These medications can be part of a medication assisted detox plan that helps you stabilize before moving into longer term treatment. Polydrug use is a term for the use of more than one drug or type of drug at the same time or one after another. Polydrug use can involve both illicit drugs and legal substances, such as alcohol and medications. Behavioral addictions can occur with any activity that’s capable of stimulating your brain’s reward system. While these substances are very different from each other, they all strongly activate the reward center of your brain and produce feelings of pleasure.

What Does It Mean To Have a Substance Abuse Problem?

Benzodiazepines are a class of medications that slow down activity in your brain and nervous system. They’re most often used for treating anxiety and related mental health conditions, as well as brain-related conditions like seizures. These medications are tightly regulated and are only available with a prescription. Complications of DTs treatments largely depend on the treatments you receive. Because there are many different medications and treatment approaches, the side effects can vary widely.

Substance Use Disorder (SUD)

You Alcohol Withdrawal might also have an elevated heart rate, increased blood pressure, and more severe nausea or vomiting. If you have a sibling or parent with AUD, then you are three or four times more likely than average to develop the disorder. Some people with family histories of AUD choose to abstain from drinking, since this is a guaranteed way to avoid developing alcohol dependence. If you are concerned about your drinking, speak with your doctor. Eating healthy foods, trying to get exercise, and getting enough sleep can help reduce some withdrawal symptoms, such as mood swings. If you take prescription medication, continue to take it as directed.

First-Line Treatment for Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms

• Healthcare providers can assess your risk and ensure you receive appropriate monitoring and medication to prevent DTs from developing.
• In some areas, providers can’t prescribe these medications without first seeing you for a follow-up visit.
• Detoxing on your own or stopping suddenly without support can feel like the quickest way to prove you are serious about change.
• And a doctor may use brain-imaging techniques to monitor treatment over time.
• You can’t prevent all cases of substance use disorder because there are a lot of factors (many of which are outside of your control) that could play a role in how the condition develops.
• The benzo withdrawal timeline isn’t a one-size-fits-all roadmap; rather, it’s more like a GPS that recalculates based on your unique circumstances.

Knowing what typically happens during each phase can help you recognize what you’re experiencing and understand that it’s a normal part of the process. If you have withdrawal symptoms from drinking, then you have consumed enough alcohol to damage other organs. Your doctor will want to evaluate you for alcohol-related damage to your liver, heart, the nerves in your feet, blood cell counts, and gastrointestinal tract. Your doctor will assess your nutritional status and check for vitamin deficiencies. You may reach a point where you start drinking again just to relieve your symptoms.