Just wondered if anyone has ever been given diazepam for their IBS?!
Diazepam: Just wondered if anyone has ever been... - IBS Network
Diazepam
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Maureen1958
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I have not but I can see how it would help calm the IBS
Have you taken if for something else? A friend of mine has a thing about it and keeps saying I should ask my GP for it. I'm not sure I would want to take it anyway, but thought I would ask the question on here to see what comes back.
It’s a muscle relaxer as well as other things but you can’t take it for a long time
Okay, thanks, I wondered if that might be the case.
Hi Maureen. I had diazepan when living in Spain. Its a muscle relaxant to help with pain. I had it when I had bursitus of the knee and I couldn't walk or sleep. It's good but you can only take for a short time snd you cannot drink alcohol. I think it use to be called valium. Hope your ok ! Sue x
Thanks for that Sue. I'm just about keeping my head above water. Hope you are not too bad these days. I thought you seemed to be feeling bettter from your replies.
Yes. Im doing good since my gallbladder thanks. I can eat anything now but watch fatty foods. I feel so much better snd healthier xxx
Perhaps I should have mine removed! 😀
You never know Maureen. Depends on where your pains are. Have a scan to see if you have stones and also a MRCP which shows if your gallbladder is diseased . If so there's your answer. I suffered for many years being told I had ibs and acid reflux and guess what the cause was. I wish you well. xxx
Hi Please can I ask what symptoms you had?
Back in August I had an abdo scan because I was was having a lot of upper right abdo pain the scan showed something on my gallbladder but at the time my gallbladder was not filling up so they could not tell if stones or polyps I was advised to have a repeat scan 6 months later. However 2 weeks ago my pain has been continuous and then the added symptoms of bowel issues mixed, abdo pain, trapped wind. Dr has referred m MH e back for another scan.
Am just having a lot of trapped wind at the min and with straining I have a very pain full bum like there is a plug/pressure.
Am not sure if it’s my gallbladder and IBS flare up or just the gallbladder or just IBS
None of the IBS medication helps at all, am feeling very down at the moment.
Hi. Sorry to hear your problems. I had unbearable pain in the right upper part of tummy and it travelled to my back and would last for 5 days. I had this on a few occasions and my gp sent me for a ultra scan which showed I had gall stones. Was then referred to the gastroenterologist who sent me straight away for MRCP which showed I had a diseased gallbladder full of sludge and a cyst. Was told I needed this removed soon which I had done. I didn't have any problems with my bum just occasional diarrhea. Hope this helps you
I have been prescribed diazepam because of my anxiety in the mornings.I have a packet of ten tablets and will only take one when my anxiety is terrible.It totally helps.I feel so much more relaxed and it works straight away.But you do feel tired.But they are very addictive.So my doctor is not keen on giving me them that often.Its worth a try.
Why not give them a go.
I don't think I would risk it. If it made me feel better I would want to have them regularly and if I can't do that, it would be pointless trying them. There's nothing worse than knowing something will work but you can't have it!
I've had my diazepam increased from 2 x 5mg to 3. Gastroenterologist advised my GP to forget about being addictive because of my age,75,so I'm a happy girl (or old lady!)!!! Have decided to go ahead with hypnotherapy sessions starting on 22nd,my last chance of finding some relief from this ogre of a condition! Think of you often Maureen. Best wishes for some relief.
Let me know how you get on with the hynotherapy, I presume it's a face to face thing.
Yes will report back. It is done on via Skype which is fortunate as they are in Manchester and I am just outside Coventry.
Good luck.
OMG, that's amazing. I took half a tablet last night after a desperate 5 weeks of incomplete bowel movements. Nothing else has worked and i've been panicked for a few weeks (which obviously makes things worse). I don't know if it's had any effect yet (i just woke up) but i am feeling a little more relaxed than usual this morning.
Maureen, from my perspective....i'm just looking for something to break this current feedback loop between my brain and my gut. This isn't a long term plan for me. I just need to get all of this stuck poop out of my body and i think lowering my anxiety for a few days (i'm thinking of taking 1/2 a tablet at night for a couple of days) will help. I'll need to keep taking laxatives but even they weren't really working to clear the backlog.
