diazepam

[Valleyheath]

have been given diazepam to help over severe anxiety whilst switching antidepressants. However hate using them as so so scared of addiction so tend to suffer extreme side effects. Advice. Told to take up to 2mg thrice daily

[Gillyflower18]

I’ve used them short term for the same reason. Had no problems. They are often given for this reason.

[Valleyheath in reply to Gillyflower18]

but I keep hearing about becoming addicted. Scared whenever I take one

[Gillyflower18 in reply to Valleyheath]

I understand. Tell your fears to your physician or therapist. I’m sure they will be very careful. Usually you only get them for a few weeks under controlled conditions like yours and mine. I had no problems stopping them.

[Valleyheath in reply to Gillyflower18]

thank you. It’s my anxiety that causes me to stress over these things!

[Adamj]

if your anxiety is bad try them it may help get you over this bump. People need to stop telling people to not try something that may actually help them. Yes it can be addicting but so can so many other things. You can be the one who helps yourself not become addicted

[Valleyheath]

thank you for that. My husband tells me my doctor who is keeping a very close eye on me wouldn’t have prescribed them if she was concerned about any addiction

[Arymretep]

Diazapam are used for the short term, they can be addictive if taken long term, they helped me a lot last year for two weeks only during a melt down, take care

[aequitas1983]

Definitely an understanding concern especially with how quickly they become a bandage for the issue. That said, when used for short-term issues or on emergency basis only, all should be good and well. Keys to this would be no refills given, "as needed" on the bottle, and an understanding of when you should use it versus trying things like breathing or meditation instead.

Unless you have drug allergies, the prevalent side effect tends to be light to moderate sedation as the drug class is considered to be tranquilizers. Be careful/avoid driving or operating anything that could cause harm (I'm guessing you aren't a wrecking ball operator....but you never know) until you see how you feel using it. Luckily in the case of diazepam it has a long half-life so it will last longer in your system to provide relief. One of the doctors a lot of people promote who helped people off of benzo addiction moved people off of those onto diazepam because it is a bit more gentler and the longer half life. Don't drink alcohol if you opt to use the medication and if for some reason you have to take opioids, inform the doctor as benzos and opioids can cause respiratory depression in combination (similar to using the med with alcohol). Otherwise, it will help soothe your transition and hopefully you don't need to use it or much of it.

It's unfortunate on the addiction portion (and some of the long term usage impacts) because the drug class does work great for anxiety. You also don't have to use the full 2 mg. You can ask your doctor or pharmacist if you can cut it in two and just take 1 mg to see how you manage. If you can get good relaxing benefits out of less, this is all the better. Fairly helpful in relaxing if you're suffering severe anxiety. A much better option than others in the benzo class in terms of addiction due to the half life (such as alprazolam/Xanax which has a far shorter half life). Hoping your transition to the new antidepressant goes as smoothly as possible....best wishes and take care!