Why does withdrawal feel like

You may even experience sleeplessness, and lots of tossing and turning, as you cannot sleep off the pain. Know that although symptoms of withdrawal are agonizing, there is hope for a more comfortable withdrawal experience.

In addition to the fact that it is highly dangerous to detox on your own, detoxing with a medical professional also drives the perk of a more comfortable detox. Doctors can provide you with medications to significantly reduce or even eliminate pain and discomfort.

The first step is to know that your questions and feelings are normal. The next step is to talk to someone about those feelings. Published Oct. Here are a handful of common symptoms you can anticipate when detoxing from drugs. Sick Stomach As your body removes the remnants of the substance, your stomach will be turning. Anxiety, Paranoia, and Irritability Unfortunately, physical symptoms are not the only signs of withdrawal at play.

Restlessness Between the extreme mental and physical discomfort and your exhaustion, you may find that you cannot stay still for even a moment. Speak with an Advisor in Confidence. Click below to start your recovery journey today! Call Verify Your Benefits. Stress Drinking During the Pandemic? Read More. Tags: Alcohol Drug Addiction Withdrawal. Leave a Comment Cancel reply Please be aware that whatever you enter into the "Name" and "Comment" fields below will be published and viewable by the public.

Then, within seven to eight days, this phase is over, and the psychological work can begin. As noted above, heroin is an opiate drug that produces withdrawal symptoms as soon as 6 to 24 hours from the last use, with a peak around 24 to 48 hours.

Complete withdrawal can last about 5 to 10 days, or longer for some people. Withdrawal for short-acting benzodiazepines like oxazepam, lorazepam, and triazolam typically begins one to two days after the last dose. Long-acting benzodiazepines such as diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, flurazepam, and clorazepate take three to seven days for symptom onset.

That said, Dr. Hanson points out that benzodiazepines withdrawal can admittedly be very difficult. Getting through it without a relapse not only requires a strategy for handling biochemical cravings, but also addressing any psychological aspects, like the condition the benzos were originally intended to treat.

More on this in a bit. Acute symptoms in cocaine withdrawal generally last 7 to 10 days as your body rids cocaine from your system. Symptoms may begin as early as 24 to 48 hours after last use. Serious symptoms like seizures, hallucinations, delirium, high blood pressure, and dehydration can all cause short and long-term complications, and in some cases, death. There are medically monitored detox programs and tapering protocols that can help reduce the risk of complications and improve recovery.

But these can be hard to access for many people, with the reasons behind this lack of access ranging from stigma to cost and beyond. Withdrawal symptoms from drugs or alcohol are unpleasant, causing many people to continue their substance use.

Feeling nervous or scared about this process is normal, but know that you are not alone. If you want help, several treatment options may be available to you, ranging from counseling to medications to medical detox.

The gold standard for safely managing withdrawal symptoms is through medical supervision. Without medical supervision, Dr. Marcum says you may suffer from seizures or other life-threatening consequences. She also recommends counseling from mental health professionals and collaboration with psychiatry to treat co-occurring mental health disorders.

Hanson agrees and adds that medical detox is just one part of the process—the other half addresses the emotional and psychological issues that led to the substance-use disorders in the first place. It's important to note that trauma isn't always the cause of substance use. It can also occur from simple recreation use, experimentation, or an addiction to prescription pain medications after a procedure.

By combining medical detox with psycho-education and self-understanding, Dr. Hanson says trauma resolution and trauma reprocessing are possible. Plus, he explains that patients who follow this process are less likely to relapse, because the underlying causes of their substance abuse disorders are addressed.

In addition to medical detox and counseling, your doctor may recommend medication to minimize withdrawal symptoms, especially for opioids and alcohol. Medication options for opioids include methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone, or clonidine.

The exact effects of drug withdrawal symptoms range from person to person. They include physical, psychological, and behavioral symptoms, as well as numerous other categories. Splitting them down into groups is an easier way to understand the effects of drug withdrawal.

The following are a few examples of how the body may react to quitting drugs. Physical reactions refer to any of the physical, bodily symptoms that result from suddenly quitting using drugs. Fatigue and lethargy are common symptoms caused by many substances because of the toll drugs take on the body. Sweats, shakes, clammy skin, tingles, and feeling cold are other examples. Muscle pains and spasms are seen when withdrawing from drugs like opiates or muscle relaxers.

Behavioral symptoms are those that affect the way people interact with those around them. This means agitation, irritability, and frustration are common when withdrawing from almost every substance.

Being quick to anger is another symptom seen in many people withdrawing from drugs. Gastrointestinal symptoms are caused by the way the digestive system responds to the lack of substances. Appetite is usually affected in one way or another, but the loss of appetite is most often present. Nausea, stomach cramps, and vomiting are also recurrent symptoms during drug withdrawal.

Psychological symptoms are the impacts that drug withdrawal has on mood, wellbeing, and mental health. Much like agitation and frustration are common responses to the lack of substances, anxiety and nervousness are frequently seen.

Paranoia and delirium are also some examples of psychological withdrawal symptoms. Sleeping problems are a very expected part of drug withdrawal. Sleep is part of that internal system the body seeks to regulate during active drug use. Removing those drugs throws the balance off and results in symptoms like insomnia, sleeplessness, interrupted sleep, and nightmares. Cognition symptoms refer to the ability to think and process during the drug withdrawal period.

Drug addiction makes cognition difficult, then quitting drugs makes regaining regular cognitive abilities another challenge. Confusion and disorientation are common while withdrawing from substances. Difficulties concentrating along with a slowed thought process are also regularly seen. Sometimes drug withdrawal symptoms are not only mild discomforts but sometimes life-threatening reactions.