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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask about diazepam?

73 replies

BlueSatsuma · 21/06/2018 20:26

I hope this doesnt sound Like a really stupid question.

Have a very stressful event coming up so GP has prescribed 5x10mg diazepam to get me through.

I took one today as a trial. I didn’t feel anxious or stressed at all today but there was no impact or change at all.

AIBU to ask if diazepam only work if you mate anxious or stressed.

I will be when I use them but I thought it was a little strange that there was no change.

OP posts:
Pinook · 22/06/2018 00:46

10mg would knock me for six..

Ollivander84 · 22/06/2018 00:48

I can top the list of "hard to knock out people" Grin was still functioning and working on this lot. Redhead and all that (apparently we need more anaesthetic etc)
10mg diazepam
Max dose paracetamol
Max dose naproxen
60mg x 4 dihydrocodeine
Oramorph

PositiveVibez · 22/06/2018 00:51

I got some as I am a nervous flyer and had 6 X 2mg. Did absolutely nothing whatsoever for me.

I still was anxious for the whole flight and actually cried. Crap.

To add, I had never taken them before so was expecting miracles.

Never happened. Over the course, I necked 4 in 8 hours.

Ceebs85 · 22/06/2018 00:51

10mg?? Jeez!

I work in mental health and that dose is rare IME.

Its a muscle relaxant so unless you're tense anyway why would you notice a difference?

LuMarie · 22/06/2018 00:56

10mg is a very high dose to just be handing out.

Something warranting that amount should have come with a discussion of counselling, addiction, longer term plans. Definitely not "don't come back", it should have been "keep in touch and after this we reassess, make sure you're ok"

If they're not helping, stop. They are addictive.

Also for many people, 10mg would knock them sideways, sleepy, can't think clearly. So depending on the type of stressful event, may not be the best choice.

I'd suggest seeing a different doctor.

ILikeyourHairyHands · 22/06/2018 01:08

10mg have no effect on me. But I'm pretty relaxed anyway!

But this is why the BNF exists. Not everyone has the same reaction to the same drug.

ILikeyourHairyHands · 22/06/2018 01:12

And, as with most drugs, they're not inherently addictive. Just psychologically.

Diazepam is not physically addictive.

LuMarie · 22/06/2018 01:15

Diazepam is a benzodiazepine, yes, it absolutely is physically addictive.

Hence the need for care when prescribing, taking and withdrawing.

KirstenRaymonde · 22/06/2018 08:05

All benzodiazepines are physically addictive

longwayoff · 22/06/2018 08:14

All of the azepams are addictive some worse than others. 10mg is a massive dose for someone who hasnt used them before. For reference 2mg white tab; 5mg yellow tab; 10 mg blue tab. Don't drink with them. Don't drive.

Thisnamechanger · 22/06/2018 08:40

And, as with most drugs, they're not inherently addictive

6 months rehab says otherwise. Hmm

Lookingforspace · 22/06/2018 11:47

My GP assumed that 2mg would’ve enough as I’m someone who tries very hard not to take any tablets ever. She then felt sure that 5mg would do the trick and she was amazed they had no affect on my. The 10mg only just take the edge off. My GP did say that people have different tolerance levels of drugs so it’s often trial and error but she also said it’s likely because my anxiety is so high at the time that I need the high dose to have any effect. She gives me 3 each time I fly (the 3rd in case I take it then we’re delayed 12hours) I have only ever needed 2 each time; 1 outbound, 1 return.

I don’t think having 2 of these 10mg tablets a year or sometime 4 if we fly in Feb is in any way going to lead to addiction nor do I think it’s irresponsible on the part of my GP. She started with a low dose and she has helped me try other ways. Thankfully for me, she recognises that this small annual prescription is what allows me to board a plane each year and have a normal family holiday.

Mybrainisfried · 22/06/2018 11:54

I was given 2mg x 10 for a medical procedure last year i took 3 for the procedure ( previously had the same thing done with no medication had a panic attack had to stop a few times ) I felt very relaxed didn't faze me in the slightest. When I was given them I asked the pharmacist if I was to take them all as she gave me 10 and she looked at me like I was crazy 😂. I didn't feel any different at all just didn't care x

FranticallyPeaceful · 22/06/2018 12:01

What you need is betablockers. Propranolol are great

BlueSatsuma · 22/06/2018 12:04

Op here!

