Polydrug utilization has become rampant, particularly in the United States and other Western countries. This has been attributed to the contemporary trend of mixing prescription medications for various purposes, such as recreation. Though substances such as alcohol, marijuana, heroin, and cocaine have topped the polydrug charts, mixing opioids and benzodiazepines has drawn much attention.
Read on as Avenues Recovery, experts in addiction rehabilitation, seek to understand the risks, dangers, and signs of the benzo and opiate interaction.
What Are Benzos and Opiates?
Benzodiazepines (commonly known as benzos) are medications prescribed to treat conditions such as anxiety, insomnia, and seizures. They work by enhancing the calming effects of the neurotransmitter GABA in the brain. Examples include Xanax and Valium.
Opiates, a type of opioid derived from the opium poppy, are primarily used for pain relief by binding to opioid receptors, blocking pain signals, and sometimes producing euphoria. Common examples of opiates are morphine and heroin.
Both benzos and opiates carry a high risk of addiction and can be dangerous if misused.
Is Mixing Benzos and Opioids Safe?
Mixing benzos and opiates is generally unsafe and can be very dangerous. While doctors sometimes prescribe these medications together to treat conditions like anxiety, insomnia, pain, and seizures, the combination of benzos and opiates is dangerous, can have serious risks, and should only be done with close monitoring. Both opioids and benzodiazepines are sedatives, meaning they lower brain activity. When taken together, they can dangerously slow down breathing and heart rate, leading to overdose or even death.
Why Are People Mixing Opioids and Benzodiazepines?
People often mix opioids and benzodiazepines to get “high”. Mixing benzos and opiates has been widely abused as people have noted that benzos enhance the “highness” when incorporated in opioids.
Additionally, there has been a whopping demand for medications that may be used to treat a wide array of chronic health conditions such as anxiety, insomnia, and pain. This has led to medical professionals opting for psychoactive drugs, such as Xanax and Hydrocodone. Unfortunately, the misuse and over prescription of these medications have contributed to rising rates of dependency and overdose deaths.
This crisis forced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement new guidelines for these drugs. They stated that clinicians should refrain from prescribing benzos and opioids (like oxycodone with Xanax) concurrently whenever possible. There is also an FDA warning that clearly highlights the potential dangers of these drugs. Also, one should talk to a doctor about other prescribed medications for professional advice and recommendations.
The Danger of Mixing Opioids and Benzodiazepines
Currently, the opioid epidemic is deemed a dominant public health crisis in the United States. Opiates and benzos are drugs formulated with powerful components whose usage has recently been manipulated. This has resulted in adverse health effects such as addiction, impaired cognitive functions, and fatality.
Some of the health risks of mixing benzos and opiates include:
- Heart attacks
- Lung damage
- Kidney failure and damage
- Muscle deterioration
- Suppressed breathing
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Bone thinning
- Infected blood vessels
The overdose risk of mixing opiates and benzos is quite alarming as well. A study conducted in North Carolina revealed that the overdose death rate for people mixing the two medications is ten times higher than for patients receiving opioids alone. Additionally, reports claim that approximately 30% of all opioid overdoses are linked to benzos.
Signs of A Opiate and Benzo Overdose
Here are some signs that a person is suffering from an overdose of mixing benzos and opiates:
- Severe dizziness
- Pinpoint pupils
- Slowed breathing
- Snorting noises
- Unresponsiveness
Polydrug utilization of benzos and opioids also creates a habitual behavior for the users. Benzos heighten the pleasure response of opioids, making it quite challenging to break the cycle of addiction. When one gets used to opioids, they become more tolerant, and the combination becomes a favorable drug.
Mixing Benzos, Opiates, and Alcohol
While using alcohol in restricted amounts may have some beneficial effects, alcohol is one of the most used and abused substances in the United States. Accompanied by the recent abuse of benzos and alcohol, there is a high probability of people mixing these drugs.
Most people use alcohol along with benzos and opioids due to its enhancing effects. Alcohol is also a readily available drug, making it a great companion for abusing opioids and benzos.
Nonetheless, a wide array of risks results from this polydrug selection. Physicians normally advise patients to avoid alcohol when prescribed benzos. Mixing benzos, opiates, and alcohol symptoms are lethal and may result in risks such as:
- Enhanced effects - These drugs have a similar mechanism of action that enhances the effects of polydrug utilization. Users will experience unprecedented effects than when using either drug discretely.
- Elevated risk of overdose - The pleasure resulting from mixing alcohol with opioids or benzos is extreme and lures users towards overdosing. An overdose leads to serious effects or even fatal results.
- Increased side effects - These drugs are central nervous system depressants, and they have unique side effects in case of abuse. Mixing them will result in unusual reactions due to the strong compounds that formulate them.
- Possibility of chronic condition developments - The mixing of alcohol with benzos and opioids escalates the chances of developing long-term risks as opposed to using them separately. Such conditions include kidney damage, heart complications, gastrointestinal issues, liver damage, and various neurological problems.
Withdrawal Management of Benzos and Opiates
Withdrawal from opioids and benzodiazepines is a challenging process for the patient. Assessment must be conducted first to determine whether the patient requires withdrawal management (WM). However, drug detox treatment and withdrawal management do not guarantee outright abstinence as some patients relapse to drug use.
However, the process has proven to be an excellent starting point for the patient’s well-being. This requires psychological treatment that reduces patients' discomfort during the withdrawal process. It is also recommended that a rapport and favorable aura should be created between the patients and treatment staff. This is because patients in withdrawal may feel anxious and scared, which may worsen the situation if care is not considered.
Mixing Opioids and Benzodiazepines: The Bottom Line
Mixing substances, particularly opioids and benzodiazepines, poses serious risks to your health and can be life-threatening. Medical professionals and organizations advise against polydrug utilization unless prescribed by a doctor.
In case of an overdose on a benzo opiate combination or any other polydrug, you should get medical aid as soon as possible. Call 911 and monitor the victim until you get mediation.
If you or a loved one are struggling with opiate and benzos abuse, reach out to Avenues Recovery to begin your recovery journey. Our experienced and compassionate staff are experts in addiction recovery and will talk you through the options available to you. It's never too late to turn your life around, and our specialized team will show you how!