Treatment for addiction to benzodiazepines
Treatment for addiction to benzodiazepines and, in general, treatments for addiction to prescription pills especially anti-anxiety medications, are in growing demand.
At CITA, we have decades of experience in helping patients with this type of dependency. We also have different types of treatment programs available for addiction to benzos.
Benzodiazepines are central nervous system depressants commonly prescribed to treat conditions including anxiety, stress, insomnia, epilepsy and to sedate people before certain medical procedures.
It is common these days to diagnose benzodiazepine addicts as having developed their addiction after starting to take it as part of medical treatment. This is why it is essential to adhere strictly to the dosage and timeline as recommended by the doctor.
Benzodiazepine Addiction
People can, and often do, end up taking benzos for a long time without realising that they are addicted especially when they self-medicate and increase the dosage when they start developing a tolerance.
Benzos are highly dependency-causing and must be used with caution even when prescribed by a doctor. Once dependency has been established stopping use can cause several withdrawal symptoms which is why this process should be closely monitored.
At the CITA, treatment for benzodiazepine addiction starts with identifying each patient’s individual consumption patterns and a treatment plan is developed catering to their specific case and needs.
Our working method combines psychological and psychotherapeutic techniques and is backed by our more than thirty years of experience in treating substance addictions.
Our high success rates and how satisfied our patients are make CITA a benchmark rehabilitation institute.
Detoxification from benzodiazepines
Detox from benzos is often problematic due to the prolonged and severe withdrawal symptoms they often cause.
It is not uncommon to hear patients tell us that they tried to quit using benzodiazepines on their own. But stopping usually causes serious discomfort which in turn also leads to a high rate of failure when trying to do it alone.
With a professional and guided benzodiazepine detoxification treatment such as the one offered by CITA, success rate rises to almost 100%.
We also make sure to conduct an initial evaluation as each patient’s experience with detox may vary and it is important to personalise the treatment as much as possible.
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How addiction to benzos arises
In many cases, benzodiazepine addiction arises after having been prescribed it by a doctor for short-term use with people often developing a habit and then dependency after starting to take them as medication. It should be noted that to avoid addiction to the drug it is essential to adhere strictly to the dosage and timeline as instructed by the doctor.
Many people take it for a long time without realising the development of addictive patterns that have formed/ are forming.
At CITA, treatment for benzodiazepine addiction starts with identifying each patient’s individual consumption patterns and developing a treatment plan catering to their specific case and needs.
What our patients say about us
Mención especial a Marta cuchet que aún lucha conmigo por salvarme la vida de esta enfermedad. No hay palabras para describir lo que hace y ha hecho por mi.
Y también quería comentar la profesionalidad de Anaís y su ética a la hora de no cometer intrusismo como en otros centros.
Ya puede valorar gerencia los profesionales que tiene porque gente así hay poca.
Eternamente agradecido.
Denis y Mercedes.
Pero no puedo escribir esta reseña sin mencionar a las verdaderas guardianas del día a día: las chicas de recepción. Siempre con una sonrisa, un gesto amable o una palabra de ánimo cuando más lo necesitas. Y muy especialmente Pepi, que es luz pura. Gracias por tu calidez, por tu paciencia y por hacer que uno se sienta en casa desde el primer día.
También me llevo mucho de mis compañeros. Personas increíbles con las que he compartido risas, lágrimas y momentos de verdad. En CITA he aprendido que no estamos solos, y que pedir ayuda es un acto de valentía.
Gracias por acompañarme en este renacer. No olvidaré esta etapa ni a quienes la habéis hecho posible
Los profesionales y la comunidad han ayudado a mi hermano en todo el proceso de desintoxicación y ahora seguirá vía on line con su psicóloga.
Estoy súper agradecida de ♥️
Tengo de vuelta a mi verdadero hermano.
Magníficos profesionales que te ayudarán durante tu estancia y después de ella.
Un remanso de paz que irá apareciendo de forma más y más clara, si te comprometes contigo mismo.
Consequences of using benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines cause memory loss, mainly of recent or episodic memory, as well as cause gaps in recent memory in which the patient does not remember what he or she has done recently.
Long-term use of benzodiazepines can also lead to depression and emotional dullness, i.e., not feeling emotions properly or at all.
A very important side effect of abusing benzos is paradoxical, i.e. it can end up increasing nervousness and aggressiveness in certain people instead of calming it down. This can occur especially in people who are very anxious and hyperactive or have associated psychiatric disorders.
Certain benzodiazepines when taken at the same times as alcohol, can cause episodes of very high aggression in certain types of people.
Overdose can also occur if benzodiazepines are mixed with alcohol or other drugs.
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Why choose CITA?
We have professionals with more than 40 years of experience
Expert help is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
We apply and adapt to the latest advances in neuroscience
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FAQ What You Need to Know About Benzodiazepine Addiction
Consequences of mixing benzodiazepines and alcohol, or other substances
Although benzodiazepines are relatively safe substances, their mixture with other central nervous system depressant substances (alcohol, GHB, opiates, ketamine, etc.) can increase the effects, both pleasant and undesirable, of both, leading to life-threatening poisonings. However, depending on the type of benzodiazepine and the doses of the different substances consumed, the risks may be higher or lower.
