There are a variety of drugs that fall into the class of drugs called Benzodiazepine. Some of those would be Xanax, Valium, Halcion and a vast variety of other common and uncommon drugs used around the world. This particular class of drugs has five different effects on people who take them. These effects are hypnotic or those drugs that can make a person sleepy, anxiolytic effects which are drugs that help with anxiety, anti seizure which of course will help reduce seizures, then there are those that are used as muscle relaxants and finally there are the amnesic effects that are drugs that interfere with long and short term memory. All the drugs in the Benzodiazepine class can cause what is known as Benzo Withdrawl Syndrome.
The idea behind these drugs is that they are to be used to help the GABA or gamma amino butyric acid neurotransmitters in our brains to work more efficiently. The job of GABA is to work as a natural hypnotic or tranquilizer for our bodies. When these GABA transmitters fail to work properly a Benzo class drug can be prescribed to help.
All of these drugs can cause dependency but how long it can take varies greatly. Variables such as the dosage size, how often it is taken and of course the body chemistry of the individual. Some have gotten addicted within as short of a time as two weeks. On the other hand, if you take the drug daily for six months the chance is probably 50 percent that you will become dependent upon the drug. Should a person take the drug on a continual basis for a year the threat of dependency is at a high level.
So what exactly is Benzo Withdrawal Syndrome and how does it happen? It is thought that it is caused by a lessening of the action of the GABA on its own. GABA can actually become dependent on the stimulation that it gets from the benzo drugs themselves to stimulate the GABA neurotransmitters into action. This can result in a vast variety of over stimulation in many different areas of the brain which causes many different types of symptoms. These symptoms are caused from over exciting the cells in the brain making them exceptionally sensitive to anything coming from the neurotransmitters.
This particular drug withdrawal can be quiet serious for a lot of people who are being taken off these drugs. Recovering from the dependency can also take a lot longer than it does with other drug dependencies which can lead to the need for serious medical help.
When a person begins to have symptoms of withdrawal it is because the body has become tolerant to the drug and is requiring more in order to reach the level of stimulation it has become accustomed to. This can also happen when the dose has been lowered or if the person has been taken totally off of the drug.
Some of the symptoms a person can experience during withdrawal is inability to sleep, anxiety, muscle pain, negative thoughts, quick mood changes, rage, depression, suicidal tendencies, sensitivity to sensory stimulation, headaches, joint pain, blurred vision, tremors, fatigue, flu symptoms, weakness and numbness of the arms and legs and many more that can lead to a lot of mental and physical problems that could even lead to hospitalization.
Benzo Withdrawl
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