Extensive List of Benzo Withdrawal Symptoms

I know that most of you have done your research. I thought that this list would be helpful for many who have, like myself, looked for answers to the multitude of symptoms that we have to deal with daily.

 

I hope that you will find this helpful.

 

 

The list below is an attempt to bring all those lists together. It contains duplicate symptoms and it is also likely that there will  also  be symptoms that do not appear on the list.

 

If a symptom is particularly worrying then it is always wise to get it checked out by your doctor to rule out any other causes.

 

 

 

 

 

Abdominal pains and cramp

Aching jaw

Aching joints

aching muscles,

Acute hyper excited state,

Aggressive behaviour

Agitated sight

Agitation

Agoraphobia 

Allergic reactions

Allergic reactions to foods previously tolerated,

Allergy & nasal symptoms exacerbated,

Anger,

Anxiety

Apathy

Appetite - either loss of, or voracious appetite with constant desire to eat,

Arms and legs feel detached from body,

Ataxia - can't coordinate muscle movement,

Back pain,

band around head,

Bladder incontinence

Bladder irritation - feeling of having an infection or cystitis,

Bleeding between menstrual cycles

Bleeding from the nose

Blepharospasm - eye twitches,

Bloated stomach, distended abdomen, (benzo belly),

bloated, diarrhea, constipation,

Blood pressure fluctuations,

Blurred vision       

Blurred vision, seeing spots, flashes, vivid vision

Body feels like jelly

Body odour - stinking sweat,

Body temperature fluctuations,

Body temperature reading higher or lower than 98.6,

Brachycardia - slow heartbeat/pulse,

Brain moving within the skull

Breasts - heavy, over-sensitive, swollen, enlarged, painful,

Breathing difficulties

Breathlessness,

Bruxism (teeth grinding)

Buildings appear to be leaning       

Burning along the spine

Burning sensation around the mouth

Buzzing, burning, tingling limbs,

Changes in perception (faces distorting and inanimate objects moving)

Changes in skin colour, tone, texture,

Chemical sensitivities

Chest tightness,

Chills - (can feel like the heebie-jeebies you get when viewing a scary movie),

Choking

Claustrophobia,

Clumsiness

Cognitive impairment,

Confusion,

Constipation

Cracked and sore lips

cramping in stomach,

Craving for sweets and sugary foods,

Crying jags,

Cuts and abrasions take weeks to heal

Dark circles under the eyes,

Decaying teeth and gums,

Dehydration,

Delirium

Demented and murderous thoughts     

Dental pain,

Depersonalisation (a feeling of not knowing who you are)

Depression

Derealization

Diarrhea,

Difficulty in writing slowly       

Difficulty swallowing

Difficulty writing or holding a fork, due to muscle weakness,

difficulty writing,

Discharge from the breasts

Disorientation       

Distended abdomen

Distortions or hallucinations

Dizziness - in general, or a feeling like you are falling off the couch/chair/bed,

Double vision       

Dry mouth

Dry throat, sore tongue, and thrush

Dry, itchy skin

Dry, tickly cough

Dyspepsia (indigestion)

Dysphagia (difficulty eating or swallowing)

Dysphoria (inability to feel pleasure or happiness)

Dyspnea (breathing difficulty)

Earache       

earache, and sinus problems,

Electric shock feelings

Emotional blunting - can't receive or give,

Encopressia (faecal incontinence)

Oesophageal spasms,

Excitability

Exercise - exacerbating all benzo symptoms,

Exhaustion,

extreme cold,

Extreme lethargy

Extreme thirst

Extremely disturbed       

Extremely nervous and jumpy       

Eyes - sore, tired, seeing floaters, spots, itchy,

Falling hair

Fatigue, leaden heaviness

Fear

Fear of being a burden or unlovable,

Fear of being alone

Fear of dying,

fear of insanity,

Fear of losing control       

Fear of never recovering,

Fear of water       

Faeces - appears abnormal looking,

Feeling bloated

Feeling like the ground is moving beneath you, as if on a cruise ship or boat,

Feeling of extreme cold

Feeling of impending doom       

Feeling of vulnerability       

Feelings of shaking inside and out

Feelings of shame, despite realizing this was all accidental and not your fault,

Feelings of the spirit being out of synchronization with the body,

Feelings of unreality

feelings of worms under scalp

Female ejaculation or incontinence during orgasm,

Fingernail problems - median nail dystrophy (line/ridge down the centre)

