Possible Symptoms

Please rest assured that nobody will have this vast list. I'm including it for reassurance if you have a strange symptom that may be worrying you. Always consult a doctor if you have any concerns.

Always remember that symptoms are signs of healing as the brain and body readjust and return to homeostasis. Try not to fight them, accept them for what they are and they will pass. The more you fight the more stress is added and the worse they can get. ‘Go with the flow‘, learn coping skills and use natural therapies but keep the body clear of more drugs and supplements if you can.

Aphasia (mild or moderate "speechlessness" --a disturbance of the comprehension and formulation of language caused by dysfunction in specific brain regions.)
Adrenaline rushes (benzodiazepines also alter the precisely balanced adrenaline reflex, which normally responds to danger signals resulting in blood being pumped into the right place at the right time to produce the flight-or-fight response. The effect of benzodiazepines is to throw this delicate mechanism into confusion producing inappropriate bursts of adrenaline resulting in panic attacks and fear of what this perceived sensation of panic means.)
Aggression
Anxiety
Agoraphobia (anxiety in situations where the sufferer perceives certain environments as dangerous or uncomfortable, often due to the environment's vast openness or crowdedness…quite often leading to isolating oneself.)
Apathy (lack of motivation, lack of interest in self or others, emotionally flat, socially withdrawn)
Ataxia (lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements)
Akathisia (sensations of inner restlessness that manifests itself with an inability to sit still or remain motionless)
Allergic reactions
Abnormal behavior
Apnea (night)
Autophobia (Fear of being alone or of oneself)
Anti-social behavior
Appetite changes
Abdominal cramps
Aches and pains throughout body
Agitation and antsy feelings
Acid reflux

Breathlessness
Back pain
Blepharospasm (from slight eye twitching to severe where eyes are nearly closed)
Breast pain and/or enlargement
Brain Fog (or mental fog – feeling of cloudiness in consciousness)
Blurred vision, seeing spots, flashes, vivid vision
Balance problems
“Benzo belly” (distension, bloat, pot belly, abnormally large, looking “pregnant.”)
Bloat
Bradycardia (slow heartbeat/pulse)
Blood disorders (resulting in severe tiredness and possible infections)
Bruxism (teeth grinding)
Blood pressure fluctuations
Body temperature fluctuations
Brain motion (feeling of the brain moving inside head)
Bladder incontinence
Burning sensations (any part of the body and on the skin)

Catatonia (which may result in death – this is with abrupt or over-rapid discontinuation)
Choking/ Cough (dry, tickly)
Constipation
Convulsions (muscular usually, or seizures)
Chest Pain or tightness
Crying spells (feeling weepy at times without being able to identify a specific trigger, inability to stop crying)
Confidence loss
Confusion (simple tasks are difficult, unable to decipher directions or follow simple instructions)
Cravings (food)
Cognitive impairment
Chills
Claustrophobia (fear of having no escape and being closed in small spaces or rooms)
Concentration loss (inability to focus attention and/or acquire new information
Chemical sensitivities)
Creaking joints (creaking with movement, ‘cracking’ sound in neck, arms, back, hips)
Crawling sensation on skin (feeling as if insects are crawling all over the body)

Dental pain
Depersonalization (is an anomaly of self-awareness. It consists of a feeling of watching oneself act, while having no control over a situation. Subjects feel they have changed, and the world has become vague, dreamlike, less real, or lacking in significance. It can be a disturbing experience, since many feel that, indeed, they are living in a "dream.")
Depression
Derealization (an alteration in the perception or experience of the external world so that it seems unreal. Other symptoms include feeling as though one's environment is lacking in spontaneity, emotional coloring and depth.)
Diarrhea
Dry, itchy skin
Dysphoria (inability to feel pleasure or happiness)
Dehydration
Driving phobia (no actual official term, only for those of passengers in cars - Amaxophobia)
Dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing)
Dry eyes
Delirium tremens (also referred to as The DTs, "the horrors", or "the shakes")
Diplopia (commonly known as double vision, is the simultaneous perception of two images of a single object that may be displaced horizontally, vertically, or diagonally)
Dizziness
Disassociation disorder
Dyspnea (breathing difficulty)
Daytime drowsiness
Dreams (very vivid and disturbing, often preying upon fears)
Dry mouth
Delayed reactions (physical or in speech)

Fasciculation ("muscle twitch," is a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction and relaxation which may be visible under the skin.)
Formication (sensation that exactly resembles that of small insects crawling on, or under the skin.
Fear
Fearlessness
Fits (emotional)
Fluish (feel as if getting flu with aches, joint/muscle pain, feverish, stuffy nose)
False beliefs
Fibrositis (Inflammatory hyperplasia of white fibrous connective tissue, especially surrounding the muscles and causing pain and stiffness.)
Fatigue
Flashbacks
Fever
Forgetfulness
Face pain
Facial numbness (face numb/tingling, forehead numb, no feeling in one side of face, no feeling in both sides of face)
False sensations of moving (perception distortion -- feel as if body is moving or chair or bed)
Fatality (from seizures, suicide, other…)

