Benzodiazepine Abuse: Addiction and Side Effects

A small percent of those young adults are introduced to the drug in high school. Xanax is more than twice as popular among high school seniors as the next most popular benzo. In 2015, more than 17 million people used Xanax and generic alprazolam products.

Seeking treatment for oneself or others

Upon leaving the treatment center, many people will pursue a 12-step recovery program to maintain abstinence or stabilization and maintenance. In the treatment of Xanax addiction, abstinence is often a goal. This means discontinuing the drug after supervised decreases by a medical provider. The process of reaching abstinence may involve detoxification (often referred to as “detox”) and behavioral therapies. Signs of overdose usually develop within four hours of a dose, which is the time when the drug concentration is highest in the body.

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However, the medication can also cause side effects like dizziness, memory problems, and dry mouth. Unlike many other withdrawal syndromes, benzodiazepine withdrawal can be complicated and, occasionally, life-threatening. Alprazolam has a half-life of 12 hours, which means it takes 12 hours for half of the dose to clear the bloodstream. Withdrawal symptoms can be felt within six hours of the last dose. The majority of people who misuse Xanax are between the ages of 18 and 25.

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However, flumazenil could worsen symptoms in patients with a history of seizures or head injuries. Symptoms could start a few hours after you last take a short-acting benzodiazepine. With long-acting benzodiazepines, it might take up to 3 weeks to notice withdrawal symptoms.

Long-Term Treatment for Xanax Withdrawal

You might wonder if it’s drugs or something different, such as a demanding job or a stressful life change. When you have an addiction, you continue to use a drug regardless of any negative consequences. Physical dependence can occur with or without an addiction to the drug; however, it is a common feature of addiction. Other drugs including Valium, diazepam, oxycodone, Xanax, Suboxone strips and $15,000 were also found at the address.

Statistics suggest that one in 20 people in the U.S. fill a prescription for benzodiazepines each year. Quitting cold turkey can increase your risk of extreme and dangerous withdrawal symptoms, including delirium and grand mal seizures. Taking Xanax in combination with alcohol can cause life-threatening side effects. Like Xanax, alcohol enhances the effects of GABA on the central nervous system, which can cause impaired coordination, drowsiness, dizziness, and other physical and psychological effects. When an individual combines Xanax and alcohol, the tranquilizing effects of each substance are intensified. Therefore, mixing Xanax with alcohol can cause an individual to lose consciousness or slip into a coma.

Divided Sky’s program director is Melanie Gulde, who served as Anastasio’s caseworker at the time. “She’s a badass, but she’s also very loving.” Anastasio began raising the funds to open Divided Sky in 2020 via his “Beacon Jams” residency shows at the Beacon Theatre in New York. The singer/guitarist who struggled with an opioid addiction co-founded the center in Ludlow, VT with his former caseworker in 2023. The year 2020 rolled around, and by April I was having a nibble again.

If you’re uninsured or under-insured, SAMSA can refer you to state-funded treatment programs, programs that accept Medicare or Medicaid, and those that charge on a sliding scale. If you have health insurance, your insurer can give you a list of providers and facilities covered by your plan. If you think you or someone you’re with is in danger of overdosing, call 911 right away. Keep in mind that emergency responders and doctors are there to help you. If you have the pill containers, give them to the EMTs or doctors to help them determine the number and type of pills taken. Along with flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), alprazolam (Xanax) and clonazepam (Klonapin) may be used to incapacitate sexual assault victims.

Doctors like prescribing Xanax because it has a short half-life, meaning its effects wear off more quickly than long-acting benzodiazepines, such as Valium (diazepam). People who need the drug can take it for the short-term treatment of anxiety or panic attacks without disrupting their entire day. Complicating the diagnosis of GAD and PD is that many conditions in the differential diagnosis are also common comorbidities. Additionally, many patients with GAD or PD meet criteria for other psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder and social phobia. By the time I started taking it, in 2006, millions of other Americans were doing the same.

Some drugs interact with Xanax by blocking or reducing the effect of CYP3A enzymes. People will usually experience side effects of Xanax when they first start taking it or when they increase the dosage. The key to achieving this goal is to follow the tapering schedule to the very end. By the end of your taper, you might be cutting pills into halves or quarters. If you have a loved one who’s struggling with addiction, staging an intervention is often the first necessary step towards sobriety, but it’s important to be strategic and loving in your approach. Even the most well-meaning of interventions can have a negative effect if they aren’t handled correctly.

The use of Xanax for non-medical purposes has increased in recent years. Upjohn Laboratories introduced Xanax in the United States in 1981. Unlike Valium, the most popular anti-anxiety drug during the 1970s, Xanax was marketed as the first drug to reduce panic attacks.

