community often share their own strategies for managing withdrawal symptoms, such as practicing mindfulness meditation, engaging in regular exercise, and seeking support from loved ones. They a secret weapon for stopping benzodiazepines safely also emphasize the importance of self-care and stress the need for patience and perseverance during the tapering process.

a secret weapon for stopping benzodiazepines safely

For those of us working in the mental health field, it may not be surprising to hear that psychological support makes a big difference. However, studies like these are important as they establish that what we do works. People wanting or needing to stop benzodiazepines can do it with appropriate help—and it may just take a handful of visits with a trained primary care provider or mental health provider. Three-quarters of the group getting support were able to stop at four weeks, and almost half of the sample was still off the medications at long-term follow-up.

Clearly, we need to know more about how to make the stopping process, also called “deprescribing,” easier. Your doctor’s agreement and co-operation is necessary since he/she will be prescribing the medication. Many doctors are uncertain how to manage benzodiazepine withdrawal and hesitate to undertake it. But you can reassure your doctor that you intend to be in charge of your own program and will proceed at whatever pace you find comfortable, although you may value his advice from time to time. Leave yourself free to “proceed as the way openeth”, as the Quakers say. If you’ve taken benzodiazepines at high doses for an extended period, you may experience long-term withdrawal symptoms, also called post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) or protracted withdrawal.

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