What does diazepam feel like?

Hi! i've had a pretty rough couple of weeks which doesn't help but the main problem is that my family have a holiday booked to portugal this sunday coming (22nd may).
Since the holiday was booked sometime last year, i've never really thought about it as it's always been something too far in the future. However, its pretty soon now and doc is giving me diazepam.
I know for a fact i wouldn't be able to go without the diazepam - but maybe the diazepam will help? I don't know as i've never tried it before. I'm gonna try and take it on wednesday for a test to see how it makes me feel but i'm very scared about taking it.
How does it make you feel? Because smoking weed is a big no no for me as it freaks me out so much, and i've seen someone compare it to being stoned. I don't want the spaced out feeling as that also panics me.
I have seen a lot of people say its helped them which makes me feel a bit better, but i don't want to take it and feel 'spaced out' even if that is calming, because then i will worry and panic that it's in my system and i can't get it out etc etc.
I could go into more detail about the holiday/flight etc. but i'll stick to the main problem for now!
Sorry this was longer than i intended. Thanks very much for any help :)!

Hi, i was given diazepam 2 years ago, and i took it cos i was going away for weekend on my own, so took it before went on train, it worked straight away,
I didn't get side affects, mine was liquid and iit did make me feel different inside, i felt no nervousness at all,
This is a wonder drug for me, i m not allowed to take it every day, so i take it when i need it,
The second time i took it ( the second perscription,) it makes my eyes feel blurry but that a normal side affect, doesnt happen all time,
Now it kicks in after 30 mins, as mine in a bottle the less there is the less effective it gets, mainly cos it been opened for months.

I always take mine before a gig when i was fit enough to work, ( i miss going to gigs) i had no anxiety, met bands without shaking of nervouseness, didnt really have a care in the world,

Hope you get on with it ok :-)

Hi, I had it for a week last year when my anxiety was at its worst. I had 5mg of Diaz and it helped to calm me down, take the edge off the fear and stop my body reacting i.e. less shaky and a calmer heart rate. This was a temporary measure and then I took beta blockers for a couple of months. I would not say it feels like being stoned, just calmer. I had no side effects.

Thanks clareblue! i miss going to gigs too! :(
Thanks Hazel b, i think i am gonna try take it. i'll do a test with it and see how i feel first. fingers crossed! :)

Hi. Diazepam is a very gentle and effective drug. It has been an absolute Godsend for me. It takes 30 minutes to take effect so you need to take it about an hour before the event you're worried about, and the effects last for a couple of hours, maybe three. If you haven't used it before I would recommend trying it before you need it so you know what to expect when you do need it. You won't need very much, 1 or 2mg is enough to calm me down from a severe panic attack, and 5mg is enough to get me into a Dentist's chair and I have severe Dental phobia! I doubt you will feel spaced out if you only take that much, and even if you do you won't care or be anxious about it because the Diazepam will be working it's magic. :winks:

I have diazepam for really bad panic attacks and just one tablet works wonders....my Dr won't give me too many, just a few for emergencies, but it saves me phoning emergency numbers with anxiety induced chest pains! I have had no bad effects. Good luck

When I'm having a panic attack and I take a diazepam it just makes me feel "normal" again. It take about 10-15 mins to start working.

Haz.x

thanks everyone for the replies! really appreciated.
i'm trying to work up the courage to take one tonight to test it out. it's just reading the side effects on the leaflet that get to me. but to be honest it took me about a month to take the anti depressants i was very first given for anxiety and they helped a lot so i think i'll just have to go for it. hopefully i'll take it tonight :)

Patient Information Leaflets for medication are REALLY extensive these days. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, well it is if you have HA and can be scary for most people to read. I think drug manufacturers have to cover their backs these days to cover every possible eventuality at the risk of being sued.

I blame the Americans.:D Only joking!!

If you take it regularly it has its downsides, but for very occasional use it's perfect :)

i managed to take one! :)
i took it today before a meeting at work. (i normally drink before one on one meetings, as i find them harder that actual work). But i didn't notice much of a difference. I was still getting pretty panicky and that was all i could think about the whole time. I think i probably wasn't quite as bad as if i hadn't taken one, but there was still no major difference.

