Benzodiazepines and ways to tackle its withdrawal symptoms
Saturday - July 14, 2018 4:31 pm ,
Category : LIFESTYLE
A benzodiazepine is a drug form administered to patients suffering extreme anxiety and insomnia. They are usually given for a short time as a therapy to reduce these symptoms. Benzodiazepine is a sedative or can be called an effective tranquiliser that soothes the nerves by blocking certain brain signals till the patient comes to normal. But prolonged used of the drug can lead to over-dependence on it and subsequent abuse, which can lead to severe health hazards.
Long-term benzodiazepine use can lead to several neurological adaptations and, over time, decreased responsiveness to the use of benzodiazepines. But the problem is, like most other drug abuse cases, benzodiazepine cannot and should not be withdrawn or stopped abruptly or immediately. Once dependence is seen, the only way is to reduce the intake very gradually, so that the body adjusts to the deficiency gradually.
Benzodiazepine-related problems include diversion, misuse, dependency, driving impairment, and morbidity and mortality related to overdose and withdrawal. In older patients they have been associated with cognitive decline and dementia. Any patient who has taken a benzodiazepine for longer than 3–4 weeks is likely to have withdrawal symptoms if the drug is ceased abruptly. The symptoms don’t even manifest immediately, but often days after abstinence. Acute withdrawal is a more intense version of the hangover from a drinking binge. Headache, palpitations, sweating, tremor, muscle pain, dizziness, light-headedness, shooting pains in neck and spine, blurred vision, sense of unsteadiness, confusion, disorientation, delirium, paranoia, hallucinations, seizures, anorexia, diarrhoea, nightmares, panic attacks, irritability, restlessness, poor memory and concentration, perceptual distortions are some of the common symptoms that appear once the drug is stopped. Over longer periods of abstinence, these symptoms only intensify and the person becomes more aggressive and disoriented leading to lethal consequences like intensified seizures etc.
Gradual dose reduction combined with psychological treatment has been found a superior treatment form than gradual dose reduction alone. The detoxification process has to be taken under medical supervision. The patient must be taken into confidence as far as possible and he must be told of the chances of enhanced anxiety for a brief period of time as a part of the treatment. Rather than abrupt stopping of the drug, it is always advisable to switch to a high-potency, long-acting benzodiazepine such as clonazepam.
Most patients seem to tolerate detoxification on clonazepam quite well. Because of the prolonged self-taper during detoxification, patients experience a smoother course of withdrawal with a minimum incidence of rebound anxiety. Apart from the medicinal intervention, natural anxiety reduction techniques like yoga and meditation can also be adopted as healing techniques to lessen the aggressiveness that accrues due to drug reduction or abstinence. Massage therapies, acupuncture, sauna and reiki healing methods also often help in detoxifying the mind and restore the mental balance in a natural way. There are also several herbal remedies available with naturopathy which could lessen the withdrawal issues. – Window To News
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