Can I stop taking benzodiazepines on my own?

The FDA advises against it. For people who have taken a benzodiazepine for weeks or months, abrupt discontinuation or cutting the dose too fast can cause serious withdrawal reactions, including seizures that can be life-threatening. The agency recommends a gradual taper worked out with a health care professional.

Why are benzodiazepines risky on top of fentanyl?

Both drug classes carry FDA boxed warnings about combining them: opioids plus benzodiazepines can slow or stop breathing. Marion County's state profile found fentanyl in 68% of 2024 overdose deaths and benzodiazepines in 9% — and benzos often ride along in the toxicology of polysubstance deaths.

Where can I get help in Fairmont?

Valley Healthcare System is Marion County's designated comprehensive behavioral healthcare provider and operates as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic. The 24/7 state line HELP4WV, 1-844-HELP4WV, offers free referrals statewide. Our helpline at (800) 653-9376 can walk you through options too.

What does a supervised taper look like?

A clinician builds a gradual, planned dose reduction, monitors withdrawal symptoms, and adjusts the schedule as needed. The FDA notes prescribers may pause a taper or return to a previous dose if symptoms flare, then resume more slowly. Every taper is individualized, and a medical assessment comes first.

Who do I call in a crisis?

If someone is unresponsive, seizing, or struggling to breathe, call 911 immediately. For a mental health or substance use crisis, call or text 988, or call HELP4WV at 1-844-HELP4WV. All are free and confidential.

Benzodiazepine Detox and Treatment in Fairmont, WV

If you have been taking a benzodiazepine — alprazolam, lorazepam, clonazepam, or a similar prescription — the exit has to be gradual. The FDA has warned since 2020 that stopping these medications abruptly, or tapering too quickly, can cause withdrawal seizures and other life-threatening reactions. In Marion County, benzodiazepines appeared in 9% of 2024 overdose deaths, most often alongside fentanyl. Here is what safe withdrawal management looks like and how to reach it from Fairmont.

Why benzodiazepine withdrawal needs medical supervision

Benzodiazepines calm the nervous system the same way alcohol does, and the body adapts to them over weeks and months. When the dose drops too fast, the FDA's updated boxed warning describes a rebound: seizures, anxiety, panic attacks, tremors, muscle pain and stiffness, insomnia, and memory problems — with some patients reporting symptoms that last many months.

A supervised taper handles this in a controlled way. A clinician designs a step-down schedule, checks on withdrawal severity, and adjusts as your body responds. The FDA explicitly allows for pausing a taper or returning to a prior dose before continuing more slowly, so a rough stretch during a taper is information, not failure. What you should not do is quit cold and white-knuckle it — that is the scenario where seizures happen.

What the Marion County data shows

The West Virginia Office of Drug Control Policy's Marion County At-A-Glance 2025 profile, which draws on state health, pharmacy, and behavioral health data for the county's 55,649 residents, records:

35 overdose fatalities in 2024, up from 23 in 2023
Benzodiazepines present in 9% of the 2024 overdose deaths
Fentanyl present in 68%, methamphetamine in 59%, cocaine in 32%
Opioid prescription dispensing down 56.4% from 2014 to 2024

The benzodiazepine line understates the risk if you read it alone. Benzos rarely kill on their own; they kill in combination, especially with fentanyl, because both depress breathing. The FDA requires boxed warnings — its strongest label warning — on both drug classes for exactly this reason. One more local signal: alprazolam ranked among Marion County's top five prescribed medications by volume in the state profile, so these prescriptions are common here, and so are the situations where someone wants off one safely.

Where to start in Fairmont

Valley Healthcare System serves as Marion County's designated comprehensive behavioral healthcare provider and operates as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, which must serve people regardless of ability to pay
HELP4WV, 1-844-HELP4WV, is the state's free 24/7 line for substance use and mental health referrals anywhere in West Virginia
Your prescriber — the clinician who wrote the benzodiazepine can begin a taper conversation, often the fastest route to a plan

A practical sequence: tell your prescriber you want to stop safely, mention everything else you take or use (especially opioids), and expect the plan to include a written taper schedule. If your situation involves heavy use alongside other substances, a program with around-the-clock withdrawal management staffing is the safer setting — West Virginia's certified treatment network includes such beds, and West Virginia Medicaid covers this level of care.

How to start today

Call or text (800) 653-9376 to talk through treatment options with a person — no pressure, no commitment. Or use the form below and we will reach out:

Calling is free; the referral service is paid for by treatment providers.

Emergency and crisis lines

If someone is unresponsive, seizing, or struggling to breathe, call 911 first. For a mental health or substance use crisis that is not a medical emergency, call or text 988, the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or call HELP4WV at 1-844-HELP4WV. A benzodiazepine withdrawal seizure is not something to ride out at home.

This page is general health information, not medical advice. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by any facility named above.