There are several sites on the Internet that have lists of benzo withdrawal symptoms. Visit the Benzodiazepine Symptoms List and Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Symptoms.
The list below is an attempt to bring all those lists together. It contains duplicate symptoms and it is also likely that there will also be symptoms that do not appear on the list.
If a symptom is particularly worrying then it is always wise to get it checked out by your doctor to rule out any other causes.
| Abdominal pains and cramp |
| Aching jaw |
| Aching joints |
| aching muscles, |
| Acute hyper excited state, |
| Aggressive behaviour |
| Agitated sight |
| Agitation |
| Agoraphobia |
| Allergic reactions |
| Allergic reactions to foods previously tolerated, |
| Allergy & nasal symptoms exacerbated, |
| Anger, |
| Anxiety |
| Apathy |
| Appetite - either loss of, or voracious appetite with constant desire to eat, |
| Arms and legs feel detached from body, |
| Ataxia - can't coordinate muscle movement, |
| Back pain, |
| band around head, |
| Bladder incontinence |
| Bladder irritation - feeling of having an infection or cystitis, |
| Bleeding between menstrual cycles |
| Bleeding from the nose |
| Blepharospasm - eye twitches, |
| Bloated stomach, distended abdomen, (benzo belly), |
| bloated, diarrhea, constipation, |
| Blood pressure fluctuations, |
| Blurred vision |
| Blurred vision, seeing spots, flashes, vivid vision |
| Body feels like jelly |
| Body odour - stinking sweat, |
| Body temperature fluctuations, |
| Body temperature reading higher or lower than 98.6, |
| Brachycardia - slow heartbeat/pulse, |
| Brain moving within the skull |
| Breasts - heavy, over-sensitive, swollen, enlarged, painful, |
| Breathing difficulties |
| Breathlessness, |
| Bruxism (teeth grinding) |
| Buildings appear to be leaning |
| Burning along the spine |
| Burning sensation around the mouth |
| Buzzing, burning, tingling limbs, |
| Changes in perception (faces distorting and inanimate objects moving) |
| Changes in skin colour, tone, texture, |
| Chemical sensitivities |
| Chest tightness, |
| Chills - (can feel like the heebie-jeebies you get when viewing a scary movie), |
| Choking |
| Claustrophobia, |
| Clumsiness |
| Cognitive impairment, |
| Confusion, |
| Constipation |
| Cracked and sore lips |
| cramping in stomach, |
| Craving for sweets and sugary foods, |
| Crying jags, |
| Cuts and abrasions take weeks to heal |
| Dark circles under the eyes, |
| Decaying teeth and gums, |
| Dehydration, |
| Delirium |
| Demented and murderous thoughts |
| Dental pain, |
| Depersonalisation (a feeling of not knowing who you are) |
| Depression |
| Derealization |
| Diarrhea, |
| Difficulty in writing slowly |
| Difficulty swallowing |
| Difficulty writing or holding a fork, due to muscle weakness, |
| difficulty writing, |
| Discharge from the breasts |
| Disorientation |
| Distended abdomen |
| Distortions or hallucinations |
| Dizziness - in general, or a feeling like you are falling off the couch/chair/bed, |
| Double vision |
| Dry mouth |
| Dry throat, sore tongue, and thrush |
| Dry, itchy skin |
| Dry, tickly cough |
| Dyspepsia (indigestion) |
| Dysphagia (difficulty eating or swallowing) |
| Dysphoria (inability to feel pleasure or happiness) |
| Dyspnea (breathing difficulty) |
| Earache |
| earache, and sinus problems, |
| Electric shock feelings |
| Emotional blunting - can't receive or give, |
| Encopressia (faecal incontinence) |
| Oesophageal spasms, |
| Excitability |
| Exercise - exacerbating all benzo symptoms, |
| Exhaustion, |
| extreme cold, |
| Extreme lethargy |
| Extreme thirst |
| Extremely disturbed |
| Extremely nervous and jumpy |
