GHB Withdrawal Symptoms, Timeline & Detox Treatment Options
GHB, or gamma-hydroxybutyrate, is a chemical naturally produced by the human body to calm the nervous system. However, it can also be synthesized and taken in large amounts as a drug, which can cause intoxication and dangerous side effects and lead to addiction and GHB withdrawal. Until the early 1990s, it was available over-the-counter in health food stores.
However, reports began to surface of the drug causing severe illness and death. It wasn’t long before the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) determined the drug was dangerous and declared it a Schedule I controlled substance.
GHB acts on GABA receptors in the brain like benzodiazepines and alcohol do. This means it has similar withdrawal symptoms to alcohol and benzos, which are complicated and can have potentially lethal effects. Many people are “slipped” GHB in a drink or other consumables, and the person who consumes it won’t even know they have taken it. But others abuse GHB for recreational purposes and may develop a dependency, resulting in GHB withdrawal when they attempt to quit.
What Are the Symptoms of GHB Withdrawal?
The people who use GHB vary from someone who has been dosed with the drug unknowingly to someone who takes it deliberately because they think it has some health benefit.
A list of typical users might include:
- People trying to lose weight
- People taking it as a muscle-building supplement
- People using it as an anti-aging compound
- Teens and young adults who take it at parties and raves
- People who are drawn to alcohol or benzodiazepines
- People with chronic pain
- People suffering from depression or anxiety
Symptoms of GHB Withdrawal
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Shaking
- Sweating
- Increased heart rate
- Psychotic thoughts
- High blood pressure
- Hallucinations
- Physical tremors
- Delirium
- Extreme confusion
- Changes in mood
- Aggression
GHB withdrawal can be severe and incapacitating. The discomfort and intense cravings can cause a person to start using GHB again and continue the cycle of abuse. This leads to a greater risk of overdose because a person’s tolerance will have already decreased, and they will have a hard time metabolizing high doses.
What Causes GHB Withdrawal?
When people suddenly stop taking GHB after a period of using, they are at risk of experiencing uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. It is best to seek a medically supervised detox for GHB withdrawal, which can involve a tapering process to help control and reduce the risk of dangerous withdrawal symptoms.
Permanent side effects that can diminish their quality of life. Some people have reported chronic health problems from abusing GHB in rare cases. These might include:
- Neuralgia in the extremities, producing tremors, numbness, or tingling fingers or hands
- Memory loss and cognitive impairment
- Mood disorders like depression or anxiety
- Persistent cravings over time
To avoid painful and damaging side effects like these, you must address a GHB addiction and undergo substance abuse treatment to ensure a safe detox and successful recovery.
How Long Does GHB Withdrawal Take?
When a person stops using, GHB withdrawal symptoms can begin within just a few hours because it is metabolized so rapidly. The first signs of withdrawal include anxiety attacks, rapid pulse, high blood pressure, and sweating.
For people who have not used GHB for very long, the symptoms will get better after a few days. If a person has been abusing high doses of GHB for some time, it’s more likely that they will have different stages of the withdrawal process. Mild GHB withdrawal usually takes three to five days, while severe withdrawal might take up to two weeks.
How to Safely Manage a GHB Detox
After the initial stage of dealing with GHB withdrawal, a person will enter stage two and might experience hallucinations, an altered mental and emotional state, and changes in sleep and cognition.
It is a very similar state to a person detoxing from severe alcohol abuse, with side effects including:
- Delirium tremens (DTs)
- Seizures
- Psychosis
- Uncontrollable shaking
- Lingering cravings
- Mood changes
- Exhaustion
- Anxiety
Withdrawal symptoms for GHB progress in unpredictable and intermittent periods in which a person can start to feel better and then experience worse symptoms and vice versa. GHB addiction treatment hasn’t yet established any standardized protocols, and there is still a lot of disagreement in the substance abuse treatment community about which protocols to use to treat GHB withdrawal.
But many detox facilities offer medically monitored doses of benzodiazepines, such as Valium, to make the initial symptoms more bearable. This largely applies to users at higher risk of developing PAWS (post-acute withdrawal symptoms).
During GHB withdrawal, it is helpful to try to minimize the duration of symptoms and ease the GABA receptors off of the drug with careful administration of medical care. This helps improve the physical experience and heighten a person’s mood, which helps lower the risk of relapse.
Some detox units and medical professionals might also use small doses of other medical treatments, such as barbiturates, anticonvulsant medications, or antipsychotic drugs, to treat severe symptoms like insomnia, seizures, and psychotic thoughts.
The goal is to create a safe detox experience and minimize psychological and physical distress. Due to the rapid rise in blood pressure that often occurs in GHB withdrawal, medical professionals might also administer blood pressure medication to keep the person safe.
With something as serious as GHB withdrawal, the symptoms can be unpredictable and life-threatening. It’s critical not to attempt a detox program at home or with any program that doesn’t have licensed addiction specialists prepared to deal with the stages of withdrawal and keep a patient comfortable, healthy, and safe.
Continued Treatment for GHB Addiction
Once the additional detox period is over, the patient can address the psychological addiction and the root causes of drug use. Individuals crave the good feelings associated with GHB use, and it can be tempting to slip back into using drugs when life stressors arise.
Sustaining long-term recovery involves creating more awareness of a person’s mental states and behaviors, understanding what situations and people trigger cravings to use, and coming up with coping mechanisms that can be put in place to prevent continued drug use.
Any addiction treatment program for GHB should be combined with individual or group therapy. And patients should be examined for co-occurring disorders, such as anxiety, depression, or other mood disorders in which medication might be advised.
After the initial process of detoxing and rehabilitating, a patient needs to attend support group meetings regularly and get involved with outpatient treatment as needed.
When to Contact a Medical Professional
The Drug Enforcement Agency declared GHB an illicit drug in 2000, and it was moved to Schedule I on the Controlled Substances list. This means the government considers GHB a dangerous and addictive drug with no medical benefit. Repeated use of GHB will lead to an addiction, eventually.
Because GHB withdrawal can cause severe and potentially life-threatening symptoms, close medical supervision and supportive care are required. Admission to a high-quality treatment center such as Zinnia Health can offer help and relief to someone suffering from GHB addiction and withdrawal.
If you or your loved one needs help, contact Zinnia Health at (855) 430-9439 today. Our rehab programs can help you focus on changing behaviors around drug use and increase your odds of avoiding risks like relapse, overdose, and later addiction.
Related Articles
- GHB (Gamma Hydroxybutyrate) Use Disorder Treatment
- GHB and Alcohol Substance Abuse
- GHB Detox Center Near Me