The human body is regulated by tiny electrical signals. Messages are passed from cell to cell via tiny little shocks that most people simply can’t feel, and that electrical activity is often visible only to researchers, and only if they use sophisticated scanners hooked up to glowing screens. In most cases, the electricity moves at a steady pace, spiking only when something interesting, important or dangerous is taking place. For some people, however, the busy sparks just don’t cease, and they may feel anxious or upset almost all the time. When people like this attempt to lay their heads down to sleep, their busy brains won’t comply with the command, and they may feel wired up, keyed up and just awake as a result.
Restoril was designed to assist with this problem, as this benzodiazepine medication can slow down chemical signals and allow sleep to come. In addition, a study in the journal Drugs suggests that people who take this drug have the opportunity to return to an awake state relatively quickly, as the drug has a half-life of only about five to 11 hours. Even so, there are some people who experience an altogether different reaction when they take this common sleep aid, and they may move from using the drug at night for sleep to abusing the drug during the daytime hours.
Understanding how this addiction works and how it might feel is vital for the healing process of people who have a Restoril addiction. With this information, they may be able to make better choices, and they may experience a more vigorous recovery as a result.
Why Abuse Takes Place
While Restoril has the ability to slow down chemical activity in the brain, it can also trigger some unintended chemical changes that could lead to abuse. Restoril is a benzodiazepine medication, and according to research conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, medications like this tend to cause a spike in the release of chemicals the brain associates with pleasure. In essence, a benzodiazepine medication suppresses a group of cells known as inhibitory interneurons. Normally, these cells work to keep pleasure signals in check, so the brain isn’t awash in chemicals it doesn’t need or that don’t relate to some circumstance happening outside of the body. When these cells are inhibited, however, the pleasure cells keep emitting their signals into the spaces inside the brain, and the person feels awash in joy and happiness.
Signals like this can be addicting for several reasons. Firstly, a person who feels a boost of pleasure is bound to remember it, and that person might want to experience that feeling again. Secondly, a brain awash in chemicals tends to amend its practices, so it can keep that signal from working so well in the future. Cells might not produce so many pleasure signals. Other cells might not respond to signals of pleasure at all. In time, people with these issues may feel as though they can only feel pleasure while they’re under the influence. Everything else seems to pale by comparison.
From Use to Abuse
In general, according to an article in American Family Physician, an abuse issue concerning benzodiazepines tends to take place in people who are taking high doses of drugs that take effect relatively rapidly. The sensations people experience when taking medications like this take hold rapidly and they’re hard to ignore. Restoril seems to fit into this category quite nicely, as this drug tends to work fast and leave the body with similar rapidity. People who abuse this drug may find, however, that they can’t make the drug cause the same level of euphoria that was easily attainable when they started taking drugs.
As a result, they may find that they have to make the drug take hold quicker, and this might involve:
- Taking larger doses
- Chewing the pills
- Crushing the pills and snorting them
- Mixing the pills with fluid, and injecting the paste
Some users find that they only way they can experience a Restoril high is to combine the drug with other substances of abuse. It’s a common practice, according to a study in the journal Addiction, as 28 percent of the poly-drug users approached by researchers admitted that they were using Restoril.
Combining drugs in this way can be deadly, as many substances of abuse interact poorly with benzodiazepines.
For example, adding alcohol to Restoril could slow breathing rates to a crawl, and the heart might also slow its beating. In time, people with these issues could stop breathing altogether, and their blood may begin to congeal in their veins. Death could quickly follow.
Finding an Answer
While Restoril abuse can be quite serious, people who are addicted may have difficulty stopping their use without help. They may feel a deep psychological craving for the drug, and they may experience intense symptoms of withdrawal when they attempt to stop abusing the drug. Some people even experience seizures when they try to reduce or eliminate Restoril from their bodies.
A treatment program can be helpful. Consulting medical professionals can help addicted people to taper their dose of Restoril, using smaller and smaller amounts of the drug each day until they’re taking no doses at all. Medical professionals can also help people to learn how to sleep properly without relying on drugs, and they may also learn how to use their minds and their willpower to avoid leaning on addictive substances. For people with Restoril addictions, they may need to learn how to fall asleep and stay asleep without reaching for a pill bottle. They may also need to learn how to slow and soothe their minds without leaning on drugs. These might be lessons that are hard to learn alone, but therapy really can make a big difference. Programs like this may take months to complete, but those who enroll often experience a sensation of healing they may not have found in any other way.
This is the kind of help we provide at The Oaks at La Paloma, and we’d like to help you. Our therapies are intensive and comprehensive, and the work we do could really help you to get your life back on track. We can offer you inpatient care, so you’ll have around-the-clock help, or you might heal best in our outpatient program, so you’ll live at home while you improve. No matter how long you’ve been living with a Restoril abuse issue, we can help. Please call us to find out more.