| Eyes - sore, tired, seeing floaters, spots, itchy, |
| Falling hair |
| Fatigue, leaden heaviness |
| Fear |
| Fear of being a burden or unlovable, |
| Fear of being alone |
| Fear of dying, |
| fear of insanity, |
| Fear of losing control |
| Fear of never recovering, |
| Fear of water |
| Faeces - appears abnormal looking, |
| Feeling bloated |
| Feeling like the ground is moving beneath you, as if on a cruise ship or boat, |
| Feeling of extreme cold |
| Feeling of impending doom |
| Feeling of vulnerability |
| Feelings of shaking inside and out |
| Feelings of shame, despite realizing this was all accidental and not your fault, |
| Feelings of the spirit being out of synchronization with the body, |
| Feelings of unreality |
| feelings of worms under scalp |
| Female ejaculation or incontinence during orgasm, |
| Fingernail problems - median nail dystrophy (line/ridge down the centre) |
| Flashbacks |
| Fluctuations in blood pressure |
| Flu-like symptoms |
| Flushing, |
| Formication (sensations of bugs crawling on skin) |
| Fuzzy feeling in head, |
| Gait disturbance - hard to walk straight, |
| Gastritis |
| Glassy eyes |
| Goosebumps - very visible to the eye, |
| Grinding teeth |
| Hemorrhoids |
| Hair - loss, thinning, dullness, |
| Hallucinations (auditory and visual) |
| Headaches - mild or severe, |
| Heart palpitations, pounding or racing heart, |
| Heartburn |
| heavy arms, legs and head, |
| Heavy pounding heart |
| Holding onto the walls in the shower, |
| Hostility |
| Hot flashes, |
| Hurts to wear clothes, a car seatbelt, |
| Hyper sensitive (unable to watch the news, see films, read the newspaper), |
| Hyperactivity |
| Hyperacusis - profound hearing sensitivity, hurts to talk on the phone, music, etc., |
| Hyperosmia (sensitive sense of smell), |
| Hyperreflexia (‘jumpiness’) |
| Hypersensitivity to being touched, |
| Hypersensitivity to light, sound, and other stimuli |
| Hypersensitivity to stress, |
| Hyperventilation (over breathing) |
| Hypnologic (hallucinations, sleepwalking), |
| Hysterical and inappropriate laughter |
| IBS - irritable bowel syndrome, |
| Impacted bowels, |
| Impairment of motor coordination, |
| Impotence |
| inability to comprehend the simplest things, |
| Inability to concentrate, |
| inability to cope with a lot of information |
| Inability to draw a satisfying breath, |
| Inability to make a decision, |
| inability to read or write, |
| Incontinence, frequent or urgent need to urinate, unable to hold or pass urine, |
| Increased saliva |
| Indigestion |
| Insomnia |
| Intense fuzzy feeling in the head |
| Intense jaw pain |
| Intrusive thoughts, |
| Iris in eyes changes colour |
| Irrational rage |
| Irritability |
| Jaundice, |
| Jaw, tooth, neck and shoulder aches and pains, |
| Jaws clamped together |
| Jerks in arms, legs fingers. |
| Joint aches and pains, |
| Joylessness, |
| Jumpiness, |
| Jumping toe, |
| Lack of concentration |
| Lack of co-ordination |
| Left/Right-sided symptoms, |
| Legs arms and head very heavy |
| Leukonychia (whitening of nails) |
| Libidinal changes - variances in sex drive, |
| Loss of balance |
| Loss of concentration |
| Loss of confidence, |
| Loss of control of movement, |
| Loss of interest in people and/or things, |
| Loss of memory |
| Loss of self respect |
| Loss of taste or metallic taste |
| Loss or changes in appetite |
| Lung pain, |
| Memory problems - short term, |
| Menstrual problems (painful periods, irregular periods, cessation of periods) |
| Mild hypertension |
| Mood swings, |
| Morbid thoughts |
| Mouth and tongue soreness, |
| Muscle spasms |
| Muscle tone, wastage, |
| Muscle wastage |
| Muscle weakness, |
| Muscles locking and rigidity, |
| Muscular aches, pains, cramps, spasms, |