Flashbacks

Fluctuations in blood pressure

Flu-like symptoms

Flushing,

Formication (sensations of bugs crawling on skin)

Fuzzy feeling in head,

Gait disturbance - hard to walk straight,

Gastritis

Glassy eyes

Goosebumps - very visible to the eye,

Grinding teeth

Hemorrhoids

Hair - loss, thinning, dullness,

Hallucinations (auditory and visual)

Headaches - mild or severe,

Heart palpitations, pounding or racing heart,

Heartburn

heavy arms, legs and head,

Heavy pounding heart

Holding onto the walls in the shower,

Hostility

Hot flashes,

Hurts to wear clothes, a car seatbelt,

Hyper sensitive (unable to watch the news, see films, read the newspaper),

Hyperactivity

Hyperacusis - profound hearing sensitivity, hurts to talk on the phone, music, etc.,

Hyperosmia (sensitive sense of smell),

Hyperreflexia (‘jumpiness’)

Hypersensitivity to being touched,

Hypersensitivity to light, sound, and other stimuli

Hypersensitivity to stress,

Hyperventilation (over breathing)

Hypnologic (hallucinations, sleepwalking),

Hysterical and inappropriate laughter

IBS - irritable bowel syndrome,

Impacted bowels,

Impairment of motor coordination,

Impotence

inability to comprehend the simplest things,

Inability to concentrate,

inability to cope with a lot of information

Inability to draw a satisfying breath,

Inability to make a decision,

inability to read or write,

Incontinence, frequent or urgent need to urinate, unable to hold or pass urine,

Increased saliva

Indigestion

Insomnia       

Intense fuzzy feeling in the head               

Intense jaw pain       

Intrusive thoughts,

Iris in eyes changes colour       

Irrational rage

Irritability

Jaundice,

Jaw, tooth, neck and shoulder aches and pains,

Jaws clamped together

Jerks in arms, legs fingers.

Joint aches and pains,

Joylessness,

Jumpiness,

Jumping toe,

Lack of concentration

Lack of co-ordination

Left/Right-sided symptoms,

Legs arms and head very heavy

Leukonychia (whitening of nails)

Libidinal changes - variances in sex drive,

Loss of balance

Loss of concentration

Loss of confidence,

Loss of control of movement,

Loss of interest in people and/or things,

Loss of memory

Loss of self respect

Loss of taste or metallic taste

Loss or changes in appetite

Lung pain,

Memory problems - short term,

Menstrual problems (painful periods, irregular periods, cessation of periods)

Mild hypertension

Mood swings,

Morbid thoughts

Mouth and tongue soreness,

Muscle spasms

Muscle tone, wastage,

Muscle wastage

Muscle weakness,

Muscles locking and rigidity,

Muscular aches, pains, cramps, spasms,

muscular rigidity,

nausea, flu like symptoms,

Nervous ticks or twitches,

Nervousness

Neuralgia       

Neurological problems - topical nerve anaesthesia,

Night apnea

Night sweats,

Nightmares

Nose bleeds,

Numbness - around the face, mouth or any other part of the body,

Numbness, pain,

Obsessions

Obsessive behaviour,

Oedema - especially face or ankles,

Oesophagitis

Orgasm changes - big setbacks after orgasms,

Outbursts of rage or aggression

Over breathing

Painful scalp

pains in neck and shoulders,

Pains in temple,

Pains in the chest       

Pains in the lungs

Pains in the neck 

Panic attacks

Paraesthesia (numbness, tingling)

