Some drugs you just can’t quit cold turkey. They include heroin, opioid painkillers, benzodiazepines, sleep aids, and alcohol.
Watch a movie about addiction, and you’ll probably see a character chuck pills in the garbage as the music swells. This approach may work well on the big screen, but it can have dangerous consequences in real life.
Several drugs cause life-threatening withdrawal symptoms. Quit them cold turkey, and you could put yourself in serious jeopardy.
Quitting drugs cold turkey can be very dangerous for some substances. While it may seem like the quickest path to sobriety abruptly stopping drug use without medical supervision can lead to severe withdrawal symptoms health complications, and even death in some cases. I aim to explain which drugs are most risky to quit cold turkey and why medical detox is highly recommended.
Most Dangerous Drugs to Quit Cold Turkey
Alcohol
Alcohol withdrawal after long-term heavy drinking can result in seizures hallucinations and delirium tremens (DTs) – an extremely dangerous set of symptoms that can be fatal without proper medical care. Severe alcoholics who try to quit drinking on their own often experience these life-threatening complications. Medical detox provides medications and tapering methods to gradually wean alcoholics off liquor safely.
Benzodiazepines
This class of drugs includes Xanax, Valium, Ativan and other anti-anxiety medications. Attempting to stop benzodiazepines after regular long-term use commonly causes heightened anxiety insomnia tremors, and seizures. Though rare, sudden cessation can trigger potentially lethal seizures or coma. Doctors advise slowly tapering benzodiazepines over weeks or months to avoid dangerous side effects.
Opiates
Heroin, prescription painkillers like OxyContin and morphine belong to the opiate drug class. Quitting opiates cold turkey frequently leads to severely unpleasant withdrawal symptoms like vomiting, muscle cramps, anxiety and insomnia. While opiate withdrawal is generally not life-threatening, attempting to detox from high doses of certain drugs like methadone without medical help can be fatal in some cases.
Why Withdrawal Can Be Deadly
There are a few key reasons why rapidly discontinuing use of substances like alcohol, benzodiazepines and opiates poses major health risks:
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Chemical dependence – Regular use fundamentally alters brain chemistry to create physical dependency. Quitting disrupts this new chemical balance.
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Tolerance – Higher dosages and prolonged use leads to tolerance. Abruptly stopping sends the body into shock.
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GABA system disruption – These drugs interfere with GABA, a neurotransmitter that regulates brain and nervous system activity. Quick cessation throws the GABA system dangerously out of balance.
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Overreaction – Similar to an overwhelmed thermostat, the body overreacts to the abrupt lack of substances it has grown dependent on. Potentially lethal seizures and organ damage can occur.
Safely Quitting Through Medical Detox
Rather than taking the risky cold turkey path, medical detox provides a supervised environment with medications that help alleviate withdrawal symptoms and taper substance use down gradually. This prevents the body from going into shock. Types of medical detox include:
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Inpatient detox – Short-term residential program with 24/7 medical monitoring and support. Typically lasts 1-2 weeks.
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Outpatient detox – Visit a clinic daily for a few hours to receive tapering medications and therapy. Sleep at home.
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At-home detox – A doctor provides tapering medications and directions for gradually reducing intake at home. Check-ins required.
Though medical detox can ease the process, withdrawal effects may persist for months after discontinuing prolonged use. Follow-up addiction treatment through counseling, 12-step programs and/or medications is usually vital to sustain long-term sobriety.
The bottom line is quitting alcohol, benzodiazepines, opiates or other substances cold turkey after heavy use can have deadly consequences. Seeking professional medical help ensures the detox process is as safe and comfortable as possible. Withdrawal may still be difficult, but medical supervision greatly reduces health risks. Prioritizing life over convenience is crucial when recovering from addiction.
5 Drugs You Can’t Quit Cold Turkey
Are you or someone you know struggling with addiction?
A longstanding drug habit changes brain function. In time, your brain cells only work properly in the presence of drugs.
