Benzodiazepine Withdrawal and Detox Center in Dallas
Addiction to benzodiazepines can happen to anyone. These frequently prescribed short-term medications can help treat anxiety disorders, insomnia, or seizures. When taken as directed briefly, these medications can be helpful to your mental health.
Restored Path Detox Is a Place Where You Can Recover Quickly and Safely.
If you use benzodiazepines longer than intended, your risk of physical dependence or addiction can develop in a few short weeks. Many people have experienced trouble stopping benzodiazepines on their own, as the withdrawal effects can be debilitating.
Restored Path Detox can help. We use a medically monitored approach to help you quickly and comfortably stop your benzodiazepine misuse so you can get back to living.
Our Approach
We match you with a combination of effective benzo detox techniques to provide comfortable, caring, and integrated care. Weโll prescribe targeted medications to ease your symptoms of benzodiazepine withdrawal while simultaneously preventing dangerous complications.
Restored Path Detox is a skilled benzodiazepine detox center. We combine an inviting atmosphere, round-the-clock medical supervision, and a range of specialized services to support detox for benzo addiction. If you feel up to doing so, you’ll be encouraged to participate in individual and group therapy sessions.
Our Individualized Approach Includes
- Medical, mental health, and whole-person assessment
- Supportive counseling groups
- Medication management
- Case management and benzo detox treatment planning
- 24/7 medical supervision
- Continuing care planning
- Individual supportive counseling
- Nutritious meals
- Recovery support
Our Environment
At Restored Path Detox, we walk with you through every stage of early recovery โ from medically monitored benzodiazepine withdrawal and detox to thorough and personalized continuing care planning. We can swiftly complete your entire admissions process, starting with a brief preassessment over the phone. Our clinical and medical teams will use this information to determine the severity of your use disorder and identify which benzo detox methods will be the most effective. We’ll explore whether a benzodiazepine detox program is right for you. Weโll also review your potential coverage options and set a date and time for intake.
Our Amenities Include
- Comfortable private and semi-private rooms
- TVs in all rooms
- Executive wing with private rooms
- Cell phone access for executive-level patients (as clinically appropriate)
- Gourmet meals created by a licensed nutritionist
- Snack options are available that cater to the health needs of our clients
- 24/7 nursing on all units
- ADA-accessible bathrooms with toiletries
- Outdoor courtyard and garden area
- Inviting, well-lit common spaces
- Premium linens
- Massage
- Acupuncture
What Are Benzodiazepines?
Benzodiazepines (commonly called โbenzosโ) are prescription depressants that doctors have used to treat anxiety, insomnia, and seizures for over 50 years. During this time, researchers have become increasingly concerned about the link between these drugs and addiction.
Benzos can be short-acting, intermediate, or long-acting. Short-acting benzos are often used for insomnia, in critical care environments, and prior to administering anesthesia.
Examples of legally prescribed oral benzodiazepines that are commonly misused are
- Alprazolam (Xanax, Xanax XR)
- Clobazam (Onfi)
- Clonazepam (Klonopin)
- Clorazepate (Tranxene)
- Chlordiazepoxide (Librium)
- Diazepam (Valium, Diastat Acudial, Diastat)
- Estazolam (Prosom is a discontinued brand in the U.S.)
- Lorazepam (Ativan)
- Oxazepam (Serax is a discontinued brand in the U.S.)
- Temazepam (Restoril)
- Triazolam (Halcion)
Like many, you likely had no idea how dangerous long-term use could be when you began your prescription. But the chemical changes benzos can cause donโt simply disappear. Symptoms can grow if theyโre not addressed comprehensively.
Effects of Benzodiazepine Use
The National Institute on Drug Abuse says that benzodiazepines cause a minor shift in the brainโs chemical signals to communicate a pleasurable event. When that shift takes hold, you may feel a boost of sensation associated with reward, joy, and security. You will likely not notice the change, but your brain marks that chemical change.
In time, your altered brain cells may not function optimally without access to these drugs. Your brain cells will call out for the drug, and that call will be hard to ignore.
Benzodiazepine Use Facts in the U.S.
While benzodiazepines were developed initially to help people with genuine mental or physical health concerns, individuals who abuse these drugs arenโt doing so to improve their lives. Theyโre driven to use these drugs because of chemical changes.
And while addiction is rarely a consequence of properly using these drugs, if you take doses too close together, too large, when theyโre no longer needed, or hoard pills for a bad day, you may need help.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services reports
- Recreational users are between the ages of 18-25, and their numbers are rising
- Overall, 12.6% of U.S. adults report using benzodiazepines in the past year
- Misuse accounts for 17.2% of overall use
Benzodiazepine Use Signs and Symptoms
Your family may notice your misuse of these drugs before you since, over time, you will need more to function normally.
