Diazepam - Any experiences

[anon4this]

Someone I know has been put on diazepam, and I am a bit worried that it appears to be really addictive. has anyone got any helpful info for me. They're on 15mg a day and have been taking it for nearly two weeks - together with ADs.
thanks

my mate's just come off them and she wasn't on them long. She was also on other ADs and seems good now. Well as good as she can be

i know someone who temporarily was on some form of tranquilliser together with other ADs. don't think they had any problems with coming off. depending on how long your friend takes it, it might be better for them to cut down gradually (bit like when stopping ADs) rather than stopping cold turkey

I have taken Diazepam 20mg a day for over 5 years, but I suspect I take them for a different reason than your friend. I take it as a muscle relaxant and when the spasms get really bad I can inject it as well as have it in a liquid rectal form. So It does depend why she is taking it,and also on something called an 'adictive personality' I believe.
Most GP's will not prescribe diazepam, which is the proprietry name of Valium for longer than 3 weeks and then they gradually reduce the dose over the next two weeks.
Your body becomes 'used' to the effect, so after the initial period of taking it you need to take more to have the same affect, it is used as an anti-anxiety drug, in this way. So your friend will not be mentally getting much benefit from the same dose now but yes her body could have become physically dependant.
I think Flossam is good at answering these medical questions as I only know of one aspect of its use.
I suggest she goes back to her GP and if she still needs an 'anti-anxiety' drug then perhaps counselling would be better, but it is very different to how anti-depressants work.
If you want I can get you the medical stuff on it but I really think she should talk to her doctor if she still needs it after 3 weeks.
IHTH

So it would be worthwhile trying to cut the dose by say 2.5mg every couple of days? does that sound about right? at the moment she is taking 5mg 3 times a day, so maybe half the middle dose in the day first, and then half the first dose of the day a couple of days later. I don't know when the prozac will kick in and so the diazepam can come down??

i think your friend should seek her GP (or possibly CPN/psychiatrist advice) on a withdrawal schedule and whether withdrawal is appropriate for her atm. Your friend I assume must have been suffering severe anxiety for her to be prescribed diazepam, so i would think that her anxiety/depression would need to be stabilised or starting to improve before altering her medication , so it would be unwise for her to try and alter her medication herself. if your friend is unhappy with the long term consequences of benzodiazapenes, the most sensible thing for her to do is to explicitly talk about this issue with the health professional{s) who have prescribed it in the first place.

please bear in mind that none of us posters on this thread are qualified medical professionals. even a qualified medical professional would need to have knowledge of your friend's particular circumstances before making any recommendations.

thanks MTS
Trouble is she saw a locum and has an appt for next week with her GP. The locum did say to take as little as possible, but as much as was needed as she was sucidal.
I just wondered if anyone had any practical experience.
I know the prozac can take a couple of weeks, but even then I'm not sure that they will cure the extreme anxiety and anger

Bump - anyone else got any direct experience?

I was prescribed diazepam for anxiety (along with increased dose of prozac) at the beginning of last week but was told by the doctor and CPN that it is highly addictive and not to take it for any longer than 2 weeks. Now I've got a small supply of 2mg tablets just for emergencies.

My father was on diazepam/valium for nearly 30 years and I have a very negative view of the drug I am afraid.

HOWEVER, as MummyToSteven has pointed out your friend needs professional supervision if she is reducing them/coming off them. My father tried on several occassions (Watching a parent go cold turkey is vile)however without medical help he always lapsed and ended up on increased doses.

Your friend is extremely vulnerable she should see her GP and seek other help whether it be counselling or psychiatry.

My father did eventually get off valium and he became a changed man. (He started to have emotions for a start) but mental health issues IMO, in these circumstances need to be dealt with by professionals.

Also, you mention the extreme anxiety and anger, some medications do not have their full effect immediately.

HTH & I hope your friend is feeling less anxious soon.

I totally agree....your friend needs to talk to her doctor about this. Perhaps she might like you to go for morale support, but she does need some expert advice before doing anything, especially if she is feeling suicidal. I think you are a good friend to show this concern and she is very lucky to have you. Please try and get her to the doctor and see that she tells the doctor 'how' she really feels, as there are some better drugs than diazepam. It is true all AD's take about 2 weeks before their effect starts to 'kick in' and maybe, but I am guessing, she was prescribed the diazepam to help her over this period. But I agree with Mummy2Steven on this one.
I really do hope your friend is alright and it is nice to know that she has someone like you who cares so much.

Spacemonkey thanks. How much did you have when you were given them initially if you don't mind me asking and how long did you take that dose for?