Hair loss, breakage or change in texture
Hallucinations (hypnotic or Hypnagogia when falling asleep, peripheral. Visual, auditory, olfactory/smell, tactile)
Head pressure/sensations
Headache
Heart palpitations (irregular beats, thumping, beating loudly, feels as if jumping out of chest cavity)
Hearing Impairment
Heartburn
Heaviness (part of the body, especially limbs, feel extremely heavy, body feels like ‘lead’)
Histamine problems ( symptoms of high histamine levels in the blood)
Hormonal imbalances (including non-menopausal hot flashes, severe pre-menstrual tension)
Hostility
Hot and cold spells or flashes
Hyperactivity
Hyperacusis (over-sensitivity to certain frequency and volume ranges of sound. With severe hyperacusis has difficulty tolerating everyday sounds, some of which may seem unpleasantly or painfully loud to that person but not to others)
Hyperprexia (overheating)
Hyperventilation (overbreathing)
Hyperosmia (sensitivity to smell)
Hypersensitivity to stimuli
Hyperreflexia (‘jumpiness’)
Hyperthermia (elevated body temperature)
Hypertention (high blood pressure)
Hypochondriasis or hypochondria (excessive preoccupancy or worry about having a serious illness other than withdrawal symptoms)

Metallic taste (mouth has a metallic taste, gustatory distortion)
Muscular cramps
Muscular rigidity (muscles all over feel extremely stiff, inability to move agilely)
Muscular spasms
Muscular (and bone) weakness
Menstrual irregularity PMT and dysmenorrhea (cycle changes and becomes irregular, painful periods, intense pre-menstrual tension)
Myoclonic convulsions (muscle/nerve spasms)
Malabsorption (usually the inability to absorb certain sugars, fats, proteins, or vitamins from food. It can also involve a general malabsorption of food.)
Memory impairment (or loss short-term memory loss, ‘gaps in memory’ where unable to recall specific events, memory lapses)
Monophobia
Mucus in throat
Mania (racing thoughts)
Muscle wasting
Migraines
Mood swings (extreme and rapid changes in moods, one minute feeling optimistic then very low and depressed)
Motor co-ordination impairment
Moving sensations (false perceptions of body moving)

Seizures
Sensory disruption
Scalp and forehead burning/itching
Sore tongue
Sweating
Sinusitis (an inflammation, or swelling, of the tissue lining the sinuses)
Stomach cramps
Spine (burning sensation)
Skin insensitivity
Skin smells
Speech difficulty
Skin pain/burn to the touch
Shivering, feelings of extreme cold or hot
Suicidal thoughts
Sleep disturbances
Slurred speech
Salivation changes
Soft tissue pain (thighs and other fleshy areas of body hurt)

Other Illnesses Diagnosed While On or Withdrawing From Benzos

This list has some of the most common illnesses or disorders that are frequently diagnosed while on or withdrawing from benzos. Often these symptoms mimic an illness and lead to unnecessary labelling and even unnecessary, uncomfortable hospital investigations. Blood tests may sometimes confirm the diagnosis but can also be unreliable while the body is in this state of change.

*Please be aware that some of these illnesses may be ‘real’ and need the correct treatment so don’t assume everything is from benzos. Also benzos or their withdrawal can cause pre existing problems to worsen.

It is difficult to distinguish between some symptoms and the labels for disorders so let me know if anything else should be added that may have been diagnosed for you so we have full and comprehensive information.

Above all understand that this is for information only and not intended to cause anxiety by expecting it to happen to you. Anything that is diagnosed in benzo withdrawal should disappear during recovery from the drugs.

Physical

Lupus
Hashimoto's Disease
Lyme Disease
Hypertension (high BP)
Hypotension (low BP)
Hypothyroid
Hyperthyroid
Autoimmune Diseases
Cushing’s Disease
POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)
Tachycardia (fast heart rate)
Akathisia
Restless Leg Syndrome
Dystonia
Parkinson’s Disease
Myasthenia Gravis
Fibromyalgia
CFS/ME (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)
Sjogren Syndrome (very dry mouth)
Dry Eye Syndrome
Disturbances in vision
Interstitial Cystitis
Cystitis/Bladder infections
Kidney Disease
MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome)
Gerd
Gastritis
IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
Type 2 Diabetes
Celiac Disease
Hypoglycaemia
Indigestion
Diverticulitis
Motility Disorders
Dental problems such as cavities and broken teeth
Dental pain for no obvious reason
Deafness and Hearing Problems
Low immunity causing infections
Migraines
MS (Multiple Sclerosis)
Mold Allergy
Neuralgia
Neuropathic Symptoms (numerous such as tingling, numbness, nerve pain)
Peripheral Neuropathy
FNDs Functional Neurological Disorders
Asperger Syndrome
Autistic Spectrum Disorder
MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity)
Stiff Person Syndrome
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Polyarthritis (pain in five joints or more)
Raynaud’s Syndrome (as above)
Osteoarthritis
Osteoporosis
Tinnitus
TIA (transient ischaemic attack...stroke warning symptoms)
Tinnitus
Dizziness or Vertigo
Shingles
Excema
Psoriasis
MUS (Medically Unexplained Symptoms)
Menstruation Problems
Sexual Dysfunction Disorders
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Hormone disturbances

Mental

Agoraphobia
Bipolar Disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder
Depression
Dementia
GAD (Generalised Anxiety Disorder)
Insomnia
OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
Panic Disorder
Psychosis
PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome)
Somatoform Disorder (the physical manifestation of a mental disorder)
Mania
Self Injury Behaviours
Dissociative Disorders (loss of memory, awareness, perception)
SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)
Phobic Disorders
Hypochondria
Delusional Disorder
Social Withdrawal
Suicide Ideation

Or email at support@beatingbenzos.com

Possible Symptoms

Other Illnesses Diagnosed While On or Withdrawing From Benzos

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