Once i get through this hiccup, i'll then start taking Resotrans (prucalopride) each night to stay on top of things. But yeah, I'm in a pickle myself so i know i need some type of unconventional help to get out of it and this is worth a try as far as i'm concerned.
Let me know how things pan out for you in the next few days! I hope you get on top of this soon.
Thanks I will. I hope it works on my gut. It's definitely helping with my mood/frame of mind. If this does turn out to be helpful for my tummy, i'll be investigating chinese medicines to help me with anxiety. if that doesn't work, i'll go for pharmaceuticals (not valium...) maybe SSRIs. I've had enough of trying to do this on my own. I surrender!
Hi Maureen ,My consultant has just prescribed Lyrica (Pregabalin )
for my gut IBS pain , after reading about it , it’s also for anxiety & it can be taken long term . I only got it this week & haven’t used it yet .
Have a look online at what it does , it’s might help or at least worth trying .
Hi, I was prescribed pregablin for pain but it didn't help me as I have IBS C and it causes constipation. May be ok if for IBS D
I’m the same , that’s one reason I’m unlikely to take it
Can you let me know how you get on with it please. I don't take drugs at all if I can help it. I have just read up on this and it sound quite scary to me. Be careful with it.
To be honest , I doubt very much I will take it , it’s in the cupboard just in case
Diazapam will relax you, but be aware that it is addictive, you may get used to it and then be refused it for long term use
I wish!! Getting a first class trip around the world would probably be easier than getting my GP to prescribe it.
This question is right up my street. So I was prescribed the miracle benzo drug, Lorazapam in 1974-5 as a benzo baby. Nobody as well as Weith, or the NHS did enough research on whether they were indeed safe. In 1983 I Had IBS and still suffered extreme anxiety attacks, claustrophobia and agoraphobia. I eventually I was referred to a psychologist to a local building used by the NHS for cognitive mental and relaxation therapy. He was very keen to make sure I kept taking my Lorazapam, because he explained that its one of the best antispasmodic going. After 9 months I started going to large stores with him on excursions to put into practice my 6 months worth or therapy, and it worked really well. So I was good until 2006, when I moved to an area in Blackpool, where I was amazingly refused my normal order. Ultimately I had to accept Diazapam and come of Lorazapam. For you information 5gm Lorazapam is equivelant of around 20-30mg Diazapam. So Diazapam is not going to help much with IBS. since losing my Lorazapam (Ativan) my IBS became chronic right up to 2021. I wrote two books and papers on benzos, it is a class (c) controlled drug, its main side effects was identified only by 1993 as deadly addictive, and coming off them is worse than cold turkey cominf a class A drug. You can try and ask your doctor, but your unlikely to get them I'm a special case because I have been on them so long any reductions would be dangerous, fits, tachycardia, nightmares, vision disturbances, and feeling detached from reality, and emotional break downs is common. So better to deal with IBS without benzos, you will thank me 😂👍👍
Hi, thank you for your reply. You have certainly been through the mill! I have always tried my best to avoid taking medications. Even when I was a kid my mum would say not to take a tablet for a pain, to wait a while and see if it went off, which I found it often did, so I have taken that approach all my life. I told my son the same, but I think he soon reaches for medication when he is not feeling good which is not very often (thank goodness). I haven't found anything to help my IBS over the 35 years I have had it, so just take the odd paracetomol when the pain get really bad! Not that it generally helps! It's the nausea that really gets me down and I can't find anything for that. It was just my friend has a thing about valium and has been going on about it for sometime, so I thought I would put a post on here to see what response I got. I'm quite surprised with the amount of answers I received.
I am in the U.S. Is that the same as valium ? Or xanax?
Yes, it's valium.
Hmm, ok. It can help get you thru a rough patch but can also be very addictive . I would look into some other things before going that route . There definitely is the Mind/Body connection with this syndrome/illness so I can see why the Doc wanted to prescribe it. I was occasionally taking Xanax which is similar , for I while ,and it got me thru a rough patch, but I was extremely careful and mindful about how much and how often I took it. It is so hard to find an answer and what works for each of us individually . It is basically trial and error, and extremely frustrating and debilitating at times, but it does get better as we go along . I have been living with IBS for about 20 years now. I hope this helps a little .