Remove drugs abruptly, and you could feel incredibly sick. Sometimes, your symptoms are so significant that your life is at risk.
These are five drugs most experts agree are too dangerous to quit abruptly.
A longstanding heroin habit changes dopamine pathways within the brain. Each dose remains effective for just a few hours, and some people with an addiction feel mild withdrawal symptoms between hits. If someone like this quits all at once, they’re destined to feel very ill.
People typically describe withdrawal symptoms as “flu-like.” But be aware that people can die due to heroin withdrawal.
Nausea, vomiting, and sweating cause intense fluid loss. Dehydration can harm your kidneys, heart, and more. Relapse is also incredibly likely.
Drugs like Vicodin and OxyContin work much like heroin. They hijack the brain’s dopamine system and deliver bursts of euphoria that wear off quickly.
Painkillers are responsible for 70 percent of the world’s overdose deaths, and anyone using them should stop as soon as possible. But quitting opioid painkillers cold turkey is dangerous.
Dehydration is a real problem with cold-turkey detox. You may also feel so desperate for the discomfort to stop that you relapse back to drug use.
Opioids are often contaminated with stronger drugs, including the opioid fentanyl, so your next dose could be your last. Many people who overdose on opioids do so unintentionally, not knowing that fentanyl is in the substance they are taking. A professional rehab program is the best way to recover from painkiller abuse.
Valium, Klonopin, and other prescription benzodiazepines come with stark warnings about dosage. If you’re using them with a prescription, your doctor likely told you to avoid a cold-turkey withdrawal. If you’re abusing these drugs, you may not know how dangerous stopping use can be.
Benzo withdrawal typically begins within a few hours after taking a short-term drug. You might feel the following symptoms:
- Confused
- Delusional, including believing things others don’t
- Paranoid
- Unwell, as your heart races, your hands shake, and your vision swirls
Some people quitting quickly can develop seizures. Unless they are treated, those episodes can be fatal.
Ambien, Lunesta, and other prescription medications soothe electrical activity in the brain and allow you to drop into a deep sleep. Quitting these drugs quickly can cause a serious and uncomfortable withdrawal process.
Sleep aid withdrawal symptoms include the following:
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Racing heartbeat
- Restlessness
- Shivering
People often find these symptoms so uncomfortable that they start using again, triggering another cycle of addiction and withdrawal.
Few of us think of alcohol as a drug, but a longstanding drinking habit can change your brain in major ways. When that happens, trying to quit suddenly can cause you harm.
People in alcohol withdrawal can experience the following:
- Disorientation
- Hallucinations
- Heart palpitations
- Restlessness
- Vomiting
Of people experiencing alcohol withdrawal, 1 in 10 will also develop seizures. This serious form of alcohol withdrawal is called delirium tremens. It might involve high blood pressure and fever as well. Left untreated, it can be fatal.
How Do Professionals Help You Quit?
Few experts would want you to keep using a drug that causes so much long-term pain. If you have an addiction, you must stop substance abuse, but don’t do it alone.
A treatment program can give you the help you need. This way, you can get sober safely, and you are less likely to relapse.
Your treatment approach will vary depending on the drugs you took.
- Benzodiazepines and sleep aids: People with addictions to benzodiazepines usually tolerate a slow taper. Your doctor helps you take less and less until you’re taking nothing.
If the tapering process moves too quickly and you feel ill, doses are adjusted. Your doctor works to keep you comfortable.
- Alcohol: Your team uses medications, including small doses of benzodiazepines, to help your brain adjust to a lack of alcohol. Your doctor monitors your progress carefully, so you don’t have an opportunity to abuse your medications. Over time, your dose of benzodiazepines is lowered as you wean off all substances.
- Heroin and opioids: Proven medications such as buprenorphine ease your cravings and help you avoid a relapse. Your doctor might ask you to keep taking these medications for a long period of time, so you don’t relapse before you can participate in therapy. Some people use medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for months or years.