Xanax Detox for Treatment of Withdrawal
To recover from substance misuse– including Xanax misuse – people must first go through the process of ridding the body of the substances and their toxic metabolites. This process is known as detoxification, or detox. It is while the body clears the substances and the brain adjusts to the absence of the drug that the unpleasant experience of withdrawal occurs.
Many people who use Xanax are aware that the drug should not be suddenly discontinued but do not know how to detox from Xanax properly. Xanax withdrawal treatment, known as medical detox, makes the potentially dangerous and difficult process of Xanax withdrawal much safer and easier.
Medical Detox:
For many people who use Xanax, the fear of withdrawal symptoms is a major barrier to getting off the drug, and that fear may keep them from even trying. Fortunately, professional help is available for drug detox and withdrawal management. By participating in a medical detox program, such as is offered at The Recovery Village Palm Beach at Baptist Health, people can get through the experience safely while in the care of medical professionals.
Medical detox involves staying at a detox facility during the withdrawal period, with proper medical supervision. Individuals can be offered medications to help reduce uncomfortable symptoms and prevent dangerous withdrawal effects, and they have help immediately available.
Medical detox also has other benefits. It enables staff to assess individuals for the physical and mental effects of their drug use and to identify and discuss the presence of other substance use and mental health disorders. This process allows for making a treatment and recovery plan that will ensure the reasons behind the substance use are properly addressed.
Medical detox also allows people to connect with other people in recovery from substance use and to benefit from the fellowship of a network of recovery.
Medications Used in Xanax Detox:
Tapering using benzodiazepines is the mainstay method for Xanax detox. The benzodiazepine flumazenil is the usual first choice for helping people detox from benzodiazepine abuse.
People who are addicted to substances tend to overestimate their ability to control their drug use and may try to taper themselves off the drug. However, experience has shown that this method seldom works. After all, one of the core characteristics of addiction is an inability to control substance use.
The medication clonidine is occasionally used to reduce withdrawal symptoms when detoxing from substance use. However, clonidine may not be especially useful for benzodiazepine detox, other than for reducing blood pressure.
The muscle relaxant baclofen may be helpful for short-term use in benzodiazepine detox.
The medication trazodone is periodically used for treating insomnia during Xanax withdrawal because it works differently than benzodiazepines do, so it is not affected by benzodiazepine tolerance.
Various non-benzodiazepine anti-seizure medications may be useful for preventing withdrawal seizures as well.
Beta-blocker medications, like propranolol, that are used to treat high blood pressure, heart rhythm abnormalities, heart attacks and other heart problems are occasionally used to reduce the physical withdrawal symptoms of Xanax withdrawal.
Alternative Treatments for Xanax Withdrawal:
Alternative therapies for Xanax may be helpful, especially for treating the returning anxiety symptoms for those who were using Xanax to treat anxiety. For people with substance addictions, alternative therapies contribute to the holistic approach to treatment, which involves treating the whole person and not simply the disease.
When it comes to “natural” Xanax withdrawal treatment, in the form of drugs or chemicals that are marketed to help with withdrawal, it is always a good idea to check with a physician or pharmacist first.