Which is making me think about the plane and holiday. If it didn't calm me down a significant amount for a meeting (at a place im familiar with/people i know/close to home etc.) then i don't see how it will help me for a plane journey and a foreign country. :(
Any suggestion, comments? x

By the way, the tablets doc gave me are 2mg.

How long before the meeting did you take it? They take 30 minutes to work. They are good for calming you down during an attack and good for taking before appointments but you may need a slightly higher dose. I don't think they will stop you panicking completely (you'd need a very high dose for that) but they should make things easier to cope with. I would say try doing it again with 2mg HALF AN HOUR before you need it to work. If you still have a major panic attack try increasing the dose to 3mg and then 4mg etc (I mean on different occasions not straight afterwards)! I wouldn't suggest that you take any more than 5mg at any one time unless your Dr says you can.

That's a very low dose. I'm on 3 x 5mg tablets daily at the moment. Obviously I;m going to gradually reduce them, although my psychiatrist is quite happy to keep me on that dose, but I'm not.

How long have you been taking that dosage Haz? I'm having trouble getting prescriptions for emergency use diazepam let alone 15mg per day! It makes me so cross because I was on 15mg a day when I was younger, I didn't get addicted and I totally overcame agoraphobia with them! My Dr seems to think if she gives me any I will get addicted, which I know is a risk but it's a small price to pay for being able to leave the house! The diazepam I have now was given to me for a dental visit.

2mg is NOT a very low dose if you're using it occasionally as you do build up a tolerance to it, although I realise taking a bit more wouldn't do any harm. 2mg is enough to calm me down from a SEVERE panic attack so I would think everyone is different.

Haz, may I ask why it bothers you to be on that dose? If it helps then does it matter? If you needed heart tablets you wouldn't mind taking medication that helped with that would you?

My docs given me a higher dose now, 5mg i think. Picking up the prescription later, so hopefully it will help me out more. :)
I did take the diazepam about 45mins before the meeting yesterday, maybe i was just expecting a more drastic effect though.

I can understand Haz, not wanting to get addicted. But i agree shoegal! If it manages to get you out the house without much fear then i would happily stay on them constantly. Sure, you can get addicted but whats the harm in that? I don't think they are harmful if you take them regularly for however many months are they?

Surely they are similar to anti depressants. Maybe the anit depressants are not as addictive, but you can take them everyday for however long you need. And if you were to stop you would still notice the difference. Why is diazepam so different?

i always have diazepam on hand when am going on holiday i usually don't take it but if i start to feel panicky or feel an attack coming on then i will take one andi calm down pretty quickly x x

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Originally Posted by lucyy_21

My docs given me a higher dose now, 5mg i think. Picking up the prescription later, so hopefully it will help me out more. :)
I did take the diazepam about 45mins before the meeting yesterday, maybe i was just expecting a more drastic effect though.

I can understand Haz, not wanting to get addicted. But i agree shoegal! If it manages to get you out the house without much fear then i would happily stay on them constantly. Sure, you can get addicted but whats the harm in that? I don't think they are harmful if you take them regularly for however many months are they?

Surely they are similar to anti depressants. Maybe the anit depressants are not as addictive, but you can take them everyday for however long you need. And if you were to stop you would still notice the difference. Why is diazepam so different?

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Diazepam is different because your body builds up a tolerance to it. After a while (and i'm talking a few months here), it stops working as well and you need to increase your dose to achieve the desired effect. A bit like herion. I'm also on sleeping tablets and the same applies here. I don't want to have to INCREASE my dose further because my body has built up a tolerance, it already has built up a tolerance to both, if I was to stop either abruptly I would suffer withdrawals which is why I'm gradually trying to wean myself off them and get my diazepam back to a "as required" dose. i.e. if I have a panic attack, I take one and it works!

I am under the care of a consultant psychiatrist and have had two hospital admissions in the last 12 months. I can't see many GP's prescribing me that dose without advice for a specialist.

