Diazepam - any experience

[Cheryllou]

Hi my doctor has prescribed me diazepam on top anti depressants as I’m really struggling after my husband of 34 years (married 22) has left saying he’s not in love with me any more. This has been stretched out over a year and I’m mentally exhausted- can’t eat or sleep or focus. I know I need to pull my socks up but I need to be in a stronger mental health position. Has anyone had any experience with diazepam (Valium) for managing extreme sadness and anxiety? I’m not wording this very well…

My bad!! It was 15mg daily!! (Had to go and check!)

When was this? It is very hard to get diazepam now never mind a repeat prescription

If you can pinpoint a reason behind the depression then meds for a short period to give you time to resolve things are understandable. But some doctors are too slaphappy with the pills.

It's not that you need to be stronger. It's that you need to sort out your boundaries. YOU deside it's over and he's never coming back. Then get a solicitor deal with everything else and focus on getting healthy again. People can't yoyo back and forth if you don't let them. And don't use the kids as an excuse because your children deserve a happy, healthy mum most of all.

Stop taking on his baggage, outsource it to a solicitor. And get yourself on a nice long, sunny holiday if you can afford to do so. Or a spa/countryside weekend away without the kids or something.

You don't need to be strong. You need to be kind to yourself. And learn to say no to people who are looking to take the piss.

I'd go back to the doctor. Ask if you can put a pin in the valium for now and focus on 'me time' instead? Might be worthwhile to take up running or yoga, something to help release endorphins or quiet the mind. Then once you feel calmer in yourself, see the gp again about coming off the depression meds.

Your aim should be to get better first and foremost and second, to get off the pills. Staying on them this long may be creating dependency.

Focus on making the changes to your life that will make you happy.

My mother, aged 80, was prescribed 2mg when required when she was started on sertraline. Once the sertraline kicked in she stopped using it. My mother doesn't like taking tablets anyway.

GPs would only prescribe for short term usage, eg aeroplane flight, extensive dental treatment. Regular diazepam users are being slowly withdrawn. The patients of one surgery who have been put on the reduction couldn't be bothered to pick up their prescriptions which shows it wasn't them that was using it. 5mg has a higher street value than 2mg.

Short term use for a crisis is very common. If they will help you sleep, try them. Lack of sleep won't help you cope otherwise and will probably make things even harder.

I have a regular prescription for use over a couple of days to cope with particular situations. Maximum strength dose of 60mg a day for up to 5 days at a time when needed. They have a very, very mild effect on me at that strength but enough to let me breathe during a panic attack. Not everyone becomes addicted from a 2mg to 10mg dose at bedtime to help them sleep.

They don't even prescribe it for plane, dental now, and encourage natural methods to deal with fears. Even bereavement they don't like to give it for. It isn't readily prescribed now.

It’s still ongoing and has been for over a decade.

60mg daily is the maximum dose. Not everyone responds the same way to diazepam. We're not all addicted after a week.

I've been on 60mg daily for several years when required. Repeat prescription. Assume GPs know their patients and work with them to establish what is required to meet their needs rather than they are all random drug pushers.

Hope she's OK, perhaps the prescribing doctor should have prescribed a reducing dose from the start.

Not my gp surgery, or anybody else's I know unfortunately, even after bereavements. They don't like to as they think apparently they stop you processing the grief, when all you need is to eat and sleep while the shock settles and to put yourself in a better position to grieve, than running on empty. The gp I spoke yo is known to be pedantic though, I won't make an appt with him again; he lacks compassion as talks to you like you're a drug addict.

I often wonder what exactly it IS prescribed for.

In appropriate settings let the doctor decide. Take them as prescribed OP, trust your doctor not a scaremongering band of anonymous posters with their tales of horror and addiction. No one knows how true their experiences are, or if they took more than they should, or for longer etc.

It has its place. Do what the doctor advised. They don't prescribe for being nervous of flying or other similar one off anxieties, but for crisis periods they can be the bridge to get you over the hump to wellness again.

How dare you issue totally irresponsible advice! You’re not her GP and know absolutely nothing about her situation and yet see fit to overrule medical prescribing! Unreal!

I said several times to return to consult with her gp before doing anything. Learn to read yeah?

Some GPs do.

I need that gp! I got told they never do and it is nhs guidelines now.

I was just talking about this stuff before as I took it for sciatica along with codeine. It helped although I know this isn't the reason you're taking it for.
I also took it for a week or two when I had horrible anxiety, it did help but only because it's mind numbing. My mind was in a fog, I didn't care about anything, was constantly groggy and drugged up and people noticed. The side effects built up as well.

I'd say it's a good emergency treatment for short term use but definitely not long term. Be very careful if you do decide to take it.

Mothers little helper they used to call it, it's anything but when taken long term.

You're getting a lot of ill informed responses on this thread. Don't trust the Internet for medical advice.

Your doctor either thinks you need some short term relief to take the edge off your anxiety, or you are starting an antidepressant that initially can make feelings of anxiety worse. They are highly addictive but you're on them for a short term reason so don't worry about that now.

Take what you've been prescribed and try to rest after you've taken it. You might find it gives you a chance to relax a little.

If her Dr has prescribed diazepam, she should take it, not go back and discuss further because someone on the Internet thinks they know better. This is a really arrogant post.

They're seriously addictive and withdrawal can actually be fatal. Long term use has also been linked to dementia.
I hope you're only using them as a short term measure. Even people with extreme anxiety and PTSD are only ever given a small amount each month. If there's a hint that someone's abusing them they will titrate you down. But going cold turkey off a high dose can literally kill you.
So please proceed with extreme caution.

Drugs can provide a wonderful break from the torture. People who've never experienced anxiety, depression and insomnia (the hellish trinity) have no idea what it's like. If it helps you sleep, function, hold down a job and pay your bills, etc, it can literally be a lifesaver. Without such drugs, your life really can fall apart.

But they are not a long-term solution. So long as you keep that burned into your mind, I say go for it.

But let me repeat, not, not, not a long-term solution. The long-term solutions are meditation, yoga, silence, deep-breathing, reading the classics, healthy eating, and long walks in the countryside (or what's left of the countryside). x

Bloody brilliant stuff. But as others have said - it's very short term.

I have a small stash that I dip into once in a while. Hospital also gave it to my DC when they freaked out about an operation. Massively helped.

If your doctors prescribed more mood altering drugs on top of a years worth of other mood altering drugs, that apparently, aren't working - you should maybe see a different gp for a second opinion. It's not arrogance, its just sensible. I've had doctors let me take the same prescription for years only to find out it has done damage. Doctors often prescribe what is easier for themselves as opposed to what is right for the patient. Don't assume they are right just because they have the degree. Ask questions, get second opinions and be very wary of drugs that should be short term crutches, being used long term.

We all like to think doctors do right by us. Many do. But they can be lazy and have other agendas. Always advocate for yourself and seek second opinions.

Short term a very useful drug and a positive mercy. Take it, do not feel guilty.