Drug withdrawal

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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 brain disorder 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
(edit | history)

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 form of drug dependence, which may occur as physical dependence, psychological dependence, or both. Drug dependence develops from consuming one or more substances over a period of time. Dependence arises in a dose-dependent manner and produces withdrawal symptoms that vary with the type of drug that is consumed. For example, prolonged use of an antidepressant medication is likely to cause a much different reaction when discontinued compared to discontinuation of an opioid, such as heroin. Withdrawal symptoms from opiates include anxiety, sweating, vomiting, and diarrhea. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms include irritability, fatigue, shaking, sweating, and nausea. Withdrawal from nicotine can cause irritability, fatigue, insomnia, headache, and difficulty concentrating. Many prescription and legal nonprescription substances can also cause withdrawal symptoms when individuals stop consuming them, even if they were taken as directed by a physician.

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. When the drug is removed, these conditions may resurface and be confused with withdrawal symptoms.

Substances[edit]

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

Prescription medicine[edit]

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[edit]

References[edit]

  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. DESPITE THE IMPORTANCE OF NUMEROUS PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS, AT ITS CORE, DRUG ADDICTION INVOLVES A BIOLOGICAL PROCESS: the ability of repeated exposure to a drug of abuse to induce changes in a vulnerable brain that drive the compulsive seeking and taking of drugs, and loss of control over drug use, that define a state of addiction. ... A large body of literature has demonstrated that such ΔFosB induction in D1-type [nucleus accumbens] neurons increases an animal's sensitivity to drug as well as natural rewards and promotes drug self-administration, presumably through a process of positive reinforcement ... Another ΔFosB target is cFos: as ΔFosB accumulates with repeated drug exposure it represses c-Fos and contributes to the molecular switch whereby ΔFosB is selectively induced in the chronic drug-treated state.41. ... Moreover, there is increasing evidence that, despite a range of genetic risks for addiction across the population, exposure to sufficiently high doses of a drug for long periods of time can transform someone who has relatively lower genetic loading into an addict. 
  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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