Opioids and Benzodiazepine – the Deadly Cocktail

Both opioids and benzodiazepines are dangerous drugs but a combination is nothing short of being deadly. Despite the extreme consequences, recreational users do not understand how dangerous it is to take both drugs at the same time.

Opioids

Opioids are narcotic drugs that include oxycodone, Oxycontin, Vicodin, Opium, fentanyl, heroin and morphine. As prescription drugs, they are used to treat chronic pain. Many patients may get a short-term prescription for opioids after a surgery or an acute injury. These drugs are also highly addictive.

Opioids suppress breathing function and in the case of an overdose, breathing may stop suddenly and completely.

Benzodiazepines combined with Opioids

Mixing any two or more drugs is always more dangerous than the dangers of individual drugs, but the hazard is even greater when you mix benzodiazepines and opioids. While an opioid overdose would result in the individual passing out before the breathing stops completely, benzodiazepines greatly increase the likelihood of passing out.

Benzodiazepines are mainly used for general anesthesia, muscle relaxation, drowsiness, and sleepiness. These can prove fatal for someone experiencing suppressed breathing.

If both types of drugs have been prescribed, your doctor would advise you not to take them together or at the same time.

But more than being prescription drugs, the real dangers are in mixing these two drugs and using them recreationally. During recreational drug use, users are not simply taking just a few pills, now they are taking the pills and mixing them together to reach a ‘greater high’.

Addicted to both Opioids and Benzodiazepines?

Yes, an individual can be addicted to both opioids and benzodiazepines at the same time. Multi-drug use is extremely risky because withdrawals from both drugs can be life-threatening. So, it is critical to get the addict into medical detox to detox and manage withdrawal from both benzodiazepines and opioids.

Addiction Treatment for Opioids and Benzodiazepine Abuse

The risk of overdose, risky withdrawal and risk of death – all are extremely high for an individual addicted to opioids or benzodiazepines. And if a person is mixing the two or is addicted to both the drugs at the same time, that person is literally sitting on a ticking time bomb. If you know someone in such a situation, there is no time to waste. You need to help the person get into a medical detox facility as soon as possible.

To learn more about drug detox and recovery, call one of the leading drug detox centers in San Diego, Pacific Bay Recovery at 858-263-9700 Today. Pacific Bay Recovery offers a wide range of treatment programs in San Diego, customized to your specific condition, for drug and alcohol rehab, dual diagnosis treatment and long-term sobriety.

Pacific Bay Recovery offers inpatient and intensive outpatient treatment in San Diego for drug and alcohol rehabilitation and long-term success.