Phenazepam withdrawal syndrome

Phenazepam is one of the most popular tranquilizers that doctors prescribe most often for anxiety disorders and panic attacks. It would seem, is it possible for a preparation that is so necessary for calming disturbed nerves to cause a reverse process and a severe deterioration of health? If you take it regularly, nothing terrible happens, but prolonged use of the drug or overdose can lead to dependence on the drug, and discontinuation of it can cause a very unpleasant and painful phenomenon - Fenazepam withdrawal syndrome. This state is in many respects similar to the breaking that is observed among drug addicts against the background of refusing to take drugs, because tranquilizers belong to the category of psychotropic narcotic drugs with all side effects typical of this group.

Let's try to figure out whether there is always a need for taking Fenazepam and other tranquilizers for neuropsychiatric disorders. If the drug is prescribed by a doctor, then how to take it correctly, so as not to harm yourself and not provoke drug dependence? What to do if dependence on tranquilizers has already formed, and the abandonment of unsafe medication threatens imaginary and real health problems?

Cancel tranquilizers

In our troubled time, few people can boast of strong nerves. Poor ecology, hectic rhythm of life, the desire to achieve success in the professional field lead to the fact that over time we begin to experience symptoms of indisposition: physical and emotional fatigue, which does not relieve even sleep, insomnia, nervousness, headaches and dizziness, arterial fluctuations pressure, anxiety and fear of the future.

All this leads to a decrease in performance and the search for the possibility to restore it. Understanding that it is necessary to calm the nerves in the first place, many are looking for sedation in medications, and sedatives and antidepressants are considered the most popular of them. The second most popular are tranquilizers, which are characterized by complex action, i.e. The effect of taking them will be stronger than the use of other sedatives.

Not everyone knows that tranquilizers are drugs, the use of which is recommended only in severe cases when other types of sedatives and antipsychotics do not help. In this case, the course of treatment with such drugs is strictly limited to 3-4 weeks (as prescribed by a doctor in particularly difficult situations, a maximum of 2 months), but in most cases they are prescribed symptomatically to relieve anxiety and fear of death.

What are tranquilizers, and in particular Fenazepam? These are psychotropic drugs, the beneficial effect of which is provided by the effect on the nerve centers of the brain. Tranquilizers have an inhibitory effect on the central nervous system, due to which neuromuscular relaxation occurs. As a result, we feel calm and calm, feelings go into the background, drowsiness and apathy appear. Such exposure to drugs helps to reduce the negative impact on a person of stress factors, reduce anxiety and irritability, restore emotional calm, and establish a full sleep.

Tranquilizers have the following benefits:

• anxiolytic, i.e. Decrease anxiety, fear, emotional stress,
• sedative (soothes nerves and also reduces anxiety and anxiety),
• sleeping pills (insomnia passes and the process of falling asleep improves, full night rest is restored),
• anticonvulsant (prevents the spread of convulsive impulse),
• muscle relaxant (promotes relaxation of smooth muscles, inhibits the reaction of motor nerves).

But with all the benefits that tranquilizers have, these drugs have many side effects and contraindications. Consider them on the example of the same Phenazepam.

Since Phenazepam is considered a psychotropic drug that inhibits mental processes in the nervous system, it suffers first and foremost. Patients may experience drowsiness, disruption of concentration and coordination of movements, headaches, weakness, fatigue, impaired pronunciation of sounds and words due to the weakening of the nervous regulation of the articular apparatus (dysarthria), decreased memory, etc. Moreover, occasionally the symptoms of anxiety, irritability, insomnia, hallucinations and the desire to end life may increase.

Tranquilizers can cause changes in the composition of the blood, which is manifested by weakness, fever, discoloration of the skin, headaches, etc. They are capable of disrupting the functions of the liver and negatively affect the state of the digestive system, provoke urinary incontinence or its retention in the body, disrupting the functioning of the kidneys, and affect the power of sexual attraction (libido). Women with Phenazepam may have painful menstruation.

Other side effects include a decrease in blood pressure (hypotension), an increase in heart rate (tachycardia), duality of subjects (diplopia), etc.

