Has anyone taken diazepam for severe anxiety?
Diazepam : Has anyone taken diazepam for severe... - Thyroid UK
Diazepam
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Geegee777
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RedAppleAdministrator
Geegee777, Diazepam is frequently prescribed for anxiety. Can you explain a little more about why you're asking?
I'm asking because I took it a few years ago when my mam passed away and although it was short term prescribed it helped me then.
If I take it for thyroid related anxiety will it have the same effect as trauma related anxiety?
have u tried propranolol, that works for me when my anxiety is unbearable. its a beta blocker used off label to stop your racing heart, so u calm down quicker.
No I haven't, but I will enquire. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
I personally didn't take propranolol because it slows your heart down even though I was prescribed it for my hyperthyroid. All I will say is I have been through very traumatic times in my life and have watched a couple of people I love die painful deaths from cancer. I was given some sleeping tablets because I could not sleep but I had a young baby so I decided against it. What I found that helped me is talking to people who had been through a similar experience and I did manage to get through it without taking any medication. However I do realise not everyone can manage without taking something to help them. At the moment I am feeling stressed because of the situation we are all in but I am coping by not watching every news item about the coronavirus and watching films on netflix, which does help me escape from what is going on at the moment. You mentioned Diazepam and I would not take that if I was you because when I worked for the NHS there were special clinics to help people who had become addicted to the drug. I would try an alternative if you can and perhaps discuss it with your Doctor.
Diazepam (Valium) is very addictive and usually people take it short term
Thank you for your reply.
I'm thinking of taking it when my anxiety is unbearable, it seems to fluctuate from being manageable to quite debilitating.
I think this bout of anxiety has been caused by 6 months of stress from helping my family through a crisis since October last year, now things have turned out much better now, it seems my anxiety has taken over and is affecting my work.
Sorry for the long reply, but I find it cathartic to write about this🌸🌸🌸🌸
yes diazepam and nitrazepam any benzodiazepines are i was on them since 2002 till 10th of jan this year i just stopped it was the worse expercience of my life dont touch them
I did take diazepam a couple of times - once was following a bereavement and the second more recent time was due to dealing with the nightmare that is the DWP. Whilst it did help, I found I wanted it more and more, so I was looking for a way off it. I was then given Citalopram. I then started taking cannabis oil for bowel disease and came off the Citalopram and never went back on either.
As others have said, it's very addictive, and I felt too 'out of it'.
Nowadays I use the cannabis oil to get a good night's sleep - but if I needed to take it during the day for anxiety and stress, I would just take a tiny bit to take the edge off. I prefer it as it's non-addictive (despite what gov propaganda may tell you).
That said, I think GPs now only give you a very small amount of drugs like diazepam at a time.
I agree, I take CBD for sleep and anxiety, but ive been so stressed through the last few months, anxiety has gone through the roof.
I thought of a short term use of diazepam as a way of support.
I really do not want to take more tablets and hopefully I will be prescribed some t3 when I visit my endocrinologist.
Here's hoping 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
I don't use CBD but the real thing - hence why I can only take the tiniest amount during the day if I want to drive and stay awake. It's extremely strong.
If you can't get T3 off the endo, perhaps you could buy some NDT and combine it with T4 (as I do) to get your needed T3?
I know little about T3 medication. I know people on here buy it, but I'm not sure if you need a prescription, too. Others on here will know that, as many get their T3 that way.
Hi again Geegee77, when I was anxious and generally crazy with too much thyroid hormone (thyrotoxicosis) I was given both valium and Propranolol. Both helped, the valium just knocked me out and the Propranolol steadied my racing heart, shakes and physical over arousal. Neither of them do much for worry or anxious thoughts apart from valium sedating you for a few hours. For more general anxiety that's persisting and it's best to talk to your GP who can check your thyroid hormone levels and talk about the pros and cons of something like a course or sertraline ( I hated that it made me feel dead) or they can refer you to the local talking therapies service that usually can offer some self help or something like cognitive behavioural therapy or a structured mindfulness course on the NHS to help msnage anxiety. If you have panic attacks I really recommend a book called 'living with it' which is really easy to read and actually helps. You might also find overcoming anxiety by Helen Kennerley helpful, it's a few quid from Amazon.
I have come to treat my thyroid problems as a long term condition that involves some mood/mental health problems for me that I have to take seriously and work on managing.
