Diazepam, short term for poor sleep

[mezzaninedoor]

I have been given 2mg diazepam for sleep, just as a short term thing because I have had a lot of disrupted sleep recently

I'm just not sure how long before sleep to take the dose

I'm aware that it's a low dose at 2mg but I'm hoping that it will be a short term fix

[FlightlessFlamingo]

This is what I have it for too, same dose. I take one and sit up reading etc. for about an hour, that seems to be when it peaks and then I'll have no trouble falling asleep quickly. Could probably sleep after 40 mins or so though, I just like to wait to make sure.

[swgrl09]

I have the same dose for sleep. I find it takes about an hour for me to feel it, although it doesn't knock me out or anything. Just calms my mind enough. I probably take it once a week at most.

[MyNameIsTerry]

When I took a couple for the Duloxetine start up (2mg) I found it took about 20 mins to feel calmed down. I could feel it moving over me from my head down my body.

I took mine early in the morning but I could have slept at that point as they calmed me down.

[Shazamataz]

Diazepam isn't usually one for inducing sleep as far as I know but it should make you feel calm if you are anxious. For sleep they usually use temazepam or zopiclone? Happy for others to correct me but this is my experience.

[hanshan]

The benzodiazepines and the "z" drugs all work in much the same way to calm you and make you sleep.

Ones like temazepam are cleared much more quickly from the body, so you can take a more powerful dose and it should be gone by morning. Diazepam stays longer in the body, but being calmer during the day may help promote sleep with less of a knockout effect. They're different forms of the same basic medication, so it's really a case of what works best for you.

[MyNameIsTerry]

The benzodiazepines and the "z" drugs all work in much the same way to calm you and make you sleep.

Ones like temazepam are cleared much more quickly from the body, so you can take a more powerful dose and it should be gone by morning. Diazepam stays longer in the body, but being calmer during the day may help promote sleep with less of a knockout effect. They're different forms of the same basic medication, so it's really a case of what works best for you.

Yes, but remember that Benzo's have a distribution half life involved where they work on you and this is separate to the elimination half life which only represents the time it takes for the body to reduce it. In the latter, the effects of the drug are long gone. In terms of effect, Diazepam is a short hit drug, a few hours and you're done with it.

The Z drugs tend to be more habit forming than the Benzo's too. Temazepam might be less so than Zopiclone though, since it may not occur at 2 weeks where as it can with Zopiclone.

[hanshan]

Hello Terry,

I think you are right about the distribution half-life shortening the effect time of diazepam - but only if a person took exactly one dose.

Diazepam has a long elimination half-life (to completely clear the body), but it is also taken up fairly quickly by tissues (muscle and fat), where it goes into storage, as it were (the distribution half-life). This means that for someone taking just one dose, the effect wears off much faster than the elimination half-life would suggest.

However, that diazepam in storage isn't gone. My understanding is that it is slowly released back into the body. The effect from one dose is unnoticeable, but if you take diazepam over an extended period of time, you are getting the delayed effects of many doses coming back into the bloodstream.

Also, when diazepam is metabolised, its metabolites are also active benzodiazepines, unlike temazepam. It continues to be active as it is being broken down.