11 Severe Effects Of Drug & Alcohol Withdrawal

Homeostasis is the concept that the human body is always working to maintain its internal balance, constantly adapting to changing conditions. This means that when a person begins using a particular drug consistently over a certain period of time, the body will naturally adapt to that substance’s effects by changing its internal chemistry. 

This is also why certain medications and other substances have less and less effect over time, and why people who use illicit drugs or misuse prescription drugs or alcohol often have to increase their dose to find the same initial “high.” It’s also why quitting a substance, even one as mild as caffeine, can often produce painful withdrawal effects as the body is thrown back out of balance and forced to readjust. 

However, for people who have become dependent on a drug of abuse like opioid painkillers, methamphetamine, cocaine, alcohol, benzodiazepines, cannabis, and others, withdrawal is more than just an uncomfortable experience. It can also be a dangerous hurdle standing between them and the rest of their recovery journey. But nobody has to face withdrawal alone. 

Medical detoxification programs, also known as medically managed detoxification or medical detox, are available to help people who are drug or alcohol dependent as they navigate these early withdrawal effects, keeping them safe and motivated to continue as they prepare to dive into the rest of the addiction treatment process. 

High-Risk Withdrawal Symptoms

Acute withdrawal symptoms are also commonly known as drug or alcohol withdrawal syndrome, and they can develop in response to a person discontinuing or dropping their dosage after using a wide variety of different substances.

The resulting withdrawal symptoms can vary from mild, to moderate, to severe or even life-threatening, with more severe symptoms typically developing in those who:

• are dependent on CNS depressant substances (e.g., alcohol and benzodiazepines)
• have used high doses of a substance over an extended period of time, resulting in a high degree of physical and mental dependency
• are in poor overall mental or physical health
• do not have a healthy environment or support system

However, no matter how serious a person’s withdrawal symptoms might be, all drug and alcohol withdrawal effects have the potential to be dangerous, as withdrawal symptoms are strongly linked with health risks like dehydration, mental health changes, suicide, seizures, relapse, and overdose.

Eleven of the most severe and potentially concerning symptoms of withdrawal that one may experience after discontinuing drugs or alcohol include the following.

1. Agitation

Many different forms of withdrawal can produce agitation, but it is generally most pronounced when someone is withdrawing from a depressant drug like alcohol or benzodiazepines, or from opioids, which have depressant effects. Without the calming influence of these substances, a person’s nervous system may become highly aroused, producing persistent feelings of irritability, mental distress, tension, and restlessness. 

Often, people experiencing agitation will fidget, pace back and forth, wring their hands, clench their fists, or find other ways to express this pent up energy. They may also struggle with severe mood changes, concentration problems, hostility, outbursts, or even violent behavior.

Fortunately, these symptoms are temporary and, if they become overly severe, can be managed using comfort medications like mild benzodiazepines including diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, lorazepam, or oxazepam, or other tranquilizing agents.

2. Fatigue

On the other end of the spectrum, quitting CNS stimulants like amphetamine drugs or cocaine can cause the body’s energy level to fall dramatically, though fatigue is a common symptom of other forms of withdrawal as well. People who are exhausted may sleep for long periods of time, or temporarily lack the energy and motivation to care for themselves or others as their body recalibrates and recovers. 

In these cases, close support and comfort is critical, as a safe and secure place is needed to rest, along with basic creature comforts, hydration, and nutrition support. 

3. Anxiety & Depression

A person’s mental and physical health are closely interconnected, with the body and mind each having a great deal of power over the other. So, when in the midst of withdrawal, it’s common for many people to experience a wide variety of mental health changes and challenges.

Anxiety and depression are two of the most common of these, as people experiencing withdrawal may feel an overwhelming sense of worry or doom, low self-esteem, confusion, loss, regret, and discouragement. In some cases, depression may last for several weeks, according to StatPearls. In extreme cases, these feelings can also involve suicidal thoughts or activity, or provoke other forms of self-harm and self-deprication.

Fortunately, during medical detox programs, these symptoms are routinely screened for, and clients can be supported with counseling sessions, peer support, and meditation classes or other wellness activities. Rehab centers that provide dual diagnosis care can identify when depression or other mental health issues are simply a result of withdrawal or indicative of an underlying mental health disorder requiring treatment.

4. Flu-Like Illness

This collection of symptoms is yet another indication of a disrupted nervous system, often associated with acute withdrawal, and includes heavy sweating, chills, increased body temperature, blood pressure changes, yawning, muscle aches, loss of appetite, and more. This experience is generally compared to the flu and can be extremely uncomfortable. 

The real danger of these symptoms, however, comes in the form of dehydration, which can be dangerous or even, in rare cases, life-threatening if the person is not given appropriate care and support. 

5. Vomiting & Diarrhea

Gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea can contribute to a higher-risk detoxification process by making it difficult for the person to consume food or water. These symptoms greatly increase the risk of dehydration, but they can be managed in detox settings with advanced medical intervention if a client’s vital signs become unstable. 

6. Convulsions

Tremors and convulsions are involuntary muscle contractions that are associated with benzodiazepine withdrawal, antidepressant withdrawal, cocaine withdrawal, and, most commonly, alcohol withdrawal. Often referred to as “the shakes,” these symptoms can be very distressing if someone isn’t expecting them or isn’t prepared to deal with them, and they can sometimes signal that other, more dangerous symptoms like seizures or delirium may be on the way. 