Anxiety is horrible so I hope you find some solutions that help.
All the best Michael
Geegee777 in reply to
Thankyou for your reply.
I've resigned from my job of 14yrs and it has helped... A lot.
But I still have an underlying nervousness, which I can manage now.
I think the toxic atmosphere at work plus stress factors at home culminated in my resignation.
On the positive side, I'm so glad I have left my job.
Ironically, I am now decorating cakes..... And am gluten I tolerant, so I won't be eating any😂😂😂😂😂
It is better to actually cure your anxiety rather than put an addictive sticking plaster on it.
I eliminated my own anxiety and most of my depression. I'm not saying your reasons for being anxious and/or depressed are the same as mine but they would be worth looking into, just to eliminate them as reasons affecting you.
1) Remove gluten from your diet and be absolutely 100% ruthless about it. It isn't something you can cheat with. I found that removing gluten reduced my anxiety and my depression and I realised there had been an improvement in about 5 days. If you've had no benefit to your health within three months you can go back to eating gluten again. It isn't a life sentence.
2) I optimised my iron and ferritin levels as best as I could. I've been low in iron virtually my entire life. I haven't managed to optimise my levels totally - my serum iron is always quite low in range when my ferritin is optimal. I also pay attention to my transferrin saturation percentage. But the difference in my anxiety and mood has been amazing. If you haven't optimised your iron and ferritin you should do it for lots of reasons - it helps your thyroid hormones to work better, if nothing else. Iron/ferritin isn't simple to deal with, so you would need to learn about it. But it is worth it. If your levels are low then after optimising as best you can you might have to take a lower maintenance dose to prevent it dropping again.
3) I pay attention to my B12 and folate levels. If I allow my levels to drop my mood drops and my anxiety levels rise.
4) Because weight gain is a big problem in people who have thyroid issues, many sufferers start reducing what they eat, so living in a state of semi-starvation becomes normal. This will cause all sorts of problems with mood and anxiety. There are three kinds of macronutrients - protein, fat and carbs. Protein and fat are essential for life, carbs are optional. There have been many reports of people with thyroid problems doing well on a high fat, low carb diet and reporting huge improvements in mood.
Thankyou for your reply.
I do monitor my food and yes it is like semi starvation. So long as I eat clean nutrient rich foods I'm pretty much OK.
I'm being referred to see an endocrinologist, which I demanded from my GP after 3yrs of research of being hypo/Hashimoto.
Its a journey and I am getting there, life sometimes gets in the way of progress.
Here's hoping my endo knows what he/she is talking about. 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
If you are living in a state of perpetual semi-starvation then I am not surprised that you are anxious.
I say semi starvation in comparison to how I used to be prior to hypo diagnosis as my appetite was quite considerable, I did intense cardio exercises.... Alas, no more which was a tough habit to break.
I've just had a realisation whilst writing this.... I used to exercise to the point of exhaustion to calm my inner turmoil... OMG.
So it's been a double whammy so to speak. Being already anxious due to traumatic events in childhood and anxiety due to being hypo... What a bugger.
Hello Geegee777. Reading this 5 months after your original post I hope things have improved for you, it's great to hear you ditched what sounds like an old toxic job, this is something I need to do too.
With regards to the Diazepam I'm hoping you have no need to take it anymore as long term it can really mess with your natural calming chemical in the brain (GABA). Speaking from experience it's best to avoid at all costs.
When I was really struggling with anxiety I tried so many different supplements to help get it under control, we're talking about 20 different supplements, the only one I found to be helpful was Magnesium L-Threonate, it's on the expensive side but totally worked really well for me, I highly recommend that if you are still struggling, but I really hope you aren't.
Thank you for replying, I took diazepam on 2 occasions, but really only requested this as a backup... I'm glad to say that leaving my old job was very beneficial for my anxiety. Please don't leave it too long before you escape your toxic job.
I should have gone 10yrs ago🙄.
My anxiety comes and goes, but nothing as bad as it was. Thanks, I think I will try magnesium L Threonite.💐💐💐💐
That's great to hear your anxiety isn't as bad as it was. Keep up the good work 🙂
I only took it on a couple of occasions, leaving a toxic job was the best thing, it still comes and goes, but I can manage that. Stress really is a killer.
Thanks for your reply and take care during these tricky times 🌸🌸🌸🌸