Xanax (alprazolam) is a benzodiazepine drug widely prescribed to treat anxiety disorder. Benzodiazepine addiction is a growing concern in the United States, with around 30% of opiate overdose deaths also involving drugs like Xanax. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most common form of therapy for benzodiazepine addiction.

For example, a common dose of alprazolam (Xanax) is 0.5 to 1.5 milligrams. It takes minutes to take effect, and its effects last 5-8 hours. Benzodiazepine drugs are also sometimes used as “date rape” drugs because they impair the functions that normally allow a person to resist sexual aggression or assault. The drug is usually added to alcoholic drinks or even soft drinks in powder or liquid forms and can be hard to taste.

Some people use it without a prescription or in a manner other than indicated on a prescription. Benzodiazepines can lead to both physical and psychological https://rehabliving.net/is-there-a-connection-between-narcissism-and/ dependence. If you become dependent on the drugs, you can have withdrawal symptoms and even seizures when you suddenly stop taking them.

And though prescriptions have since declined (in 2021 there were 15 million), the addiction rate to sedatives of all kinds has increased. With Xanax, the effects of drug withdrawal can be severe and even dangerous, so detox is often a gradual process, especially if it had been used in high doses and/or for a prolonged period of time. For example, to reduce the risk of seizures, the Xanax dose is gradually tapered over weeks under medical supervision. Xanax is a benzodiazepine, which is a class of drugs that can treat anxiety and panic attacks. The effects of the drug come on quickly and disappear rapidly. The fast-acting properties of Xanax can lead to its misuse.

The GAD-7 and the Severity Measure for Panic Disorder are free diagnostic tools. Successful outcomes may require a combination of treatment modalities tailored to the individual patient. Treatment often includes medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and/or psychotherapy, both of which are highly effective. Among psychotherapeutic treatments, cognitive behavior therapy has been studied widely and has an extensive evidence base. Benzodiazepines are effective in reducing anxiety symptoms, but their use is limited by risk of abuse and adverse effect profiles.

1. If you are concerned about the risks involved in Xanax tapering for any reason, discuss these concerns with a doctor.
2. Xanax is frequently taken with alcohol, opioids, and other substances, as Xanax can reduce the undesirable side effects of these substances.
3. Taking Xanax with alcohol, illicit drugs, or other medications can increase the risk of sudden death.
4. You may have serious or life-threatening withdrawal symptoms if you stop using this medicine suddenly.
5. The drug can cause side effects, especially if people combine it with other CNS depressants, such as antihistamines, opioids, and alcohol.
6. The effects of the drug come on quickly and disappear rapidly.

Reducing Xanax slowly over time reduces the severity of these symptoms. Individuals with a history of addiction or substance use disorder are particularly at risk. Xanax is an effective medication for managing panic and anxiety attacks. However, using it without a prescription or in ways other than prescribed https://rehabliving.net/ can pose health risks — especially if people combine it with other depressants, such as alcohol. The best way to try to lessen the severity of your Xanax withdrawal symptoms is by slowly tapering down your dose of Xanax. Tapering means taking progressively smaller doses over the course of several weeks.

This means that you will likely experience Xanax withdrawal, or the uncomfortable physical and mental symptoms of discontinuing the drug. The intensity of your symptoms depends on your dosage, or how much Xanax you’ve been taking and for how long. It can be hard to tell the difference between withdrawal symptoms and anxiety. Withdrawal symptoms usually show up anywhere from 3-4 days to 2 weeks after you last use the drug. But they can appear earlier with shorter-acting types of benzodiazepines. Detoxification, or detox, is the process of allowing a substance to leave the body while treating and mitigating any withdrawal symptoms.

They may visit multiple doctors to get Xanax prescriptions or buy it on the street. They may also turn to alcohol or other depressants when Xanax isn’t available. About 75 percent of deadly benzodiazepine overdoses involve opioids, according to a 2015 study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. It can lower a person’s ability to make responsible decisions. They become vulnerable to sexual assault, theft and other transgressions.

Another possible behavioral change is an increase in secretive behavior. The individual may start hiding things from friends and family members in an attempt to conceal Xanax misuse. Long-term use of Xanax can lead to tolerance, a state in which the user no longer responds to the substance in the same way, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Once a user develops a tolerance for Xanax, higher doses of the drug are needed to achieve the same effects, which can cause significant behavioral changes. Those who take large doses of Xanax regularly are more likely to develop a substance use disorder than individuals who take low doses of the drug infrequently. Dependence occurs when a person experiences physical or mental withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking a substance.