The trouble is that cutting the 5mg tablets is difficult - when i tried it I got one big bit and loads of powder, even when cutting along the grove. I wondered whether she should try and take the remainder back and maybe swop for 2mg ones and then the dose could be controlled more easily. Suspect that she would have to get a new script though, and she's not seeing the GP till next Friday. I would hope that she could be down to 5mg by then in the evening.
Don't know if anyone has any advice whether 5gm in evening is better than 2.5gm morning and night??
Sorry for all the questions and I appreciate really it is a GP thing but I just want to be as supportive as possible.
I know, personally i had issues when offered ADs and posted about this and got many helpful comments, but I am also aware that for her the situation is much more critical, and so want to be supportive but also ensure that there's not an addiction issue to be resolved further down the line

Sorry Winnie1 and Bunglie - posts crossed but thanks also for your useful input

I really do think you need a doctors advice on this one, as what you are proposing is quite a big 'jump' by cutting the dose in half all at once. I think the pharmicist is a good place to ask, and he may well substitute the 5mg for 2mg tablets, but you can cut them with a knife.
But Please, go and talk to a doctor, I really feel that when it comes to a drug like diazepam reduction medical supervision is necessary as it has some side -effects I would rather not post and worry you or your friend about, but will not occur if done properly, under medical supervision. We are not doctors but I do know about diazepam and am very loathe to give advice re reducing it without medical supervision. I am sorry, but you do have your friends best interests at heart and I personally feel that this is best for her. I am sorry if it is not the advice you wanted.

A4T - could you try and get an appointment for your friend for the doctor's/CPN (if she has one) sooner than next Friday to discuss the diazepam issue? Just thinking that you may be more up to facing insisting on an urgent appointment than she is atm. I think that SSRIs are commonly used for anxiety disorders and also for for aggression, so hopefully the Prozac will do the trick for your friend. Does your friend have a referral to a psychiatrist/psychologist/CPN - she does sound like she is having a very rough time of it atm?

I was given them a couple of weeks ago as a muscle relaxant for a trapped nerve, and the gp told me she could only prescribe 2 weeks worth , because of addiction risk.

sorry typed out long message last night but the machine died.
Thanks lou33 - this is my concern that she's been given the equivalant of 3 weeks at 15mg and her GP is not back till next Friday, and so she doesn't want to see yet another locum.
I think a referral has been sent to a psychiatrist but not sure how long that would take, and so I think she would benefit from CBT but not sure how to go about finding a good one privately
thanks for everyone's help - appreciate all the help we can get at the moment!

I have been prescibed diazepam for the past 2 1/2 years. Only 5mg's though. I can only take it occassionally because it makes me very sleepy and it takes 5 HOURS to kick in. I can take 3 for 3 nights running and then not touch it for several months (aren't I a good girl ).

I know this is not as much as your friend but I HTH

hi
i am currently on diazapam 10mg twice a day this is for extreme anxiety. I do use it only as required rather than as directed and it does work this way. I have been on it for 4 weeks now as well as 225mg of venlaflaxine(AD)a day. All I would say for your friend is that if the meds are helping then the gp will be monitoring the situation. It is not nice to be on any meds but if they provide the buffer that then puts you in a frame of mind where you are able to deal with the issues causing the thoughts/ feelings then that cant be bad. I do have counselling but to be honest it probably hasnt really started to have an affect until recently mainly due to the fact that in my own state of mind I wasnt ready...this may be where your friend is it. ITs horrible to have suicidal and self harm thoughts and feel you have no control but if the meds are buffing this then thats good. They are not an answer but just a crutch. You are a good friend to be so concerned but also for the fact she can be so honest with you. Hope this helps
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Take care

Thanks very much for all this. I can't put too much as I don't obviously want to say anything that could identify her, but I've been encouraging her to do as many distracting things as possible, and so yesterday she only took 2.5mg twice, and apparently has had nothing today.
My concerns are that the diazepam was prescribed to help the prozac to work, so by me encouraging her to have as little as possible, the prozac may be affected.
She still feels suicidal sometimes but she's not being left alone for any time, and hopefully the prozac will start helping more.
mishi thanks for your email address I will keep it in case if you don't mind.
This weekend has been encouraging though in that she has taken much less of it.

I really do hope that your friend starts to feel better soon...she is lucky to have you.

I don't want to worry you but yes Prozac normally takes 2 weeks before it starts to have any effect but it can take as long as a month before the full effect is felt...so she really should be under a doctors supervision, as her doctor is away you sound like the next best thing...and if she can manage on less with no side-effects then that's great but please don't encourage her to cut it down to fast without medical supervision, but it sounds like you are doing the right thing. She is very lucky to have you.

after breaking my ankle in april and having a plate and screws put in I then had a mild heart attack in may caused by all the trauma, since then panic attacks have come on really bad, stuck downstairs as foot not right yet so cant sleep properly and dont want to leave the house. Been given 2mg diazapam twice daily anyone know how quick these work. Thanx.

After breaking my ankle in april and having a plate and screws put in I then had a mild heart attack caused by all the trauma, since then panic attacks have come on really bad, stuck downstairs as foot not right yet so cant sleep properly and dont want to leave the house. Have been given 2mg diazapam twice daily does anyone know how quick these work. Thanx.

Lackee - this thread is nearly 10 years old. if you start a new one you might get more replies.

Take care.