In a medical detox setting, tremors and convulsions can be readily treated using anticonvulsant drugs, and caregivers can continue to closely monitor the client to ensure a good reaction and that any subsequent withdrawal symptoms are managed proactively.

7. Seizures

Along with other neurochemical disruptions, acute withdrawal can cause surges of abnormal electrical activity in the brain known as seizures. Seizures may produce various intensities of either convulsions or muscle limpness along with a loss of consciousness and other symptoms. In severe cases, usually associated with severe alcohol withdrawal, seizures may become dangerous and should be monitored for and treated by medical professionals. 

This treatment usually involves the use of benzodiazepines, though anticonvulsants may also sometimes be used. 

8. Delirium Tremens (DT)

DT, also known as alcohol withdrawal delirium (AWD), is a very hazardous condition associated with acute alcohol withdrawal following an extended period of heavy alcohol use. It usually occurs around the third day after withdrawal symptoms emerge, with the person suddenly experiencing a variety of severe interconnected symptoms that then last for up to three days. 

DT symptoms include mental confusion, hallucinations, shaking and shivering, irregular heart rate, and intense sweating. Some may also experience hyperthermia, a dangerous increase in body temperature usually paired with intense seizures. 

Without medical treatment, DT is estimated to be fatal in up to 37% of cases, according to researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY), but it can be managed using tranquilizing medications and other supportive care. 

9. Sleep Problems

Unfortunately, despite the need for rest and healing, people experiencing withdrawal often struggle to fall asleep or to stay asleep. Many report acute insomnia, with cravings and other withdrawal symptoms becoming heightened when they stop moving and try to sleep. Others, even after they do fall asleep, experience painful, distressing nightmares and other sleep disturbances, creating a painful cycle of stress and exhaustion. 

Detox staff will monitor these symptoms, and can provide sleep aids, counseling, and a safe and restful environment. 

10. Psychosis

Psychosis is a mental health problem characterized by intense mental confusion, distress, paranoia, delusions, and hallucinations, all amounting to a person losing touch with reality. These symptoms can, on rare occasions, occur in withdrawal following use of stimulant drugs or alcohol, usually when someone is experiencing a particularly intense form of withdrawal syndrome or when already predisposed to psychotic disorders like schizophrenia. 

Psychosis in withdrawal doesn’t usually last for long, and medical support can help keep clients calm and secure in the meantime. Unfortunately, however, substance-induced psychosis can also sometimes trigger the development of longer-lasting psychotic disorders in some people. 

11. Cravings

People who experience addiction often talk about drugs and alcohol having a hold over their bodies, minds, and habits. And when withdrawal stretches on, hour after hour, one’s body, mind, and behavior can all conspire together to make one crave and long for another dose to take the pain away. 

These cravings and compulsions to leave detox and relapse may be overwhelming and extremely difficult in the moment. However, drug or alcohol tolerance begins to decrease during detox. This makes it more likely that the person will overdose if they do relapse, with drugs like opioids having a greater effect than what a person was used to before they discontinued their use. And, even without the risk of overdose, relapses can be demoralizing to those who experience them and damaging to those who may not easily be persuaded to begin the recovery process a second time in the future. 

But cravings are manageable. In medical detox settings, treatment staff can provide counseling and accountability to keep clients moving forward until the withdrawal process is done and they can be transitioned into another form of treatment, especially a residential treatment program. Staff can also use peer support, mindfulness practices, and other techniques to help clients. 

Otherwise, especially with drugs like benzodiazepines, it’s common for medical professionals to recommend a long, smooth tapering process that avoids withdrawal entirely by giving the body more time to adapt. Likewise, medication-assisted treatment (MAT) options like methadone and buprenorphine can help people who are dependent on opioids to discontinue their opioid use in favor of these long-acting, abuse-resistant medications.

Medical Detox Services For Withdrawal Effects

Medical detox services / acute treatment services (ATS) are not intended to be a long-term solution to drug or alcohol abuse or addiction. They are strictly a short-term medical intervention, designed to help people detox from drugs or alcohol safely so they can then move on to another form of addiction treatment and work on developing the understanding, motivation, and coping skills needed to continue in recovery long-term. 

This means that, while medical detox services do have an important place in a person’s addiction treatment plan, they are not intended to be the only form of treatment that a person receives.

Instead, people are recommended to begin other forms of treatment services, such as:

• inpatient addiction treatment services
• residential addiction treatment services
• dual diagnosis treatment services for co-occurring mental health disorders
• day treatment / partial hospitalization programs (PHPs)
• intensive outpatient addiction treatment programs (IOPs)
• outpatient addiction treatment programs
• local 12-step or other self-help, peer support groups 

Addiction Treatment At Ark Behavioral Health

Ark Behavioral Health provides comprehensive and holistic treatment programs for drug use disorders and alcohol use disorders. 

Reach out to us today to learn more about the different levels of care we provide, including:

• medical detox services to manage drug and alcohol withdrawal effects
• residential services to empower you to live a substance-free life
• dual diagnosis treatment options for people with both a substance use disorder and co-occurring mental illness
• aftercare coordination, helping you transition out of treatment with long-term support and guidance