I was given diazepam before I went into hospital to have my gallbladder out as I was sooo nervous. It did work. I think it is ok for one off but I do not think I would like to take it regularly.
Yes, I think I am with you on that.
Hi Maureen, have you Amitryptilline, not addictive in low dose and does help with the IBS. I have had to stop it several times with no repucussions at all although I do only take 10mgs a night.
Yes, I tried that many years ago but made me worse! But thanks anyway.
Diazepam is an old very addictive drug rarely given these days, you're best going onto a SSRI such as Citalopram. This has been found to be quite effective at relieving IBS symptoms, especially if you are an anxious type person. If you do try them then be aware that they are not a quick fix and will take 2-4 weeks to start working, but it will be worth it. You'll also probably be on them long term unless science comes up with a more direct solution to treat IBS.
Yes I did try one or two SSRIs and they made me feel so sick that I was in bed so had to abandon them which is a shame because I know that they help many people enormously
Hi. I have a prescription for Diazapam to be used as needed. It is a muscle relaxant and also is used to reduce anxiety. I was diagnosed with IBS long ago, but after 10 years I now know that I have celiac disease and microscopic colitis, to name a few. In some book I have read along the way, it said that Diazapam slowed the movement of food through the gut and also slowed the acid flowing into the stomach. So since I felt I was having stomach aches at night because of acid on an empty stomach, and I often had diarrhea several times during the night, I decided to try it. And indeed it did seem to stop both things. The added benefit is that it helps you get to sleep and relaxes you in general. I have a prescription for 5mg tablets. I may take 1/2 or 1/4 at night, and often none at all. I don't like taking pills, so depending on how the day went and what is going to happen tomorrow,, sometimes I am successful not taking it. I have a very difficult time taking most medications, but this one does not to produce any real side effects for me except sleepiness, at least that I am aware of. Good luck
Thank you for your very informative reply.
Years ago I was given Valium and it was wonderful, but changed doctors and they frown on it because of addiction and abuse so I guess I suffer in silence. But lucky you, definitely give it a go 
I haven't been given any, it was a friend kept suggesting I ask for some. But I wasn't sure I would be given any and I didn't really want to. I just wanted to shut her up!
Well I was on the stronger benzo for more than 30 years for my severe anxiety and panic attacks, at the time my psychologist wanted me to keep taking the ativan as it, as he said was very good for my IBS spasms. This 1970s on words. By 2010 I had to do a move, and the area I was in, I got turned down twice for my regular prescription the govt interfered with benzos. I had huge rows and letters to practice managers, it's very addictive and trying to come off them is harder than a cocaine user. I was put on the lesser Diazapam, which is at least half the strength of Lorozpam (ativan) this made my IBS chronic, instead of once every three months,. To be effective your Diazapam should be at least 10mg twice a day. I'm only allowed 5mg in morning and 2mg at night. Surgery's are under govt pressure to remove people of them. But benzo babies which I was in the seventies can not come off them. I was told if I got them stopped I would end up in phsciactric unit, maybe for the rest of my time. Beware👍👍
Blimey! I always try to avoid taking any medication unless I have to. My mum always used to say don't take anything unless you have to. Even if I was going to take a tablet for a headache she would say, "wait and see if it goes off first". I did take her advice and often found it did go off without anything. I tried the same tactic with my son, but it didn't work with him, but he has ADHD!
Hi I would say try GABA - it’s natural . Diazepam is highly addictive and you build tolerance. Stay away from it . Gaba works on the same receptors - it helps with stomach spasms too . Check out Trudy Scott - she talks about gaba .
I’ve been suffering from symptoms just like you trapped gas hard to push out bowel movements etc i’ve tried everything from changing my diet probiotics laxatives you name it and nothing truly worked until I recently found out that I had a rather large muscle knot under my left rib cage lower back area and I started radial wave therapy through my chiropractor and I’ve had four treatments out of 6 and it’s changed my life I finally don’t have this chronic pain on my left side lower back I totally feel like a new man so if I were you I’d try this new therapy because it also can get rid of kidney stones and gallstones without any kind of surgery I feel like it’s doing all sorts of positive things like even helping my diverticulosis get better
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