All the above symptoms may occur with different frequencies and to predict their appearance is impossible. It is possible to reduce the likelihood of their occurrence, if you do not exceed the recommended dose of the drug (and for various violations, they can be different, therefore, consultation of the doctor is simply necessary) and the duration of the prescribed treatment. These same measures will help prevent a more unpleasant and dangerous situation - the development of Phenazepam withdrawal syndrome, which is also characteristic of other tranquilizers. This syndrome occurs when a person stops taking these psychotropes. With the resumption of medication symptoms of withdrawal disappear. But further prolonged use of tranquilizers will negatively affect the physical and mental state of a person, causing personal changes, impaired cognitive abilities (attention, memory, etc.), reduced control over their behavior and social maladjustment, problems with sleep, the appearance of phobias, reduced performance, the emergence of suicidal thoughts, etc.

[1], [2], [3], [4]

Is there an alternative?

When the psychoemotional and physical condition begins to negatively affect relationships with family, friends and colleagues, they become an obstacle to good study and work, they prevent you from achieving what you want, a person wants to regain their working capacity and well-being by any means. It is impossible to blame a person for this, but you still need to be wise in choosing a drug to restore a normal psychophysical state.

Tranquilizers are classified as potent drugs, and the need for their admission is not always the case. No worse than tranquilizers, sedatives and anti-depressants can calm the nerves, and neuroleptics help to correct autonomic abnormalities and cognitive functions. In this case, the above types of drugs actually have a therapeutic effect, while tranquilizers, many doctors attribute to the category of symptomatic remedies that do not cure, but only relieve the unpleasant symptoms.

How safe are antidepressants and antipsychotics? Let's face it, you should not be careless about the above groups of drugs. Take, for example, one of the safest antidepressants with a minimal set of side effects - selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Consider their effect on humans on the basis of the drug Tsipraleks.

The drug increases the concentration of the “hormone of happiness”, which is called one of the main neurotransmitters (serotonin), due to which anxiety and irritability disappear, mood improves, sleep improves, etc. But long-term use of such drugs (especially against the background of exceeding the recommended doses) may have the opposite effect or lead to the fact that the body alone can no longer produce the neurotransmitter that is necessary for maintaining psycho-emotional balance, There will be drug dependence. With the abolition of the antidepressant, the patient will experience withdrawal syndrome, similar to what is observed after discontinuation of tranquilizers.

Now for neuroleptics. These antipsychotic drugs (for example, Chlorprothixen) block dopamine receptors. As a result, the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is responsible for sexual desire, falling in love, affects the motivational sphere and attention, supports the desire to achieve goals. All these moments are associated with certain experiences, nervous tension, lack of sleep. If you reduce the production of dopamine, a person becomes calmer, more balanced, gets the opportunity to rest and relax normally.

Some mental disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder) are associated with high dopamine levels. Therefore, to stabilize such patients, it is simply necessary to reduce the production of this neurotransmitter. With depression, withdrawal symptoms, epilepsy, oligophrenia, anxiety and panic attacks, such drugs are prescribed with great caution, because reducing the level of dopamine in such situations can only aggravate the patient's condition. Therefore, they are prescribed symptomatically (once) or a short course.

Speaking of antidepressants and neuroleptics, we again have to deal with potent drugs for the treatment of serious diseases (depression, psychosis, autonomic and panic disorders, withdrawal syndrome, epilepsy and oligophrenia in combination with mental disorders, etc.). This list contains vegetative disorders, the most popular of which is the somatoform autonomic dysfunction of the nervous system, better known to many as vascular dystonia (VVD).

VSD - what is it? Doctors can make this diagnosis more than 80% of the population of our country, but not everyone knows what a given health disorder is and how to treat it.

IRR is considered one of the most bizarre and controversial human diseases with multiple real and imaginary symptoms. It should be understood that the symptom complex arising from the IRR is a secondary manifestation of mental or somatic diseases already present in the body, organic brain lesions, hormonal changes (often found in adolescents). Thus, the syndrome of the IRR is a consequence of existing diseases, and this is due to the diversity of its symptoms.

