Xeno
Phoenix
Joined: Jun 13, 2010
Posts: 828
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 Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 5:45 pm Post subject: |
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| I agree with what people have generally said here. They're great for fighting a severe panic attack, but they are definitely addictive and they can make you really drowsy. |
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StuartN
Pithecus
Joined: Jan 21, 2010
Age: 49
Posts: 1557
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 6:08 pm Post subject: Re: Anyone takeing Valium (diazepam)? |
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| melbi wrote: | | I just got prescribed Valium today...and it's wonderful... |
If it is "wonderful" then I think you are taking too much. It is an addictive drug, and addiction means that tolerance increases with use, so you become resistant to the effect and gradually need higher and higher doses, until at some point your doctor will advise complete withdrawal.
My advice (and the way that I have used it, for several years) is to never take it when you don't need it, and to take the smallest possible dose to make life tolerable. If you want to feel wonderful, then music / food / sex / exercise / whatever gives you pleasure - just use the drugs to take the edge off so that you can enjoy those things. |
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SyphonFilter
Phoenix
Joined: Feb 08, 2011
Posts: 2072
Location: Seattle, WA
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:46 pm Post subject: |
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A while back my physician wrote a script for Klonopin (a benzodiazepine with a profile very similar to Valium). Having tried both Valium and Klonopin (Klonopin 2mg, Valium 10mg), experiences with both drugs were nearly identical - both made me very sedated, with coordination and concentration akin to intoxication. Only difference between the two drugs was that while Klonopin only tired me out, Valium made me feel pretty damn good. Felt like there was no pain, no mental anguish, just some kind of euphoria.
All of these effects occured when the meds were taken as directed; never have I abused prescription drugs. |
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Tiffinity
Blue Jay
Joined: Feb 05, 2011
Age: 57
Posts: 79
Location: London, England.
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:12 pm Post subject: anyone taking valium |
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I was first given diazepam in 1975 and I didn't want to take it. The doctor got really annoyed with me so I started taking it. 5mg three times a day, I was 20. I was in such a state of anxiety with constant panic attacks all day and waking me up at night. I was experiencing them one after the other and I thought I was going to die. My dosage was then put up to three 10mg per day, it helped slightly. I went back to the doctor and saw a locum who told me if one wasn't working then just take another one. So I did. Since then I started to take more and more and after years of this yet another doctor cut them off dead. Within 2 days I thought I was going mad. My mum is really anti-alcohol and she even went out and bought me a bottle of drink to calm me down. I was then allowed a limited dose but only under my mum's supervision; Hang on a minute - who started all this doctor?
I've since had my dosage cut down, put up again when I can't cope and every visit to the doctor ends up in a row over my diazepam intake and his reluctance to supply it and my reluctance to cope without it. That's right! I'm still taking it 35 years later. 2mgs three times a day and a limited supply of 5mgs for the really bad times. I also take beta-blockers to prevent migraine (they don't work) and Prozac which doesn't do much either except make the migraines worse.
I don't ever want to stop taking diazepam and it's a constant worry to me in case I run out or can't get anymore. I admit I needed them in the beginning because I wasn't coping at all but I wish I'd never heard of them. I don't know what would have happened to me without them, I don't think I'd be here, but I'm not particularly enjoying being here now and so reliant on something out of my control. The problem is I'm still in a state of constant anxiety and worry and don't see why I should have to suffer this when there is something I can take to relieve it.
I don't buy the addiction thing, if you need something to survive then you need it, so what? We get hungry, we eat. We get thirsty, we drink. We get anxious, we take something. We don't all over-eat, over-drink and over-medicate. Sometimes we can and should be allowed to get by on what we need. I was under the impression it was my life but it doesn't feel like it anymore.
Would I take that first diazepam again? Knowing what I know now ? I doubt it but I honestly don't know . There wasn't much of an option then really. They work - but they can also make life hard work.
It depends how bad you feel - but really think it through.
Tiffinity.
Also, I had an operation two years ago and the pre-med didn't work because I'm so used to diazepam even though I'd been told to take 7mgs of diazepam before I went to the hospital for surgery that morning, and even then it did nothing. Just a thought.
Tiffinity.
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daydreamer84
butterfly
Joined: Jul 09, 2009
Age: 28
Posts: 3291
Location: My own little world
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:20 pm Post subject: |
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| mgran wrote: | I've taken it in the past, and felt immediate relief from fear and anxiety. After a bit I got annoyed that I wasn't thinking clearly anymore, so I stopped taking it cold turkey. I didn't find it difficult to give up, but I do know lots of people who found it very hard.
It's a great short term drug. |
In addition to being addictive these drugs can impair learning and memory!
I have a prescription but only take them if I'm really anxious/starting to have a panic attack at night.....I try not to take them if I have an exam or something important coming up though............ |
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Cornflake
Rattles when shaken
Joined: Oct 31, 2010
Posts: 30444
Location: Hertfordshire, UK
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:15 pm Post subject: Re: anyone taking valium |
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| Tiffinity wrote: | | Since then I started to take more and more and after years of this yet another doctor cut them off dead. |
 That's a terrible thing for a doctor to suggest, and he should have known that these things need a tapered reduction - especially after such high doses over a long time.
I'm not sure it's given out for new prescriptions these days in the UK - the current wonder-pill seems to be SSRIs, although they've done little to nothing for me.
Shame, because Valium has been the only thing which actively makes me feel very good. It gives me a lift - and therein lies the danger, especially with prolonged use.
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Papster
Emu Egg
Joined: Mar 21, 2012
Age: 43
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 6:28 am Post subject: |
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| I was prescribed them recently as a PRN med, I was only given 14 2mg tabs and told to break them in half and take when required. I only take them if I have a day course or similar as my anxiety is terrible in these situations. I have found them to be invaluable, I can see how they could become addictive as the calming effect is amazing and wish I could feel calm all of the time. Though I have only used them on a couple occasions and they are only for emergencies. |
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tchek
Snowy Owl
Joined: Jan 25, 2012
Posts: 153
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| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 8:25 pm Post subject: |
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I take diazepam, unprescribed.
The first time I took it was fantastic, like years of accumulated tension (both muscular and mental, though both are linked) relieved.
I wish I had known that drug earlier, because tensions, anxiety and stress f**** my teenage years up. (Muscular tension f**** up my back, because it created a stress around the neck that made me slouch, and now I can't walk for prolonged period) |
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xmh
Toucan
Joined: Jun 26, 2011
Posts: 283
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| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 8:31 pm Post subject: |
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| I took it about 5 years ago (to try to counteract some of the side effects of fluoxitine (Prozac), it seemed great. If only it was suitable for long term use. |
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Callista
Phoenix
Joined: Feb 04, 2006
Age: 30
Posts: 9821
Location: Central USA
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| Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 8:54 pm Post subject: |
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Once, before dental surgery. It made me so unfocused. Like nothing mattered, or everything is far away. I can't imagine being able to be functional if I took it on an ordinary day. I mean, I guess you could say it felt nice, but it's the sort of nice that just makes you tired and unmotivated. Those of you guys who are prescribed it... maybe you should look into alternatives, if it hits you at all like it did me. Even without the tolerance issues, it doesn't seem like it's the best choice for anything but short-term stuff like when I was freaking out because I was going to have to get my wisdom teeth out.
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