Paranoia

Passing gas continually,

Penis and testicle sensitivity,

Persistent, unpleasant memories

Perspiring, night sweats

Phobias (hydrophobia, agoraphobia, monophobia,

Pins and needles

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,

Premature menopause,

Premature wrinkling around the eyes and face,

Problems of decaying teeth

Psychotic symptoms - usually transient and confined to rapid withdrawal,

Pupils of eyes become minute

Pushing away friends,

Racing thoughts,

Rage,

Rapid blinking of the eyes

Rapid changes in body temperature

Rapid mood changes

Rapid weight loss

Rashes and blotches on skin,

Recurring mild sore throat,

Repetitive thoughts       

Restless legs in bed at night

Restlessness

Saliva running from the mouth at night

Scalp pain and burning,

Screwing up of the eyes

Seeing spots before the eyes

Seizures (fits) 

sensation of brain moving within the skull,

Sensitive or painful teeth

Severe cramping in the stomach       

Severe headaches

Severe muscle rigidity

Sexual problems - no sex drive or ultra high sex drive,

Shaking - inside or out or both,

Sharp throbbing pain in the wrists

Shivering - feelings of extreme cold or hot,

Short-term memory impairment

Sinus pain

Skin problems - dry, itchy, rashes, slow healing, tickling, burning,

Sleepwalking,

Smell problems - everything smells bad,

Smelling bad, but only to you,

Sore and tired eyes

Sore mouth and tongue

Speech difficulties

Stomach cramps

Stuttering,

Suicidal feelings

Swallowing difficulties       

Sweating

Swollen breasts

Teeth - pain, throbbing, sensitivity, feel like they are falling out, grinding,

Tension between eyes,

Thinking you are dying,

Thinking you have some awful disease other than benzo withdrawal,

Thirst

Thrush-like symptoms,

Thyroid disturbances,

tickling and itching

Tight band around the head       

Tight band around the legs and ankles,

Tightness in the chest

Tightness in the head

Tinnitus (buzzing or ringing in the ears)

Tiny pupils

Tiredness       

Toe and finger nails change colour

Tongue - sore, burning,

Total loss of confidence       

Toxic naps - feeling worse upon wakening,

Tremor or feeling of inner vibration

Twitching of the head

Unable to walk

Under-eye puffiness,

Unusually sensitive (unable to watch the news on television or read the newspaper)

urinary problems (continence or incontinence)

Vaginal discharge, or extremely dry or wet vagina,

Vertigo

Visual disturbances - waves, sparks, flashes of light, seeing spots, floaters,  blurry

Voice quality changes,

Vomiting

vulnerability,

Walking side to side, like a drunken sailor,

Weakness - "jelly legs",

Weight loss or gain (can be rapid),

Yellow coating on the tongue (which can yellow the teeth)

 

Thank you for posting this. I have some symptoms that I haven't been able to find anyone else experiencing. If anyone...has heard of these symptoms, please respond. I think I have heard other people mention pacing but with that I was chanting over & over the same phrases. A couple weeks after this I started experiencing, its called logorrhea, where words are flowing out of your mouth with no meaning and no control over it. Along with it is all over body shaking and crying, It lasted 20 minutes or so each time. Ended up in the ER. They ended up putting me back on valium to control them. They were terrifying. I need to find new Drs because they think I'm psychotic. I ended up in the psych unit because the next day when I realized I was on a benzo again, I was suicidal. They don't believe any of my physical symptoms are from benzos, so frustrating

I would say that first, you do indeed need to find a doctor that understands Benzos and about withdrawing from them. I'm sorry that you have had such bad experiences. You have been on quite a bit of medication over the past 20 years. It seems that your taper was relatively short compared to the time you were on the Benzos. The first few months are going to be hard but you will get windows of relief soon. It is a scary time and to have a doctor that wants to either drug you or institutionalize you is of no help to you. I definitely think that your speech issues are related to withdrawal. My first 6 to 8 months off I had severe balance issues. I had to hang onto things to keep from falling over. I didn't think I would ever be normal again. If you can tough it out and hopefully have someone that understands, you will get through this.

I'm 9 months off and although overall doing very well , I am still frustrated by some of the waves that come and go . Lately been plagued by hot flushes! Mostly just the face but it not nice. Also constant need to urinate at night is back .. went away for a while an now I'm back up and down 6 or 7 time in the night .. go to the bathroom just get back to bed and need to get up again.. had this issue in my last few months of tapering as well ...sometimes you wonder if your body will ever have a ' normal'' again !