Drug withdrawal

Withdrawal
Classification and external resources
Specialty psychiatry
ICD-10 F10.3-F19.3
ICD-9-CM 292.0
eMedicine article/819502
MeSH D013375
Addiction and dependence glossary[1][2][3][4]
• addiction – a medical condition characterized by compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli despite adverse consequences
• addictive behavior – a behavior that is both rewarding and reinforcing
• addictive drug – a drug that is both rewarding and reinforcing
• dependence – an adaptive state associated with a withdrawal syndrome upon cessation of repeated exposure to a stimulus (e.g., drug intake)
• drug sensitization or reverse tolerance – the escalating effect of a drug resulting from repeated administration at a given dose
• drug withdrawal – symptoms that occur upon cessation of repeated drug use
• physical dependence – dependence that involves persistent physical–somatic withdrawal symptoms (e.g., fatigue and delirium tremens)
• psychological dependence – dependence that involves emotional–motivational withdrawal symptoms (e.g., dysphoria and anhedonia)
• reinforcing stimuli – stimuli that increase the probability of repeating behaviors paired with them
• rewarding stimuli – stimuli that the brain interprets as intrinsically positive or as something to be approached
• sensitization – an amplified response to a stimulus resulting from repeated exposure to it
• substance use disorder - a condition in which the use of substances leads to clinically and functionally significant impairment or distress
• tolerance – the diminishing effect of a drug resulting from repeated administration at a given dose

Drug withdrawal is the group of symptoms that occur upon the abrupt discontinuation or decrease in intake of medications or recreational drugs.

In order to experience the symptoms of withdrawal, one must have first developed a physical or mental dependence. This happens after consuming one or more substances for a certain period of time, which is both dose dependent and varies based upon the drug consumed. For example, prolonged use of an anti-depressant is most likely to cause a much different reaction when discontinued than the repeated use of an opioid, such as heroin. Withdrawal symptoms from opiate abuse (such as heroin/morphine) include anxiety, sweating, vomiting, and diarrhea. Alcohol abuse withdrawal symptoms include irritability, fatigue, shaking, sweating, and nausea. Withdrawal from nicotine brings on irritability, fatigue, insomnia, headache, and difficulty concentrating. Symptoms and body response to the absence can vary from mild discomfort, or to the return of previous underlying medical problems and their respective symptoms. Many legal and unrestricted chemicals and/or substances available without prescriptions and over the counter can cause withdrawal effects when users stop consuming them, even if taken as directed.

The route of administration, whether intravenous, intramuscular, oral or otherwise, can also play a role in determining the severity of withdrawal symptoms. There are different stages of withdrawal as well; generally, a person will start to feel bad (crash or come down), progress to feeling worse, hit a plateau, and then the symptoms begin to dissipate. However, withdrawal from certain drugs (benzodiazepines, alcohol, glucocorticoids) can be fatal. While it is seldom fatal to the user, withdrawal from opiates (and some other drugs) can cause miscarriage, due to fetal withdrawal. The term "cold turkey" is used to describe the sudden cessation use of a substance and the ensuing physiologic manifestations.

The symptoms from withdrawal may be even more dramatic when the drug has masked prolonged malnutrition, disease, chronic pain, infections (common in intravenous drug use) or sleep deprivation, conditions that drug abusers often suffer as a secondary consequence of the drug. Many drugs (including alcohol) suppress appetite while simultaneously consuming any money that might have been spent on food. When the drug is removed, the discomforts return in force and are sometimes confused with addiction withdrawal symptoms.

Substances

Examples (and ICD-10 code) of withdrawal syndrome include:

Prescription medicine

As noted above, many drugs should not be stopped abruptly[5] without the advice and supervision of a physician, especially if the medication induces dependence or if the condition they are being used to treat is potentially dangerous and likely to return once medication is stopped, such as diabetes, asthma, heart conditions and many psychological or neurological conditions, like epilepsy, hypertension, schizophrenia and psychosis. With careful physician attention, however, medication prioritization and discontinuation can decrease costs, simplify prescription regimens, decrease risks of adverse drug events and polypharmacy, focus therapies where they are most effective, and prevent cost-related underuse of medications.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Malenka RC, Nestler EJ, Hyman SE (2009). "Chapter 15: Reinforcement and Addictive Disorders". In Sydor A, Brown RY. Molecular Neuropharmacology: A Foundation for Clinical Neuroscience (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Medical. pp. 364–375. ISBN 9780071481274.
  2. ↑ Nestler EJ (December 2013). "Cellular basis of memory for addiction". Dialogues Clin. Neurosci. 15 (4): 431–443. PMC 3898681Freely accessible. PMID 24459410.
  3. ↑ "Glossary of Terms". Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Department of Neuroscience. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  4. ↑ Volkow ND, Koob GF, McLellan AT (January 2016). "Neurobiologic Advances from the Brain Disease Model of Addiction". N. Engl. J. Med. 374 (4): 363–371. doi:10.1056/NEJMra1511480. PMID 26816013.
  5. ↑ Peter Lehmann, ed. (2002). Coming off Psychiatric Drugs. Germany: Peter Lehmann Publishing. ISBN 1-891408-98-4.
  6. ↑ Alexander, GC; Sayla MA; Holmes HM; Sachs GA (11 April 2006). "Prioritizing and stopping prescription medicines.". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 8. 174 (8): 1083–1084. doi:10.1503/cmaj.050837. PMC 1421477Freely accessible. PMID 16606954. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
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