One of the most common manifestations of vegetative-vascular dystonia are anxiety and the nervous tension caused by it. Therefore, in addition to the symptoms, it is common for such patients to invent non-existent diseases and their manifestations, which only makes it difficult for a doctor to make a correct diagnosis and often becomes the cause of inappropriate treatment. At the same time, a variety of various manifestations of VSD necessitates the appointment of a whole list of various drugs with sedative properties, vitamins, vegetal stabilizers, antioxidants, antihypoxic drugs, sleeping pills, and nootropics. Such a large list of drugs requires considerable financial costs and does not always give good results of treatment.

Patients with VVD, finding that the prescribed drugs do not help, begin to show unique cognitive abilities and curiosity in an effort to find a medicine that would help them quickly get rid of all the existing symptoms. And they find such medicine in the “face” of tranquilizers, without thinking about the consequences of their intake.

Dosage and prolonged use of Phenazepam, Diazepam, and other psychotropes, assigned randomly, cause the body to become accustomed to treacherous assistants and no longer wish to do without their help. But if a person took tranquilizers symptomatically, only in case of heightened anxiety and panic attacks, nothing like this would have happened.

Neuroleptics and antidepressants can be considered a kind of alternative to tranquilizers, but these drugs can also cause drug dependence, and therefore require special care in use. The most safe and financially beneficial will be herbal sedatives and sedatives (motherwort tincture, peppermint, lemon balm, preparations Corvalol, Barboval), as well as the simplest natural vasodilators that positively affect the cardiovascular system (Validol). And if these drugs, which are relatively safe from the point of view of influencing the body and their withdrawal, do not help, then there is a need to consult a doctor for prescribing stronger medicines.

Pathogenesis

But back to the tranquilizers and try to figure out why there is a withdrawal of Fenazepam (or other drugs in this group). What causes such a strong dependence and the appearance of multiple symptoms, greatly reducing the quality of human life?

In nature, there are various substances that can cause addiction in humans: drugs, psychotropic drugs, alcohol, nicotine. In this case, dependence on different substances and develops in different ways. Most quickly, a person becomes accustomed to drugs and psychotropic drugs that drastically affect the brain, causing states of euphoria, relaxation, and tranquility.

There is such an alternative wisdom that a person gets used to good things quickly. It is clear that for the central nervous system a sense of calm and peace will be preferable to anxiety and tension, it is not surprising that after discontinuing the use of tranquilizers and antidepressants in an attempt to regain peace, the body will show a kind of protest and demand medical help.

But man is a rational being and cannot blindly obey only the signals of his body, therefore many doctors in the pathogenesis of benzodiazepine addiction, against the background of which Fenazepam withdrawal syndrome, as one of the popular benzodiazepines, occurs, plays a large role in the personality characteristics of a person and his psyche.

Phenazepam is a drug that has an inhibitory effect on the central nervous system due to the effect on the receptors of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which in turn reduces the excitability of brain neurons. This explains the sedative, anxiolytic and some hypnotic effects of the tranquilizer.

But when taking tranquilizers in case of indisposition, a person expects improvement in the condition, i.e. He sets himself up for a positive result, and when relief comes, it is perceived as euphoria. BUT the effect of the drug ends and there is a fear of renewed symptoms, because, as we have already mentioned, tranquilizers are more an “emergency” than full-fledged medications. It is clear that in the absence of a therapeutic effect, the symptoms of an IRR or other pathology, in which doctors can prescribe Fenazepam, will soon return and the human hand will, willy-nilly, reach for the cherished pill.

Scientists conducted research and concluded that not all patients develop dependence on tranquilizers (rates range from 0.5% to 7%). Most patients with withdrawal syndrome have passive-dependent personality traits or some mental health abnormalities, which makes them more susceptible with increased anxiety for any reason. Such patients believe that tranquilizers, and in particular Fenazepam, is the only treatment that can help them. They make this conclusion only on the basis that the drug quickly helped to relieve the existing manifestations of health problems, including contrived symptoms.

