Originally Posted by
Red Octane
I was prescribed 4mg of diazepam for a presentation that I was worried about. Was told to take 2mg a day before to make sure it didn't "zonk me out", then another 4mg about an hour before I made my presentation.
Honestly, I didn't feel heavily sedated or fuzzy, perhaps because I was on quite a low dose of the stuff. However, I did feel as if all my worry and anxiety had quite literally disappeared. I'm usually very anxious when I walk down the street, always trying to avoid eye contact and being concerned about how others perceive me, yet I remember, about 10 minutes after I started walking to class, that I didn't feel any anxiety whatsoever. Just before I made my presentation, I did feel slightly worried and was trying to inconspicuously reach into my bag and take another one! However, as soon as I started presented all the problems that normally afflict my presentations - rapid heartbeat, sweaty hands, shaky voice, all didn't materialize. When I normally do a presentation, I start to panic after a couple of minutes, yet diazepam made me carry on for over 20 minutes! The best part about it though was that afterward I didn't feel any of the worry I normally do about what I did wrong - I felt like it had been a success, the first time I have not spent hours after a social event musing over my mistakes.
About 6 hours after taking diazepam I became conscious that its effects were wearing off. Around this time I start feeling very tired and drowsy, although after another couple of hours this feeling wears off too. The only other side effect I noted was constipation, although there's no guarantee that it was caused by the drug.
This is quite a detailed response, and I hope it gives you some insight into the way diazepam works. I plan on taking it every time I have to do a presentation (which isn't that often), and just taking beta-blockers for the rest of the time. I hope it has the same effect on you!