Diazepam

[Deleted member 1860]

@Justmehere
You may want to check your facts before giving advice as you keep saying the wrong things about diazepam. It is not Ativan, rather Valium, and it is LESS addictive, not more as it is the benzo that doctors switch people to in order to wean them off of benzos completely.
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Op, my advice is to look up diazepam for yourself and ignore the conflicting things said here. It's the only way you will get the correct information.

 

[Justmehere]

(This post is edited for clarity sake.)

@Solara – Thank you for correcting me yet again on mixing up the names. If you will read above, you will see that I did already correct that error.

After the first correction on the name mix up, I reviewed clinical paperwork my doctor gave me. I made my statements based on that info.

Either way, regardless if Valium is more or less addictive than another addictive medication, Ativan, my point remains the same. *All* benzo’s are addictive. Unless you have info that Valium is not addictive, then I don't see your point. They, including Valium, can create physical addiction and psychological addiction, and battling any addiction on top of PTSD is really tough.

I remain firm in my opinion that *all* benzo’s not a great on-going primary option for treating PTSD related anxiety. That doesn't change based on one being less addictive than another. They are not the worst option for anxiety as they can be effective in a very very short term crisis, but they should be taken with extreme care and caution even then. They come with very serious risks. (Like increasing getting Alzheimer’s later in life per a recent Harvard study, and some studies that show they cause areas of brain damage in other ways.)

All benzo’s have the risk of rebound anxiety. All of them. Valium included.

Specific to this thread, I’m concerned when it is not working for someone in so much pain that they are taking more than prescribed (as a misunderstanding and/or out of desperation) and when that still doesn’t work, they are combed it with alcohol in a understandably desperate attempt to get some relief. It a sign of how bad his anxiety is. It’s also a recipe for disaster to take benzo’s like that and then combine them with alcohol. People accidentally die or develop addictions that way.

Again, I am sorry for any information I got wrong, and I did already correct it. You are very right that everyone should seek out his/her own info, because nothing on the internet can replace the advice of a trained medical professional. Not even from you or I.

I do still stand by my opinion that there are other options that may be safer and more effective than what the original poster is experiencing.

 

[Justmehere]

@Solara - p.s. This is an international forum. Please avoid the use of acroynms such as "op" which can make posts less readable to the wide audience that reads the forum. Thank you.

 

[KwanYingirl]

Just want to make a small point. As a recovering alcoholic I assure you, there is no room in discussions about one addictive agent being " a little addictive" . Addiction is an absolute. Period. End of comment.

 

[TonyG]

I feel better now the third one in twelve hours hit the spot, so I wentback to bed and slept for another four hours, I still have a little anxiety but nothing I can't handle, Thank you all for your help, I have a Doctors appointment on Saturday so I'll tell him the story then, I have my psychologist appointment on Fridays so I can here two points of view before the weekend.

 

[Justmehere]

@TonyG – I’m sorry you were so badly triggered, especially when trying to hlep soemone else! I'm glad things are turning around for you and that you will see your doc and therapist in the near future. I hope they can work out a good plan so you can continue to get more sleep and more relief.

 

[joeylittle]

I'm glad you got to a working dose, @TonyG. I personally have the same problem with Diazepam - it doesn't do much for me. I don't know why. Luckily (!) there are options. I take benzos PRN (clonazepam if I need fast-acting, lorazepam if I'm feeling too on-edge at night and I know I'll have bad sleep). I am too concerned about becoming addicted to them, so it's easy for me to self-regulate. I have my doc prescribe in 5 pills at a time so I never have more than 10 of either one in the house - that helps me also.

When you talk to your doc, try and ask about all your options and really describe how your anxiety comes on, how much this is related to sleep, etc. There might be a totally different route to go just for sleep assistance.

And yeah, don't do the mixing with alcohol thing.

 

[TonyG]

Well I'm at work tonight and it's hard to believe I was in such a state last night, my anxiety is allmost not at all, scotch has been my sleeping pill of choice for many years and it takes a large glass of it these days to do anything, three 5mg Diazepam in 12 hours and a scooner of 50/50 scotch and coke did the trick, I agree it was not a wise choice but I was in a terrible place.

 

[Justmehere]

I understand you were in a terrible place. So are most people with addictions.

It seems clear your attempts to self medicare with alcohol are no longer working as a sleeping aid, and now you are very dangerously combining it with Valium. Combining the two is extremely dangerous. It's one of the most drug combinations out there.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/216529-side-effects-of-valium-alcohol/#page=2

"Because Valium acts on the central nervous system it has the potential to slow the respiratory rate. Drugs.com states that the use of alcohol with Valium has the potential to cause depressed vital signs and is contraindicated. The additive affects of alcohol to Valium's central acting depressant effect can cause severe respiratory depression and death. Using alcohol and Valium can result in a fatal overdose which can stop the heart or cause coma."

I once drank a glass of wine after taking a prescribed benzo. I should be dead. I fell asleep feeling relaxed but totally fine. The only reason I'm alive is because my friend a nurse saw me turn blue in my sleep. Had she not been there and looked over at me at just the right moment, I would not be here. There is no way for you to safely combine the two. I felt fine when I fell asleep. That is normal for people who die of respiratory depression after combining alcohol and benzo - and they usually do it because they are in awful places and desperate for relief.

It's time to either be honest with your doctor and therapist that you are either very suicidal and thus combining Valium and alcohol, or to be clear that it's not working.

I'm guessing you are not ready to quit alcohol, and that is what it is. Don't make your dependence worse by now using valium with it.

(From the same link above)
"Valium is metabolized in the liver according to Drugs.com. Alcohol abuse causes liver damage and those patients with known cirrhosis should not take Valium. Liver damage does not allow the hepatocytes or liver cells to detoxify the body of Valium and there is a buildup of excess drug in the system. If there liver damage is present, alcohol cannot be processed either. Liver damage can potentially result in a fatal overdose of Valium and alcohol."

There are other medications that can work better and more effectively without the danger you are repeatedly putting yourself in.

Please talk to your doctor and therapist and be fully honest with them about what it took for you to get relief, including the alcohol use with Valium.

Here is a CNN story about one of many many people who have accidentally died by doing what you are doing: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/08/lethal-combo-killed-artist-thomas-kinkade/

I'm being clear because I want you to be able to get relief from your pain without accidentally (or intentionally) killing yourself or ending up with a more serious addiction.

 

[KwanYingirl]

Alcohol is fuel for rage. It f^*<~s everything in its path. To read you say it is taking more of it to get the effect you are craving is troubling. You are developing a tolerance and it will take more and more until it's fatal. Not to be mixed with benzodiazepines. You'll pass out and stop breathing. Then who would take care of those doggies not to mention even on a bad day, it's still better than a dead day.

 

[TonyG]

It was my first time ever using Valium and it did nothing, I poured all the scotch down the drain this morning removing the risk, I have anxiety now but maybe only six out of ten, last night it was off the scale. As for the Vallium I'll talk to my doctor on Saturday as its not for me, I think I need something a bit more controlled like Zoloft once I am through therapy, I am not on any medication and never have been.