Patients with benzodiazepine addiction tend to dwell on bodily symptoms and even independently cause them to appear in the hope of getting a drug that gives a feeling of euphoria. But there is also such a part of patients who, knowing that Phenazepam is a potent drug, set themselves up for the worst when it is canceled: they come up with nonexistent symptoms, exaggerate the symptoms, panic beforehand. In the end, both those and others prefer to continue to sit on tranquilizers.

This behavior is again associated with an increased level of anxiety, which may give the impression that one tablet of the drug is not enough and the dose needs to be increased, which some do. Having achieved the desired effect, the patient is no longer willing to reduce the dosage, which only aggravates the addiction. At the same time, anxiety and fear, which stimulate the appearance of an obsessive thought about a life-saving pill and an irresistible desire to receive it, joins the already existing symptoms that always arise when the psychotropic drugs are canceled.

Take, for example, patients with IRD . Doctors can deliver such a diagnosis to 80 percent or more of the population, but not all go to the doctor with serious complaints of pressure surges, constant headaches and dizziness, nervousness, unexplained fears, heart problems, breathing, urination, etc. Many simply do not pay attention to these symptoms and do not see the need to stuff themselves with drugs, while others are so obsessed with their physical sensations that they see no other way out to cope with their problems, except to ask the doctor to prescribe potent drugs.

Symptoms of withdrawal syndrome with the abolition of Phenazepam  occur against the background of the intensification of previously present manifestations of the IRR. All these symptoms were present in humans before, but they were less pronounced. Substances that affect the nervous system, which is the controlling body for many other organs and body systems, can not fail to cause disruptions in their work. This, as well as an increased level of anxiety due to the fear that the symptoms will return without the drug, explains the increase in the multiple symptoms of local and general malaise.

[5], [6], [7], [8], [9]

Symptoms of the withdrawal syndrome Phenazepam

Those who have already faced the problem of refusing to take tranquilizers know what kind of anguish can lie in wait for patients who have not learned to cope with stress and the resulting malaise by non-drug methods. But those who are still in search of a “magic pill” should carefully think about whether there are really significant reasons for prescribing potent drugs, which, although they are highly effective, quickly remove unpleasant symptoms, but have only a temporary effect and can cause addiction. ? Why do you need to be ready at the end of the course of treatment?

Dependence refers to the state when a person has no will (or loses it) to withstand the force that has subjugated it. With the withdrawal of Phenazepam, this force is a medicine that gives temporary relief, peace, euphoria. People with self-control, realizing the seriousness of the situation, will not take tranquilizers unless absolutely necessary, and those who tend to regularly succumb to weakness, after a while trying to stop taking tranquilizers may experience symptoms of abrupt withdrawal of Fenazepam:

• anxiety and irritability reappear and even increase,
• headaches and dizziness return
• a person begins to feel tired, there is a feeling of lack of strength to live on, which is often accompanied by the appearance of thoughts about suicide or another extreme - the fear of death, if you do not take a pill,
• again there are difficulties in falling asleep, which is largely due to thoughts of desired relief in the form of a tranquilizer pill, nightmares and early awakenings can torment a person at night,
• patients are characterized by instability of the emotional state, frequent mood swings, bursts of anger or aggression, hysterical seizures,

Among the physical symptoms also stands out: hyperhidrosis, the appearance of episodes similar to the tides, when a person throws it in the heat, then in the cold, feeling of difficulty breathing or choking. Patients may complain of nausea, painful spasms of the internal organs, rapid heartbeat. Flu-like symptoms often appear: temperature in the area of low-grade fever, nasal congestion, a sensation in the throat of a foreign body, muscles start to hurt, an aching joint appears.

It must be said that different people have different symptoms depending on the diagnosis, in connection with which the drug was prescribed. This again confirms that the withdrawal syndrome is not a separate health disorder, it is a consequence of the incorrect treatment of the existing disease.

The strength of the symptoms of Fenazepam withdrawal syndrome depends not only on the patient's personal characteristics and the properties of his psyche, but also on the dosage and duration of the drug. Benzodiazepines are characterized by the fact that over time, to achieve the desired effect, you have to increase the dose of the drug, and the higher the dosage, the stronger the dependence and the harder it is to refuse treatment.