For example, combining long-acting benzodiazepines with other depressants is riskier than if done with another short-acting benzodiazepine. In either case, adverse effects such as amnesia or taxia may occur. However, the longer the half-life and the higher the dose of hypnosedatives or alcohol (or other depressant), the greater the risks of intoxication or overdose.
Regarding the combination with stimulants (cocaine, amphetamines, etc.), it should be borne in mind that both the type of benzodiazepine and the doses used, both benzodiazepines and stimulants, are key factors in reducing the risks associated with this type of combination. Thus, adjusted doses of a medium- or short-acting benzodiazepine again pose fewer risks than the consumption of long-acting benzodiazepines if they are to be taken, for example, to reduce the after-effects of stimulants.
Finally, although there is a myth among some psychonauts that benzodiazepines ‘cut’ the bad trip of psychedelics (LSD, mushrooms, DMT, etc.) by their action on GABA receptors, this is not really true. Rather, when the psychedelic experience is taken over by fear, the use of benzodiazepines can lessen the anxiety inherent in these situations. But unlike an atypical antipsychotic, it doesn’t eliminate the effects of the hallucinogen.
But we can go further and see what these figures can reveal: the portrait of a population that does not tolerate the slightest setback, that is always in a hurry to overcome disappointments, that considers it reprehensible that someone feels unwell and asks for a break or help. In this sense, what these data are saying is that people do not have resources – neither their own nor those of others – to solve their daily problems.
Benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome
Benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome can present the following symptoms to a greater or lesser extent: great anxiety, agitation, irritability, insomnia, loss of appetite, aggressiveness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, anguish, confusion, convulsions, elevation of body temperature and even death. These signs usually appear between the first day and the first week after stopping the drug.
It should be noted that withdrawal symptoms do not always appear. In some people it does not appear and in others the symptoms they had before and for which they were prescribed reappear. The onset or not of withdrawal syndrome does not always depend on the dose, the individual, or the time, but these factors are risk factors for triggering it.
It can occur after a prolonged period of benzodiazepine use or abuse. In fact, after one month of consumption, withdrawal syndromes have been described even at therapeutic doses.
The risk involved in abandoning benzodiazepines and the eventual onset of withdrawal syndrome is what makes it advisable for the process to be monitored by medical professionals.
Consumption leads to dependence on benzodiazepines
There are patients who, due to the tolerance to which we referred earlier or because there has been little medical control, without hardly realizing it, become addicted to the drug.
Many of these patients are not informed of the danger of benzodiazepine addiction and only perceive the problem when they lack the drug, either because of forgetting the prescription or medication, changing doctors, or for other reasons when they are without the drug. It is then that the patient begins to suffer from a series of disorders that subside with the intake of the drug, thus closing the cycle of addiction and requiring benzodiazepine detoxification.
This use is increasing significantly. These are generally young users who buy benzodiazepines on the black market in order to “get high”, almost always using other drugs together.
They are sometimes used by drug addicts to alleviate the stimulant effects of other drugs (cocaine, amphetamines, ecstasy), or to prolong the effects or alleviate the lack of other drugs to which they are addicted (opiates, heroin, cannabis).
These benzodiazepine users are usually very high, triggering severe withdrawal syndromes after cessation of their use.
Benzodiazepines have been shown to have a high addictive potential and generate a high degree of tolerance. Addiction treatment centers, such as CITA, have seen requests for this type of addiction grow in recent years, forcing us to develop and improve responses to this type of addiction.
Cessation of benzodiazepines
In order to avoid the onset of withdrawal symptoms, it is recommended to withdraw benzodiazepines very slowly and supervise the effects of withdrawal.
Stopping consumption immediately, without informing the patient, usually causes disorders that affect the patient’s health. At CITA we know the symptoms that benzodiazepine addicts can suffer and that is why we offer a multidisciplinary treatment adapted to the situation of each patient.
Constant communication with doctors and psychologists generates the confidence that the patient needs to proceed with the complete cessation of benzodiazepines.
Side Effects of Benzodiazepines
Depending on the characteristics or dose, they can cause excessive sedation, leading to drowsiness, difficulty concentrating, coordination problems, muscle weakness and confusion.
They can interact with other medications, increasing the effects of both, and also with alcohol, accelerating and increasing the symptoms of alcohol over-intake.
What is the treatment to stop benzodiazepines?
The treatment of benzodiazepine addiction consists of gradually withdrawing the dose over a period of one or two months and the rest for a longer period of time to be established depending on the evolution of the treatment. The doctor in charge of the treatment chooses to shorten or lengthen these periods depending on the patient’s progress.
In patients or people who abuse those with a short half-life (they last less time in the body because they must take more doses per day) this will be changed for a longer half-life. Once it has been stabilized, it will be progressively removed. Other drugs (euthymizing and antiepileptic) alone or in combination with low doses of benzodiazepines are also used.