Withdrawal state barbiturate

Drug withdrawal states (alcohol, ctj-adrenergic agonists, antidepressants, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, opiates)... 

Acute barbiturate toxicity is characterized by automatism, or a state of drug-induced confusion, in which patients lose track of how much medication they have taken and take more. Death results from respiratory failure. The treatment of poisoning consists of supporting respiration, prevention of hypotension, as well as diuresis, hemodialysis and, in the event of phenobarbital poisoning, the administration of sodium bicarbonate. Tolerance does not develop from lethal doses. The abrupt withdrawal from barbiturates may cause tremors, restlessness, anxiety, weakness, nausea and vomiting, seizures, delirium, and cardiac arrest. 

German chemists knew in the 1900s that barbiturates could be addictive. However, people who took barbiturates did not always exhibit symptoms of drug dependence or withdrawal. By the 1940s, the addictive nature of barbiturates alarmed groups ranging from the American Medical Association (AMA) to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

Glutethimide (Doriden), a highly lipid-soluble drug classified as a sedative-hypnotic, was introduced in 1954 as a safe barbiturate substitute. However, its addiction potential and the severity of withdrawal symptoms were similar to those of barbiturates. In 1991, glutethimide was classified as a Schedule II controlled substance in response to an upsurge in the prevalence of diversion, abuse, and overdose deaths. The drug is illegal in the United States and in several other countries. It is classified as a sedative-hypnotic. 

By 1972, luding out —taking methaqualone with wine—was popular on college campuses. Excessive use of the drug leads to tolerance, dependence, and withdrawal symptoms similar to those of barbiturates. Overdose by methaqualone is more difficult to treat than barbiturate overdose, and deaths have frequently occurred. In the United States, the marketing of methaqualone pharmaceutical products was discontinued in 1984, and the drug became a Schedule I controlled substance. However, some level of occasional abuse has continued. 

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