Doctors recommend not to abuse the drug and take it for no more than 1 month, explaining that with a longer intake, drug dependence can be developed. The opinion of the doctors confirms the fact that the question of how to get off Fenazephem is most often asked by those who took the drug regularly in the usual dosage of 3 months or more. And if the dose was higher than the prescribed, the dependence can develop even after 1.5-2 months.

How to understand that a person has developed a dependence on tranquilizers? The first signs of such a condition are the return of the symptoms of the existing disease (but in a more pronounced form) in combination with obsessive thoughts about the benefits of the drug, if its intake has been missed. The early appearance of the first symptoms of malaise is due to the fact that the active elimination of the main dose of the drug occurs in the first week after its withdrawal. It is these days that those who have been “sitting” on tranquilizers for a long time have to face the appearance of flu-like symptoms, which not everyone is connected with the syndrome.

As the active substance is removed from the body, malaise increases, and its clinical picture becomes more capacious. It is most difficult to restrain oneself between 1.5 and 3 weeks after taking the last pill, because, judging by the words of the patients themselves, during this period they disappear into real hell, similar to withdrawal symptoms of alcohol abuse.

In this regard, special attention should be paid to the vegetative disturbances observed in the majority of people who took tranquilizers for more than 2 months. We are talking about vegetative crises, which were previously called panic attacks. This condition develops unexpectedly and lasts about 10 minutes, during which the patient may experience several of the following symptoms:

• heart palpitations and the feeling that the heart is now jumping out of the chest,
• rapid pulse (tachycardia), combined with a noticeable pulsation of blood vessels,
• hyperhidrosis (increased sweating) for no apparent reason
• chills, appearing regardless of the ambient temperature, the feeling of trembling, not only outside but also inside,
• difficulty breathing, as if the person does not have enough air,
• dyspnea that occurs even at rest,
• discomfort behind the sternum in the region of the heart, pain in the heart,
• discomfort in the stomach, a person may even nausea,
• sudden dizziness, a feeling of lightness and weightlessness, the unreality of what is happening, a state close to fainting,
• paresthesias of the extremities (feeling of loss of sensitivity, dullness or tingling in the hands and feet),
• tides, which are characterized by a change in episodes of rolling heat and cold,
• appearance of fear of death (it seems to the patient that if he does not take the drug now, he may die from the symptoms that have appeared).

Manifestations of vegetative crises are similar to the state of strong fear, while there are no reasons for it, i.e. Symptoms appear from scratch. Patients may experience some or all of the listed symptoms. In this case, the sensitivity to them is different for everyone. Some people are so hard to tolerate their condition that they have a fear of going crazy on this basis.

In severe cases of withdrawal symptoms after the abolition of tranquilizers in a person, the cognitive sphere is disturbed (memory, attention deteriorates), problems with communication and a tendency to asocial behavior appear. When vegetative crises cause a change in behavior, they talk about a severe panic disorder that requires correction with the involvement of specialists (a psychologist or a psychiatrist).

The question of how long the withdrawal of Fenazepam lasts is unambiguously impossible to answer. Narcologists for abstinence give time within 2-3 weeks, but much depends on the characteristics of the excretory system, the patient’s state of health and the patient’s subjective attitude to his condition. But even after 3 weeks, many patients maintain a condition that doctors diagnose as depression, which requires treatment with antidepressants.

How dangerous is this condition?

The withdrawal of Phenazepam, despite such "terrible" symptoms, is only the response of the body. Something similar can be observed if a young child is taken away from a favorite toy: the baby starts to act up, fall ill, fall ill, complain about a nonexistent malaise due to such an important loss, demand the return of his property, etc., but he never hurts himself and his health because of a really unimportant reason. So our body. Do not be afraid that due to the cancellation of tranquilizers can stop the heart or a stroke of the brain.

