Diazepam 5mg for flying - first time taking these

[Monkey_Mo]

Hi all,

I have been prescribed diazepam 5mg for the first time, in advance of having to endure a 6 hour flight tommorrow for my holiday.

I have never taken these before but my anxiety has been at an all-time high recently hence being prescribed these.

I just have a few questions which I hope people may be able to answer and help me feel reassured in taking them correctly.

Firstly, I read on the data sheet about withdrawal syndrome; now I am literally only taking these for my flight there and back so will maybe take 1 tablet the night before and 1 tablet on the day, before getting on the plane and that's it. Do I need to implement some kind of procedure in 'weaning off' as with other drugs such as SSRI's?

Also, I was a little worried about side effects. I have experienced unpleasant effects when adjusting to SSRI's before and the Diazepam seems to list similar effects. I don't want to have to go through it again just for the sake of being calm during flying. Can anyone shed some light on their experiences when taking these for the first time?

Should I maybe just take 1/2 tablet? 5mg seems like quite a high dose but can I 'double up' if I do take 1/2 (as in 2.5mg) and it doesn't work?

I am leaving tommorrow morning so if anyone could just give me any advice ASAP I would be most grateful.

Thanks all

[southey]

You do not have to worry about withdrawal from one or two doses, it's when you take them daily for several weeks that issues can potentially arise.

Your right in thinking that halving your 5mg tabs is a good idea. 5mg is still a low dose but if you get the right effect off of half then all is good. As you say you can always have the other half in say an hour after the first if it doesn't work.

Just avoid drinking Alcohol or any other sedative meds when on the Diazepam. They can sometimes interact with each other causing increased sedation.

Once you take your first dose you should feel a calming effect wash over you in about 20 minutes if they work properly for you, you may even fall asleep if your lucky and wake up on landing!

Steve.

[Monkey_Mo]

Hi Steve,

Thank you for your advice, very helpful. Good to know about the withdrawal issue, I've had to do that with Citalopram before and it isn't fun!

I stay away from alcohol anyway due to currently taking Sertraline so no worries there.

I feel more positive and informed about taking them now, so thank you!