Health

Addiction to Calmness – The Seduction of Benzodiazepines 

Sometimes the treatment to certain diseases can take a toll on one’s health rather than curing them. This is a prevalent phenomenon in treatment of medical conditions using the drug benzodiazepines. These are characterized as habit forming drugs that upon prolonged use cause certain withdrawal symptoms in the patients. The drug is generally used in the treatment of stress related disorder like anxiety, insomnia, alcohol withdrawal, muscle relaxation, seizure control and also as an anaesthetic before the surgery. Benzos are known to act on the central nervous systems thereby resulting in muscle relaxation and lowering of the anxiety levels. These drugs are generally prescribed for a shorter period of time but sometimes people use them for a longer period of time and become addicted.  If a timely benzo withdrawal help is not provided then it could lead to serious complications.

Rehab centres for withdrawal help from Benzo

Normal and regular doses are well tolerated by the body and help people relive them form anxiety and insomnia. In high doses they are hypnotics. The higher the dose the more serious the side effects are. The patient may encounter symptoms like drowsiness, dizziness, blurred vision, difficulty in breathing and lack of co ordination. Today there are many rehab centres and doctors who are working to provide timely benzo withdrawal help to the needy. One can see withdrawal signs with in 6 to 8 hours and after several days of the last drug use as well. The short acting benzos are known to create more intense withdrawal symptoms than the long acting ones.  This happens as the former disappears from the blood stream at a faster rate than the later.

Generally the first signs of withdrawal are seen in the first few hours of stopping the drug. After which the symptoms tend to peak in the next consecutive four days. During this period intense discomfort from insomnia and anxiety arises. The withdrawal symptoms continue for about 10 to 14 days the start to diminish. But for the long acting benzos these can take a few more months.

The best remedy to overcome benzo addiction is to undergo a complete detox process to throw the drug out of your system. A medically supervised detox is what is recommended as it involves gradual tapering down from the drug. There are many rehab centres which help you overcome the addiction. Choosing an inpatient or an outpatient rehab centre depends on the severity of addiction. On an average a time period of ten weeks is required to completely detox the body form the drug. Even after undergoing a successful detox therapy it’s important to keep oneself motivated. In such cases the counselling and support groups are a good option to be considered.