Benzodiazepines also called benzos are prescription drugs generally used in the treatment of certain conditions like anxiety, insomnia and sleeping problems etc. These normally work in the central nervous system by affecting certain neurotransmitters released by the brain. Apart from treating the stress related disorders the drug can be a potential treatment for symptoms resulting due to alcohol withdrawal as well. Many reports suggest that despite their numerous helpful uses to the patient it also can simultaneously lead to increased dependency on the drug. Hence it is very important for the medical practitioner to provide the patient with timely benzo withdrawal help for faster recovery.
The drug when used for a longer period of time can become a habit forming drug and can lead to various withdrawal symptoms. Once you start to notice any irregularity in your body immediately contact your doctor for benzo withdrawal help. The symptoms are generally observed to be psychological and mental. The patient can experience extreme irritability and can easily snap at others. It has also been reported that some of the patients hallucinate that is they see things that are actually not there in reality. Since the drug is primarily used to treat patients suffering from extreme anxiety, its absence might lead to a relapse. Stopping the drug dosage could lead to short term memory loss as well.
This might not be very severe but one might find to forget small things like have they had lunch or not. Another serious symptom that results in is the feeling of depression. When the drug is abruptly stopped many patients have reported to be experiencing suicidal tendencies. The withdrawal symptoms generally vary with the half lives of the brand of benzo taken. Those with a shorter half lives show symptoms at a faster rate that the other. For short acting benzos the withdrawal symptoms usually star within 6 to 8 hours and for the other its 24 to 48 hours. It is observed that the symptoms are intense with the short acting benzos as compared to the benzos with longer half lives.
When the withdrawal symptoms are seen the first and the foremost thing to be done is to undergo a detox cycle. If you are on the benzo dosage it is important to seek medical help then to abruptly stop taking them. As once you consult a professional they will be able to advice and deal with any emergencies that might arise during the detox cycle. The process of detox not only involves on how to withdraw the dosage gradually but to finding healthier alternatives as well. Hence a professional help is always beneficial to get results faster as a medically supervised detox helps combat the discomfort of withdrawal in a better way.