Haz. x

I'm really upset about the attitude of my Dr (and other Dr's at my local surgery). I was prescribed 10x 2mg Diazepam tablets to help me cope with a visit to the Dentist (I have Dental phobia) and I used about 10mg over the weekend building up to to the appointment and to actually get me into the Dentist's chair. When my Dr was away, I had to speak to another Dr who had a go at me for using the Diazepam over the weekend prior to my appointment, although if I hadn't used it there is no way I would have made it to the appointment! Then I recently had what I call a break down where I was literally rocking in my chair 24/7 and was panicking constantly. I phoned my Dr for support and she said she would give me Diazepam to last 3 days and then after that I wasn't getting anymore. Well her telling me that TERRIFIED me as I felt I couldn't use the Diazepam I already had and in the end I had to manage without it. I am still panicking 24/7 and am finding it hard to cope but what can you do when your local Dr's refuse to prescribe the only drug that has actually ever worked for you? I have tried anti-d's and they have made me very unwell, except for one which has since been banned so I'm not allowed to take it. I am considering buying Diazepam over the internet as it's the only way I will get relief from my symptoms. It makes me so cross! :mad:

I understand better now about not wanting to stay on them long term.

I've been really lucky with my doctor. He has a lot of experience with anxiety and was happy to give me the diazepam over the phone to my mum! then we got stronger ones through another doctor at the surgery.
I know it goes without saying but i would be wary buyin them online. I dont think i would be able to take any brought online, as i would worry about what they truly are. they could be cut with anything.

I didn't make the holiday i originally got the diazepam for :(:(:( really really upset about it. And dont really know what to do with myself - in that fuzzy stage where i literally dont know what to do.

Hope you all are getting on ok!x

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Originally Posted by shoegal

I'm really upset about the attitude of my Dr (and other Dr's at my local surgery). I was prescribed 10x 2mg Diazepam tablets to help me cope with a visit to the Dentist (I have Dental phobia) and I used about 10mg over the weekend building up to to the appointment and to actually get me into the Dentist's chair. When my Dr was away, I had to speak to another Dr who had a go at me for using the Diazepam over the weekend prior to my appointment, although if I hadn't used it there is no way I would have made it to the appointment! Then I recently had what I call a break down where I was literally rocking in my chair 24/7 and was panicking constantly. I phoned my Dr for support and she said she would give me Diazepam to last 3 days and then after that I wasn't getting anymore. Well her telling me that TERRIFIED me as I felt I couldn't use the Diazepam I already had and in the end I had to manage without it. I am still panicking 24/7 and am finding it hard to cope but what can you do when your local Dr's refuse to prescribe the only drug that has actually ever worked for you? I have tried anti-d's and they have made me very unwell, except for one which has since been banned so I'm not allowed to take it. I am considering buying Diazepam over the internet as it's the only way I will get relief from my symptoms. It makes me so cross! :mad:

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I do sympathise with you Shoegal. Some GP surgeries are very reluctant to prescribe diazepam. I've changed my GP surgery recently and there is a notice up that says "PLEASE NOTE THIS SURGERY HAS A NON-DIAZEPAM POLICY PRACTICE". I live in an area where there is a high number of drug addiction. My last surgery was in a posh part of town but every so often the GP's would question my repeat prescription of diazepam (I do think they get checked up on from time to time) but even my last psychiatrist promptly wrote them letters stating it was an important part of my treatment.

Haz. x

Yeah they're reluctant as it can become physically addictive after a few months (I think) of long term use.

But if they just prescribe a few here and there for 'emergency' situations, i don't see why it's a problem as it is a real god send at time.

Also dosages, depends on your tolerance levels, how regularly you take it and your stress levels I guess. I don't notice 2mg, but calm down and stop panicking/stressing after 10mg. I don't take them daily either, once or twice every few weeks.

:) Hi! My name is Ray! I am having oralsurgery done tomorrow and I dont know what that drug feels like either. My doctor describes it as *relaxation* when you have anxiety... Like I get high blood pressure when I go to denstists so they are giving it to me before I go tomorrow. My mum said , though, that it makes you like your on drugs/drunk/tipsy :scared15: Yeah, it sounds bad. Wish me luck!

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