The most dangerous consequence of the withdrawal syndrome may be the depersonalization of the personality, when a person, as it were, is watching himself from the side and it seems to him that he cannot control his thoughts and actions. But such a personality disorder is usually peculiar to people who had mental abnormalities even before prescribing drugs, and even more so if a person has had episodes of antisocial behavior before.

Yes, tranquilizers help the patient to relax and even to overshadow some of the conventions adopted in society, which makes a person in communication and behavior more free and even cheeky. But when their action stops, the ability to fully control their thoughts and actions returns to the person. So the appearance of unpleasant symptoms of tranquilizers withdrawal can hardly be explained by the loss of self-control.

With regard to physical symptoms in the form of a heartbeat, increase in blood pressure, pain that suddenly appears during the panic attacks in the left behind the sternum, in most cases, especially among young people, they do not have any medical basis. Physically, a person is healthy, but his psycho-emotional state (tension of the nervous system) provokes the occurrence of autonomic symptoms that have nothing to do with the present state of the body.

Phenazepam withdrawal syndrome can be called a non-life-threatening complication after prolonged use of the drug. Despite all the difficulties, if you have the will and desire, you can relive it and forget it like a bad dream. Much worse, if a person can not resist the temptation and endure the hard 2-3 weeks, so again will return to taking the drug.

Over time, his body alone will not be able to cope with stress, and addiction will become even stronger. Some people, even against the background of taking tranquilizers, develop deep depression, appear inexplicable fears or aggression, change their behavior for the better, which creates problems in communication and relationships. Recall something similar is observed and drug addicts, when a normal guy or girl turns into a person with asocial tendencies over time.

One of the properties of benzodiazepines can be considered the need to gradually increase the dose to achieve the desired result. If the drugs are taken for a long time, regularly increasing the dosage, at some point even a handful of pills will stop helping, and the person will start looking for other ways to relax, because without this, he no longer has a normal life. In the absence of the opportunity to purchase the drug at a pharmacy, an addicted patient may decide to steal, robbery, or worse, want to lose his life. It turns out that from what the person escaped, he returned to that. Without the help of a psychologist and a psychiatrist, it will be very difficult for such people to return themselves to society, to restore their former respect and desire to live in a normal way.

Alas, not all people can cope with the manifestations of the syndrome of tranquilizers. Some patients return to the previous treatment, others try one-on-one to cope with an inexplicable panic, although they do not always do it right.

The fears that appeared on the background of withdrawal may have a different character: some people are afraid to die, others are afraid of a heart attack, the third is afraid to stay alone in their own apartment, and fourths are afraid of traveling in transport, and the fourth is not afraid in the best way, believing that control themselves badly. And this is not a complete list of all kinds of fears.

One of the incorrect ways to cope with them is to try to avoid situations related to experiences, for example, to refuse to travel, to stop communicating with people, etc. A person becomes self-contained, loses communication skills, his thoughts revolve around his own fears, which in the end can lead to depression or what is worse to serious mental disorders. It would seem that the person managed to get rid of the addictive addiction, but instead he earned a new problem that requires the use of other psychoactive drugs, for example, antidepressants that can also cause addiction.

It turns out a vicious circle, which can only be opened by a specialist. Timely diagnosis of withdrawal and appropriate treatment helps to avoid unpleasant withdrawal symptoms and the above-described consequences and complications in the socialization of a person, allowing him to be a full member of society.

Diagnostics of the withdrawal syndrome Phenazepam

Despite the frightening stories that can be heard from people on the street or the clinics, in life, dependence on benzodiazepines does not develop as often. Even long-term use of these drugs in therapeutic doses causes similar complications in isolated cases. These are usually patients who have developed an increased sensitivity of the body to psychoactive substances, which often happens against the background of previous abuse of alcohol, antidepressants, opioid drugs, etc., or there is some genetic predisposition to similar reactions to tranquilizers.

As for the rest, experience shows that the emergence of physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms can be expected if a person has taken Phenazepam for a long time (more than 2-3 months) or some other benzodiazepine preparation in the dosage twice, or even three times the recommended one. With the abrupt cancellation of the drug, the previously diagnosed symptoms of anxiety return, due to which vegetative symptoms arise and amplify, most of which are contrived.

