In-Home Detox for Benzodiazepine Addiction

Overcome Your Benzodiazepine Addiction With In-Home Detox

Whether a person has recently developed an addiction or has had a long-standing issue, benzodiazepine addiction recovery is possible. Our addiction recovery program starts with home benzodiazepine detox. The detox process removes all benzodiazepines from the body to wean the patient’s body from its dependency on this drug. Detox helps the body begin the healing process and helps prepare the patient for therapy or counseling that is part of their complete addiction recovery plan.

Home benzodiazepine detox with Concierge MD LA is customized to every patient’s unique needs.

What to Expect from In-Home Detox for Benzodiazepines

Here’s what patients can expect during in-home benzodiazepine detox with Concierge MD LA:

• Initial evaluation: Our medical director assesses the patient’s medical history, benzodiazepine use history, current prescription medications, and other health factors.
• Full examination: We perform a full examination and lab tests to build a complete picture of the patient’s health. This information helps us build a custom detox program that is optimized to the patient’s unique needs. This initial examination also gives us a baseline to evaluate the patient’s progress through the detox program. Lab tests may also be performed at this time.
• Consultation and building the detox plan: After we have analyzed the examination and any lab test results, our medical director consults with the patient to create an at-home detox plan. This plan is customized to complement the patient’s current health, lifestyle, medications, and recovery goals.
• The home detox process begins: Our in-home detox nurse arrives at the patient’s home at the start of the program. One of our nurses will be onsite 24/7 with the patient to monitor the detox process and make changes to the home detox plan as needed. Medications may be prescribed to manage withdrawal symptoms and improve the patient’s comfort throughout the detox process; the nurse will adjust these medications as necessary. Our nurse will also monitor the patient’s sleep and nutrition, since these are often affected by withdrawal symptoms or cravings.
• Ongoing monitoring and lab tests: Throughout the detox process, our nurse monitors the patient’s blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and respiration rate. They may also perform periodic lab tests as determined by the patient’s individual detox plan. Ongoing monitoring helps us gauge the patient’s progress through the drug detox process so that we can quickly make changes to the plan according to the patient’s changing needs.
• Post-detox benzodiazepine rehabilitation services: After the in-home detox program is complete, Concierge MD LA offers further at-home addiction recovery services such as therapy and counseling. These additional therapies can help patients address benzodiazepine use triggers and develop coping mechanisms to prevent relapse.

What is Considered a Benzodiazepine Addiction?

Benzodiazepines are prescription sedatives that doctors may prescribe to treat or manage a variety of health conditions, including anxiety, insomnia, seizures, and muscle spasms. Benzodiazepines are safe to use when a doctor prescribes this medication in therapeutic doses for short amounts of time and the patient uses them as prescribed.

However, benzodiazepines are highly addictive. Benzodiazepine addiction happens when a person becomes physically and psychologically dependent on this drug.

Addiction can be dangerous because, over time, a person can build up a tolerance to the effects of benzodiazepines. As a result, a person needs higher and higher doses to achieve the desired effect. At high enough doses, benzodiazepines can cause overdose which may lead to coma or death. Addiction is all the more dangerous when benzodiazepines are prescribed alongside opioids, with 30% of opioid deaths involving benzodiazepines.

The cravings and withdrawal symptoms that come with benzodiazepine detox can make quitting difficult. Because the body has become dependent on the effects of this drug, cutting back the dose or stopping the use of benzodiazepines can cause withdrawals, which generally begin 24 hours after the final dose of the drug. The symptoms of withdrawal are one of the biggest factors in causing a patient to relapse (resume using drugs).

Benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms include:

• Headache
• Heart palpitations
• Tremors
• Muscle aches or pains
• Confusion
• Dizziness
• Hallucinations, delusions, and/or paranoia
• Visual disturbances
• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Anxiety or panic attacks
• Irritability
• Agitation
• Difficulty with memory and/or concentration
• Depression
• Difficulty sleeping
• Seizures

Withdrawals from benzodiazepines can range from uncomfortable to life-threatening, which is why medical management is important for a safe and successful detox and recovery.

Whether a person has recently developed a benzodiazepine addiction or has had a longstanding addiction, recovery is possible. Medically managed at-home benzodiazepine detox with Concierge MD LA ensures that this process is both safe and comfortable for the patient and their family.

Signs and Symptoms of Benzodiazepine Addiction

It is not always easy to identify if a person has an addiction to benzodiazepine since doctors prescribe this class of drug to help patients manage certain health conditions. A change in a person’s normal habits is one of the first indications that they may have developed an addiction to a drug.

Signs a person may have benzodiazepine addiction include:

• Drowsiness
• Erratic behavior or mood changes
• Poor judgment or thinking
• Weakness
• Blurred vision
• Amnesia
• Confusion
• A person has many pill bottles, often from multiple doctors, and sometimes with another person’s name on them
• A person asks for unused portions of other peoples’ benzodiazepine prescriptions
• The person cannot stop using benzodiazepines despite trying to do so
• A significant change in attendance of work, school, or other personal obligations
• Withdrawal/detachment from typical activities, hobbies, and interests
• Continued use of benzodiazepines despite potential career or personal consequences
• A person uses benzodiazepines for a longer amount of time than prescribed by their doctor

While benzodiazepines can be beneficial in treating certain conditions, there are many potential short-term and long-term side effects of taking this drug.

Short-term side effects can include:

• Drowsiness and fatigue
• Depression
• Dizziness, vertigo
• Nausea
• Euphoria
• Behavior changes

Long-term side effects can include:

• Muscle weakness
• Decreased coordination
• Confusion
• Disorientation
• Changes in memory, thinking, or judgment
• Tolerance to benzodiazepines