It’s definitely 10mg x 5, not 2mg x 5 as some have suggested! Definitely have no impact but maybe they’ll world when stressed,

I see people hab suggested beta blockers, how do they work? Do I need to be taking them all the time or just before stressful event?

OP posts:
Stompythedinosaur · 22/06/2018 12:09

Thisnamechanger

Derail but did you ever come across etizolam? That was my down fall and a few of my friends but it was quite localised to S London at the time. My addiction psych and drugs counselor had never heard of it.

Etizolam isn't licensed for use in the UK, but is used in some other countries in a similar way to diazepam.

It's part if the same family so I imagine the withdrawal has big risks.

Toddlerteaplease · 22/06/2018 12:32

2mg Of diazepam for muscle spasms makes me spaced out and sick. We give bigger diesel to 2 year olds with fractured femurs. Never again!

Thisnamechanger · 22/06/2018 14:12

Etizolam isn't licensed for use in the UK, but is used in some other countries in a similar way to diazepam.

It's more similar to loraz I think because it kicks in so quickly. It's illegal now but you used to be able to buy it through the post Sad

Badbadtromance · 22/06/2018 14:53

My GP gave me 20mg for coach travel. He's very popular...

nocoolnamesleft · 22/06/2018 14:56

The diazepam is meant to help you cope with feeling stressed. You didn't feel stressed. So what did you expect it to do for you?

LuMarie · 22/06/2018 17:15

For those saying why are you surprised no response to diazepam when it is for stress for you and you weren't stressed when you took it.

Whilst agree it isn't the best indicator of how it might affect stress levels, it is still medication with many effect.

Sleepiness, feeling dosy, sometimes feeling a bit down the next day, all these things will happen regardless of whether the person has stress at the time, sometimes but not that time, or is a buddhist monk.

So - if you didn't feel any of these things OP, maybe you just have a high tolerance. I agree you may find that in a stressful situation it may actually have an effect on calming nervous symptoms, not possible to know until you are actually in that situation, but given that you felt nothing on an amount everyone is agreeing is a large dose, maybe you have a higher tolerance for these types of medications. Everyone is different, either through experience or just natural body chemistry.

Plus as has been mentioned, an amount that almost knocks someone out can not touch a severe anxiety panic in another person, and this is related to the level of anxiety. For example, if you have a headache you may take ibuprofen and the headache eases. If however you break your leg and have surgery, the same dose of the same medication is probably not going to make any difference!

Given the nature of benzodiazepines, it's better not to up the dose too far (above 10mg is getting into serious territory) if you have no success with them due to the quick addiction, but to switch to another medication. Another benzodiazepine may be an option, diazepam is the gentlest in terms of effect and addiction, but they are still serious considerations. Others, lorazepam for example, very strong but serious withdrawals and memory gaps, so better for situations where very serious things are going on.

Again it depend on the type of stressful event - whether you need to be alert or whether being sleepy and a little bit out of it would actually make things better. It's fine to sleep on a plane for example, it's not so good if you find yourself falling asleep at your wedding.

Beta blockers I took once when I was about 21, a foolish doctor gave me them when I said I had a lot of pressure at university with work to do and to get the grades I wanted. I didn't say I couldn't cope with it or it was a problem, I could and it's normal, but he was terrible. He said take these, I hadn't yet learned to say no way you are wrong and find someone else to work with, so I took one. I couldn't walk properly and fell whoozy. Misprescribed. So they are not always the answer either.

There are lots of options, I would really suggest going to another doctor and discussing with them.

19lottie82 · 23/06/2018 13:14

The diazepam is meant to help you cope
with feeling stressed. You didn't feel stressed. So what did you expect it to do
for you?

I think you’re getting confused with beta blockers - You definitely dont need to be stressed for Valium to have an effect. (Sleepiness ect)

nocoolnamesleft · 23/06/2018 16:01

I'm really not. I do know the difference between benzodiazepines and beta blockers. She didn't experience any significant side effects from the diazepam. If she's said that she had felt less anxious but without side effects, we'd all be saying how fantastic. She had no side effect, but doesn't know whether it had the intended effect or not. As to sleepiness, benzodiazepines have an incredibly different sedative effect from one individual to another. There are quite a lot of people who receive an anxiolytic effect at a much smaller dose than that which would give them a sedative effect. Which is exactly what is hoped for when giving them for anxiety (although done less commonly than used to be the case, for the obvious reasons), as giving them out to get through an anxiety provoking event would be pretty pointless if it meant everyone that took them would be falling over or asleep.

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