In order to understand that a person has developed a dependence on tranquilizers, it is not at all necessary to be specialists in the field of medicine. Symptoms of benzodiazepine addiction generally resemble abstinence with alcohol abuse or poisoning with barbiturates. A person disrupts sleep, anxiety and unexplained anxiety appears, sensitivity to loud sounds and bright light increases, perspiration increases, nausea and abdominal discomfort that are not associated with food intake may occur, fever develops, flu-like symptoms develop.

Often you can hear complaints of palpitations, rapid palpable heartbeat, pain in the heart area, headaches. In difficult situations, excessive agitation may appear, or vice versa, apathy, aggression outbreaks, suicidal thoughts, convulsive syndrome, muscle weakness and pain in them. Some authors believe that twitching of certain muscle groups (myoclonic convulsions), unusually acute perception of sounds, problems with urination (urinary incontinence, wakefulness, that is, daytime) are especially characteristic of benzodiazepine dependence and withdrawal syndrome of this type of drugs. .

When dealing with such symptoms, a doctor should immediately clarify how long a person has taken tranquilizers and in what dosage, whether the occurrence of painful symptoms is related to the drug withdrawal (usually the first signs appear already on the second day after taking the last pill, gradually acquiring new symptoms medication from the body). Usually, the patient is conscious and able to independently tell about the reasons for the change in his state of health, but in other circumstances, the patient's relatives may tell about it. In extreme cases, the appointment of tranquilizers can find information in the medical record of the patient.

When diagnosing abstinence syndrome on the background of refusal from taking tranquilizers, no tests are usually done. Differential diagnosis is  usually necessary when the doctor cannot obtain the necessary information from the above sources, which is often the case if the patient takes drugs without a doctor's prescription and hides it.

The clinical picture of the withdrawal of Fenazepam in general resembles the withdrawal syndrome in alcoholism and poisoning with barbiturates, similar to the manifestations of the withdrawal syndrome of antidepressants and other psychotropic substances. In this case, it is very important to determine which substance caused the agonizing symptoms, which can be done by laboratory, because for the removal of these substances from the body requires some time. And the sooner a person turns for help, the easier it will be to do.

It is wrong to base only on the existing symptoms, because the clinical picture of abstinence depends on many factors: the substance taken, the duration of its reception, the dosage, the psychophysical characteristics of the patient, age, combinations with other psychoactive substances (for example, with alcohol), etc. Nevertheless, it is necessary to determine the reason for cancellation, because the prescription of an effective treatment depends on it, which will help alleviate the patient's condition.

[10], [11]

Treatment of the withdrawal syndrome Phenazepam

To avoid the development of Phenazepam and other tranquilizers, you need to know how to stop Phenazepam in order to minimize withdrawal symptoms. Doctors insist that this should be done gradually over several weeks, once every 2-3 days reducing the dose of the medicine by 10-15, and in the absence of pronounced indisposition and by 20%.

If, after the withdrawal of tranquilizers, the intensified symptoms of a previously diagnosed disease, in connection with which the drug was prescribed, begin to return to the patient, it makes sense to return to the usual dosage, and from that moment begin a gradual reduction in the dose of tranquilizer.

Doctors are considering other ways to resolve the issue of how to alleviate the withdrawal of Fenazepam. Still, it is a drug, the instructions for which say that it is not recommended for long-term use. The second treatment option for withdrawal syndrome is the replacement of Fenazepam with another tranquilizer that allows for prolonged use (for example, Prazepam). But even in this case, there remains the requirement of a gradual reduction in the dosage of the medication taken.

The third option is to replace benzodiazepines with barbiturates, which also have a sedative and hypnotic effect. In most cases we are talking about long-lasting drugs, which makes it possible to use lower dosages. But barbiturates are also psychoactive substances, and therefore, can be addictive, so you should not abuse them. Gradually, these helpers will have to be abandoned, preferring psychotherapeutic methods, relaxation techniques, yoga, etc.

