You must have heard of or seen people suffering from Benzodiazepine addiction. Earlier, this was a common addiction type in the US, and now it is across the UK.
As a prescription drug, Benzodiazepine has become a reliable component for inducing sleeping. The other versions of the same are Valium and Xanax. The doctors often prescribe this for treating insomnia.
This Benzodiazepine can make the person feel relaxed and become the best choice for those seeking relief from a stressful life. It might cause people to resort to it and unknowingly go for an overdose too.
Rehab Healthcare offers the Benzodiazepine detox treatment in the UK to ensure people come clean even after a near-overdose or abuse.
What Contributes to Benzodiazepine’s Overdose?
You have to credit the Benzodiazepine to react to the central nervous system and relax muscles, reducing stress. Hence, doctors prescribe these Benzodiazepine-laced medicines to treat everything from anxiety to seizures, amnesia, and even sleeplessness.
Valium is famous for having long-lasting effects, while Xanax has a short-lasting effect. That said, many people combine it with other drugs to make it too potent. It might lead to an overdose like no other.
Look for an overdose when you spot any or a few of these symptoms in a person. Dizziness, blurred vision, anxiety, agitation, slurred speech, and even uncoordinated movement all show the signs of overdose.
However, the extent of these might go to a severe level when one has already gone to the extreme. Some may have been taking Benzodiazepine for a long, and this might also cause the symptoms to become extreme. There will also be other complications like a reduction of oxygen in the body and breathlessness.
You will also have to note if the user has been overdosing with any other drug. If yes, make a note of the drug and even the dosage. If it is a lot, then the case is sure to be high.
More Factors Contributing to the Overdose
Benzodiazepine often results in tolerance, where the body starts adapting to the regular prescribed dose. It means the body will need a higher dose of the medicine. To ensure a better result, people often, without consulting the doctor, go for a larger dosage. In fact, as per a report, most overdose cases result from this problem with tolerance.
Once the Benzodiazepine overdose happens, people might want to stop it suddenly. But this is where the withdrawal symptoms creep in to cause havoc.
Types of Treatment for Benzodiazepine Overdose
When a person has an overdose, they might struggle to breathe. Take them to emergency services, where the doctors might recommend performing the best resuscitation process.
However, this will also be the time the doctors might recommend a rehab-based treatment. It will also help the doctors if you bring along the medicines you have been consuming to get a clear idea. Also, it would help if you could bring the earliest prescription with the initially prescribed dose.
Looking at that, they would understand what condition you had and why you had got that prescription in the first place. It would help them to decide on a plan for you to stay away from the Benzodiazepine-drugs.
They will also urge you to stop going for more OTC drugs like Nurofen Plus or Codeine-based cough syrups. These might be appearing harmless, but they will not help in your condition of Benzodiazepine overdose.
Challenges in Treatment Process
The doctors might ask for a complete diagnostic report on your current health condition. It might be difficult to pronounce, especially if no one but the patient alone has a clue about his medicines.
The doctors would then check the blood tests, urine tests in pregnant women, and ECGs to see how healthy you are. It will also show how clean you are and what are damages you have already done.
Rehab Treatment and More
The first step the doctor would take on looking at the test reports would be to recommend you with a Benzodiazepine detox treatment. It would begin with counseling and then psychological treatment. Experts may recommend you a tapering process and reduce your dose of Benzodiazepine.
This will happen in very minimal quantities to delight the body and brain. It can then help in slowly moving towards better health. They would also talk to the families and bringing in the sense of responsibility. The users might need to know how they risk losing it all by going under the addiction of this lethal drug.
Proper rehab clinic UK-based will guide you to understand how the Benzodiazepine overdose works and why you should stay away from these at all costs.