| muscular rigidity, |
| nausea, flu like symptoms, |
| Nervous ticks or twitches, |
| Nervousness |
| Neuralgia |
| Neurological problems - topical nerve anaesthesia, |
| Night apnea |
| Night sweats, |
| Nightmares |
| Nose bleeds, |
| Numbness - around the face, mouth or any other part of the body, |
| Numbness, pain, |
| Obsessions |
| Obsessive behaviour, |
| Oedema - especially face or ankles, |
| Oesophagitis |
| Orgasm changes - big setbacks after orgasms, |
| Outbursts of rage or aggression |
| Over breathing |
| Painful scalp |
| pains in neck and shoulders, |
| Pains in temple, |
| Pains in the chest |
| Pains in the lungs |
| Pains in the neck |
| Panic attacks |
| Paraesthesia (numbness, tingling) |
| Paranoia |
| Passing gas continually, |
| Penis and testicle sensitivity, |
| Persistent, unpleasant memories |
| Perspiring, night sweats |
| Phobias (hydrophobia, agoraphobia, monophobia, |
| Pins and needles |
| Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, |
| Premature menopause, |
| Premature wrinkling around the eyes and face, |
| Problems of decaying teeth |
| Psychotic symptoms - usually transient and confined to rapid withdrawal, |
| Pupils of eyes become minute |
| Pushing away friends, |
| Racing thoughts, |
| Rage, |
| Rapid blinking of the eyes |
| Rapid changes in body temperature |
| Rapid mood changes |
| Rapid weight loss |
| Rashes and blotches on skin, |
| Recurring mild sore throat, |
| Repetitive thoughts |
| Restless legs in bed at night |
| Restlessness |
| Saliva running from the mouth at night |
| Scalp pain and burning, |
| Screwing up of the eyes |
| Seeing spots before the eyes |
| Seizures (fits) |
| sensation of brain moving within the skull, |
| Sensitive or painful teeth |
| Severe cramping in the stomach |
| Severe headaches |
| Severe muscle rigidity |
| Sexual problems - no sex drive or ultra high sex drive, |
| Shaking - inside or out or both, |
| Sharp throbbing pain in the wrists |
| Shivering - feelings of extreme cold or hot, |
| Short-term memory impairment |
| Sinus pain |
| Skin problems - dry, itchy, rashes, slow healing, tickling, burning, |
| Sleepwalking, |
| Smell problems - everything smells bad, |
| Smelling bad, but only to you, |
| Sore and tired eyes |
| Sore mouth and tongue |
| Speech difficulties |
| Stomach cramps |
| Stuttering, |
| Suicidal feelings |
| Swallowing difficulties |
| Sweating |
| Swollen breasts |
| Teeth - pain, throbbing, sensitivity, feel like they are falling out, grinding, |
| Tension between eyes, |
| Thinking you are dying, |
| Thinking you have some awful disease other than benzo withdrawal, |
| Thirst |
| Thrush-like symptoms, |
| Thyroid disturbances, |
| tickling and itching |
| Tight band around the head |
| Tight band around the legs and ankles, |
| Tightness in the chest |
| Tightness in the head |
| Tinnitus (buzzing or ringing in the ears) |
| Tiny pupils |
| Tiredness |
| Toe and finger nails change colour |
| Tongue - sore, burning, |
| Total loss of confidence |
| Toxic naps - feeling worse upon wakening, |
| Tremor or feeling of inner vibration |
| Twitching of the head |
| Unable to walk |
| Under-eye puffiness, |
| Unusually sensitive (unable to watch the news on television or read the newspaper) |
| urinary problems (continence or incontinence) |
| Vaginal discharge, or extremely dry or wet vagina, |
| Vertigo |
| Visual disturbances - waves, sparks, flashes of light, seeing spots, floaters, blurry |
| Voice quality changes, |
| Vomiting |
| vulnerability, |
| Walking side to side, like a drunken sailor, |
| Weakness - "jelly legs", |
| Weight loss or gain (can be rapid), |
| Yellow coating on the tongue (which can yellow the teeth) |