Regular use of benzodiazepines may cause the following physical, cognitive, and psychosocial symptoms:
Physical symptoms include
- Headache
- Drowsiness, sleepiness, and fatigue
- Dry mouth
- Dizziness
- Tremors
- Nausea
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Slurred speech or stuttering
- Double or blurred vision
- Impaired coordination
Cognitive symptoms include
- Impaired thinking
- Memory loss
- Confusion
Psychosocial symptoms include
- Irritability
- Paranoia
- Aggression
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Euphoria
- Feelings of isolation
Injecting benzodiazepines may also cause
- Vein damage and scarring
- Infections, including hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, and AIDS
- Deep vein thrombosis and clots resulting in loss of limbs, damage to organs, stroke, and possibly death
Benzo Withdrawal Timeline
General benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms tend to last 1-4 days. Acute symptoms can begin in the second week of withdrawal and last months if left untreated.
Withdrawal from short-acting benzos starts sooner and comes with higher intensity. As longer-acting benzos stay in the body for a longer time, the onset of withdrawal comes much more slowly.
When stopped abruptly, benzodiazepines can cause withdrawal symptoms and even seizures within 24 hours, even after a short period of use, because your brain is rebounding as it searches for the drug.
Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Signs and Symptoms
Benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms can include the following
- Agitation
- Anxiety
- Dry heaving, nausea, and vomiting
- Headaches
- Heart palpitations
- High blood pressure
- Insomnia
- Irritability
- Muscle pain and stiffness
- Panic attacks
- Poor concentration
- Sensory distortions
- Seizures
- Sweating
- Tremors
Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Risk Factors
The following risk factors may influence the severity of your benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms:
- Length of time taking benzodiazepines
- Dosage amount
- Type of drug used/abused
- Method used to take or abuse benzodiazepines
- Underlying medical or mental health issues
- Abuse of other drugs or alcohol concurrently
If you need benzo withdrawal help, the medically monitored detox we offer at Restored Path will help you safely and comfortably manage potentially life-altering symptoms.
Is Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Deadly?
Detoxing from benzodiazepines at home can present additional risks to a personโs health and well-being. Severe benzo withdrawal symptoms can include depression, delirium, paranoia, sensory distortions, and seizures. Seizures from benzodiazepine withdrawal can be fatal.
Additional medical threats from benzos withdrawal come from its serious psychological symptoms. For example, a person suffering from depression, mania, or psychosis or preoccupied with suicidal ideation, self-harming, or violence may put themselves in risky and life-threatening situations while experiencing withdrawal.
Seniors face unique issues with a higher risk of heart attack, falls, and delirium. People with a history of misusing other drugs, seizures, or co-occurring mental health disorders also face additional risks during withdrawal from benzodiazepines.
Can I Detox From Benzos on My Own?
The choice to end harmful drug use should be followed up with finding the proper resources to do it safely. Ending the regular use of benzos at home is not recommended, as the complications from withdrawal can be life threatening. Even individuals with stable homes and strong family support need to recognize the risks of attempting to quit this kind of drug without medical care.
A medical provider at detox can help patients safely taper their use of benzodiazepines. Tapering can be a slow process, taking some people weeks or months to complete. At the same time, itโs safer to help the body adjust to lower amounts of the drug from day to day and week to week.
In some situations, a replacement medication may be administered first and tapered later. Supplemental medications, such as anticonvulsants for seizures, may also be given to address specific needs. In addition to new medications given to the patient, a medical team in detox can provide round-the-clock monitoring for all medical, physical, and psychological needs.
Medical Monitored Benzo Detox Is Critical
Medical detoxification from benzodiazepines often involves tapering down by reducing the dose or prescribing less. Benzodiazepines used for detox may include Diazepam (Valium) or Clonazepam (Klonopin) because they are long-acting and less potent. These drugs keep withdrawal symptoms at bay while our medical team tapers off your usage.
You may experience benzodiazepine withdrawal differently than others based on your length of time using the drugs, dosage amount, type of drug, and method used to take it. Underlying medical or mental health issues are a factor, as is your simultaneous use or abuse of other drugs. We can help.
The Restored Path Detox Solution
Restored Path Detox is DFWโs premier location for sophisticated medical detox. Conveniently located in Frisco, we provide a safe sanctuary for healing that is also a state-of-the-art detoxification facility for a wide range of substances.
Our compassionate physicians and therapists want you to get well and are committed to removing any existing barriers to your care. Restored Pathโs team of board-certified physicians and highly qualified RNs have extensive critical care experience. They are available to monitor your detox program 24 hours a day, seven days a week.