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Benzos What happens in a benzo withdrawal seizure?

maxalfie

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 5, 2011
Messages
7,085
Location
Down town
I read a lot of warnings here about the risk of people going through seizures while withdrawing from benzos but what actually happens during the seizure?
 
Do you mean what actually causes the seizure? Or do you mean what physically happens during any seizure not just a benzo seizure?
 
It's the same as an epileptic attack, muscles contract involuntarily, vision may be blurred, awareness and memory may be temporarily impaired. The main difference is that a person going through a benzodiazepine withdrawal and people seeing this person can usually tell an attack is imminent. It's preceded by shaking and anxiety.
 
A seizure occurs because there is a natural seizure threshold. A threshold is the minimal amount of stimulus ( like a nerve impulse ) required to begin muscle contraction. This threshold is lowered therefore requiring a very small impulse to contract muscle resulting in a seizure. Benzodiazepines are an anticonvulsant therefor raising this threshold. When you come off of them your threshold is then lowered which can cause the seizure. Hope this helps!
 
Thanks for the swift replies people. I think my question has been answered as I did wonder what actually caused the seizure and what physically happens to the person during a seizure.
I have witnessed someone have an epileptic fit and that certainly was quite shocking to see yet alone actually go through it.
 
Thanks for the swift replies people. I think my question has been answered as I did wonder what actually caused the seizure and what physically happens to the person during a seizure.
I have witnessed someone have an epileptic fit and that certainly was quite shocking to see yet alone actually go through it.

My mom has been epileptic her whole life so I have witnessed many seizures. If it ever happens to someone your with the only thing you can do is protect them from injury by placing pillows or something of the sorts next to them so they do not injure themselves. If you believe it is lasting very long you can try to knock them out of it by performing a sternum rub. You take your knuckles a rub it down their sternum with a good amount of force to check for responsiveness because this can cause a great deal of pain.
 
i recently took a CPR course and we discussed seizures quite a bit. Basically, try to protect them but don't fuck with their mouths (don't put anything in there, even a benzo), don't roll them to their side, just let them trash around and call 911 (or whatever number is applicable to your area for ER services). Try to make sure they don't smash their heads off the ground when they fall and that's about all you can do.

There are signs that can happen up to a day before the seizure occurs, some common symtpoms are confusion, light headedness, extreme anxiety, shaking definitely, muscle twitches and things like that. I swear i was a few minutes from having a seizure once during a phenazepam withdrawal but went home took it easy and things got a bit better and i didn't seize. I have no idea why i've never had a seizure even from withdrawing CT from huge doses of benzos but it still fucking scares me.

source: my cpr instructor (they could be wrong, but i've felt the "warning: here comes a seizure" feeling before and what she described as the symptoms preceding a seizure were exactly what i felt.
 
i recently took a CPR course and we discussed seizures quite a bit. Basically, try to protect them but don't fuck with their mouths (don't put anything in there, even a benzo), don't roll them to their side, just let them trash around and call 911 (or whatever number is applicable to your area for ER services). Try to make sure they don't smash their heads off the ground when they fall and that's about all you can do.

There are signs that can happen up to a day before the seizure occurs, some common symtpoms are confusion, light headedness, extreme anxiety, shaking definitely, muscle twitches and things like that. I swear i was a few minutes from having a seizure once during a phenazepam withdrawal but went home took it easy and things got a bit better and i didn't seize. I have no idea why i've never had a seizure even from withdrawing CT from huge doses of benzos but it still fucking scares me.

source: my cpr instructor (they could be wrong, but i've felt the "warning: here comes a seizure" feeling before and what she described as the symptoms preceding a seizure were exactly what i felt.


You got lucky, so have i in the past. I was taking 4-6 mgs of clonazepam a day for 2 years. Around christmas 09 i said fuck it refused to take another benzos and went completely psychotic. For 3 weeks i was pretty sure i was going to die but didnt really care. I cant even fully describe what i felt like but im sure i was 99 percent on my way to a grand mal. For what ever reason i didn't seizure. Luck i guess and im one of the unluckiest guys out there most days.
 
I have had about 4 seizures over the years 3 from Zanax w.d.'s & once from being prescribed a med that lowers sizure threshold & I can confirm they are not fun & probably worse for the ppl around you esp family scares the hell out of them. You don't want to go there.
 
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