Signs Someone is Addicted to Benzodiazapines

Benzodiazepine is drug commonly used to treat anxiety and panic disorders. It affects the chemicals in the brain and helps to fix any imbalances which may be causing mental issues. The use of the drug is still controversial with many questioning its effects on the very young, very old and pregnant.

While most medical professionals will tell you that the drug is safe and indeed very effective in the short term, the long term effects of the drug hotly disputed with various studies finding different results. One of the reasons the long term use of Benzodiazepine is considered problematic by some doctors is because of the withdrawal symptoms people suffer when they are forced off the drug and the susceptibility of many people to become addicted to the Drug.

If you or someone you know has been using Benzodiazepine than it’s important that you watch out for signs of addiction. Once someone has become addicted it’s imperative they get proper medical help and if possible stop taking the drug. If you or anyone you know begins to show any of the signs mentioned below its imperative that you seek professional medical help immediately. The below should be used as a guide only and is no substitute for proper medical diagnosis.

Patient seeking to increase dosage: One of the signs someone is addicted to Benzodiazepine is that they will want to increase their dosage and take more of the drug. The addict may physically attempt to consume more of their drug than their prescription recommends or they may simply begin talking about needing more of the drug. If someone taking Benzodiazepine reports’ having urges to have more of the drug or if they start complaining that their dosage isn’t high enough it’s really important that you tell whoever prescribed the drugs. In its early stages addiction can be handled fairly easily so the sooner you report symptoms the better. Obviously increasing the dosage is a very bad idea.

Patient suffers from panic attacks or seizures: A classic sign of addiction is where a patient begins to have seizures and fits. This means their body is not coping with the drug and has reached a point where it needs more to keep chemical levels stable.  The patient may also begin to suffer panic attacks and get angry very quickly. This is because their brain is essentially desperate and prepared to do just about anything to get its fix.

A re-emergence of the symptoms Benzodiazepine was attempting to t
reat: One sign that someone may be becoming addicted to Benzodiazepine is that their original symptoms start to reoccur. This may be a sign that the body has adapted to the current level of drugs essentially creating a new normal. This is bad because it means that the body will then start seeking out more Benzodiazepine in order to fix the original chemical imbalance issues.  So if a patient is taking the drug for nervous twitches and they begin to have them again even while taking Benzodiazepine it would be a good idea to revisit your local doctor.

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