It is possible to replace tranquilizers in the treatment of abstinence with other drugs with anxiolytic action. So the drug "Atarax" based on hydroxin dihydrochloride does not belong to the category of strong psychotropic drugs and does not cause dependence, therefore, in the absence of contraindications, it is successfully used in the withdrawal of Fenazepam. It helps eliminate the psychomotor agitation inherent in abstinence, reduce irritability and anxiety, as well as internal stress caused by existing mental or somatic diseases.

Some symptoms of withdrawal, such as physical pain or increased anxiety, can be relieved with safer medications. In the first case, you can assign analgesics or NSAIDs, in the second - beta-blockers, antidepressants or sedatives of plant origin. In any case, the doctor must prescribe the treatment plan individually, based on the underlying disease, previous prescriptions and combination of drugs, the patient's psycho-emotional state and, of course, the existing symptom complex.

Very often, switching to other drugs is accompanied by a feeling that they do not help, and a desire to return to taking tranquilizers, which will help to quickly and fully remove all unpleasant symptoms. It is very important human attitude and knowledge of what other methods you can achieve relaxation and tranquility.

If you appoint a drug treatment in case of abstinence, the therapist and, in difficult situations, a narcologist, can give the patient knowledge of relaxation techniques and provide professional psychological assistance only a specialist in psychology and psychotherapy. Especially important is psychotherapy for patients with mental disorders, people with suicidal tendencies and weak will.

The success of treatment depends largely on the patient's desire to get rid of unhealthy dependence on tranquilizers, his patience, willpower, help from relatives and friends. It is noticed that if during this period the patient feels the support of people close to him, he endures all the syndrome of Phenazepam much more easily. Especially important is the support of loved ones to those who have suicidal thoughts, because who better than them can save a loved one from an ill-considered act.

Patients with withdrawal syndrome Fenazepam are usually treated on an outpatient basis. If necessary, he will have to attend psychotherapy sessions and regularly come to an appointment with the attending physician, until his mental and physical condition is completely stabilized. Patients with mental disorders, as well as those whose environment does not contribute to the abandonment of psychotropic drugs, require treatment in a hospital, followed by long-term outpatient treatment.

Prevention

Few of those people who have experienced all the symptoms of withdrawal syndrome will want to go through this again. And so that this does not happen you need not only to learn how to relax, using meditation and relaxation techniques, but also be attentive to the appointments that the doctor makes.

Quite often, Phenazepam is prescribed for IRR, although in most cases such an appointment is not necessary. After all, the IRR is a disorder occurring against the background of other diseases, and it is enough to pay attention to them by prescribing appropriate treatment so that the symptoms of vegetative-vascular dystonia disappear on their own.

But the IRR is so complicated and controversial the diagnosis, but not all doctors tend to bother with, assigning multiple studies to get to the bottom of the true cause of such a violation. So, incorrect appointments come to light, because, in fact, tranquilizers are able to relieve almost all the symptoms of the IRR, even at the cost of dependence.

On the other hand, addiction does not occur if you take the medicine in the doses recommended by the instructions. Thus, compliance with the dose taken and recommended is a kind of prevention of dependence on tranquilizers. But it is better, if possible, to abandon potent drugs in favor of herbal sedatives and psychotherapeutic relaxation techniques.

If you treat your health and doctor's appointments deliberately, you can successfully avoid not only such troubles as Fenazepam withdrawal syndrome, but many other problems with physical and mental health. It is important to always remember the truism that our health is in our hands.

[12], [13]

Forecast

Phenazepam withdrawal syndrome is a logical result of misappointing or taking a drug from the tranquilizer drug group. At the same time, the result does not depend on who is to blame: the doctor or the patient, therefore, instead of looking for the guilty, it is necessary to take measures as soon as possible to alleviate this unpleasant and painful condition. And this can be done only by joint efforts of a psychologist, a doctor and a patient.

True, the prognosis of treatment of dependence on tranquilizers is not always favorable. There is a certain part of the patients, which later breaks down and starts taking psychotropics again, even if this is no longer necessary. To consolidate the result of treatment, it is very important to create conditions for the patient so that he does not experience the effects of stress factors and feels the support of people close to him.

[14]