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View Full Version : Please help, I am so scared to take valium



TriciaB
28-04-12, 06:23
Hi everyone

I am new here and I desperately need some positive reviews on taking valium, I had it prescribed to me 6 months ago, but am so scared of having a bad reaction to it. 25 years ago when I first started having panic attacks and anxiety a Dr prescribed me frisium, I had a terrible adverse reaction to it, I am ashamed to say I had murderous thoughts, good job I had enough savvy about me to know this was wrong and fought against the feelings, consequently that experience led me to having a phobia about taking any tablet, even panadol. It took me 5 years before I attempted to take a quarter of a panadol. I changed my Dr and he wanted me to take prozac , yet again it took me a few years to pluck up courage to take it and when I did I started on the liquid literally taking one drop every day for a few days then increased it by another drop until I was up to the required 5mg. I was then ok to switch to the capsules, to this day I am still taking prozac but for at least a year I have been feeling the prozac isnt working anymore. Anyway 6 months ago our first grandchild was born and its been like I am the one who suffered post natal depression, stupid I know, but my original panic and anxiety started 10 weeks after the birth of my last child. So I think thats where the connection comes in.

This is why my current Dr prescribed 2mg tablets of valium, for my severe anxiety, yet no matter how bad my anxiety is, and believe me its sky high at the moment, its lasting near enough all day, my sleep is crap because my heart is thudding so hard, my stomach is in knots all the time....I still cant bring myself to take the valium, I have got as far as cutting the 2mg into quarters thinking just take a little bit, just the sheer action of taking a morsal of it to try and get over my fear, but the fear of a bad reaction outweighs everything.

This phobia even extends to taking vitamins, it takes me months and months to pluck up courage to take even a simple vitamin B.

I am desperate because I cannot bear this constant anxiety all the time, I am housebound at the moment because of my anxiety.

Can someone help me please

nicola1980
28-04-12, 07:05
Hi i use diazepam and its an absolute lifesaver, believe me it will help calm your anxiety down, 2mg is only a small dose and i promise it will help you x x

TriciaB
28-04-12, 07:16
Hi Nicola

Many thanks for your reply

What can I expect to feel like if I take it? Bearing in mind I will probably only take a crumb of it at first :blush:

I forgot to say in my first post that normally I am quite a happy, bubbly person but have become depressed this past week because of the constant 6 months of high anxiety and have lost weight because when I am anxious I have to force food into me plus I go poops :blush: a lot when I am anxious.

kittikat
28-04-12, 14:14
Hi TriciaB,

Sorry to hear you are having a bad time at the moment. Please don't worry about the diazepam, it's a benzo, not one of the anti-depressant type meds which can have some awful side effects. I am currently on 12mg diaz daily (4mg taken 3 times a day) and I have been on this dose since last November when I had a major berakdown. It has been a lifesaver for me and although I also have a fear of taking any meds (due to some terrible side effects I experienced on others) diazepam has it's place in anxiety management and has given me very little in the way of side effects. 4 months ago I was a quivering wreck and could not leave my house at all. I basically stopped functioning. 2mg is such a low dose, you probably will not even notice anything....you will just be slightly more relaxed and hopefully less anxious!!

I would say please try not to worry and give it a go....you may find it to be the lifesaver I did. Even after 6 months on 12mg day, I am now able to 'function' day to day, just perhaps not quite 100% alert and sometimes find that I am a little more tired than usual. I can now get out a little and I have returned to work (major achievement!!) Although I still experience anxiety, panics and agoraphobia, I don't know where I would be now without the diazepam :)

Good luck, Kitti x

LAURA48
28-04-12, 15:36
Hi everyone

I am new here and I desperately need some positive reviews on taking valium, I had it prescribed to me 6 months ago, but am so scared of having a bad reaction to it. 25 years ago when I first started having panic attacks and anxiety a Dr prescribed me frisium, I had a terrible adverse reaction to it, I am ashamed to say I had murderous thoughts, good job I had enough savvy about me to know this was wrong and fought against the feelings, consequently that experience led me to having a phobia about taking any tablet, even panadol. It took me 5 years before I attempted to take a quarter of a panadol. I changed my Dr and he wanted me to take prozac , yet again it took me a few years to pluck up courage to take it and when I did I started on the liquid literally taking one drop every day for a few days then increased it by another drop until I was up to the required 5mg. I was then ok to switch to the capsules, to this day I am still taking prozac but for at least a year I have been feeling the prozac isnt working anymore. Anyway 6 months ago our first grandchild was born and its been like I am the one who suffered post natal depression, stupid I know, but my original panic and anxiety started 10 weeks after the birth of my last child. So I think thats where the connection comes in.

This is why my current Dr prescribed 2mg tablets of valium, for my severe anxiety, yet no matter how bad my anxiety is, and believe me its sky high at the moment, its lasting near enough all day, my sleep is crap because my heart is thudding so hard, my stomach is in knots all the time....I still cant bring myself to take the valium, I have got as far as cutting the 2mg into quarters thinking just take a little bit, just the sheer action of taking a morsal of it to try and get over my fear, but the fear of a bad reaction outweighs everything.

This phobia even extends to taking vitamins, it takes me months and months to pluck up courage to take even a simple vitamin B.

I am desperate because I cannot bear this constant anxiety all the time, I am housebound at the moment because of my anxiety.

Can someone help me please

Hi

So sorry you are going through a hard time but your fear is perfectly normal - I was on Prozac for 15 good years but second time on it made me suicidal - so if I was told to take it again probably run a mile!

Frisium - I don't think they prescribe that here in the UK - tbh - have never heard of it but it is in the benzo family like diazepam - you must give it a go if your anxiety is so bad - you know what sort of side effects to look out for?

Try breaking into a quarter and build up - anxiety is horrible - did you tell your doctor what had happened before?

Give it a go and good luck - it is such a common benzo.

Laura

---------- Post added at 15:36 ---------- Previous post was at 15:33 ----------

Kitti - totally agree with you have been on Lorazepam for 27 years normally only been taking 0.5mg and it has been a lifesaver - had had to increase of late - after a terrible time - and I cannot fault but will go back to 0.5mg as was given them when there was not much talk of addiction.

They are given such bad press but for severe anxiety they are brilliant.

TriciaB
28-04-12, 16:01
Hiya kittikat, many thanks for your positive reply I will take on board all you have said and attempt to try and take a quarter of my dose very soon, I feel so bloody stupid having this phobia and fear about taking valium, I feel even more stupid about being scared of taking even a simple vitamin b.

Hi Laura, it wasnt till a few days ago that I googled frisium and discovered its a drug used in seizures as well as anxiety so why on earth I was prescribed that all those years ago is beyond me. Yes my current Dr knows what happened before, but he doesnt come across as sympathetic or understanding to the deep fear I have about medication now.

Bea66
28-04-12, 19:10
Hey there, please, please give it a go! I too was terrified of taking pills after a dreadfull reaction to an ssri antidepressant that had me hospitalised, but eventually the anxiety got so bad I couldn't function. I was given 2mg diazapam to take when needed, and was sure it would kill me, but my goodness, it took 8mg to even take the edge off, so please don't worry about such a tiny dose, its given me my life back! Good luck, be kind to yourself and give it a go xxx

Sal W
28-04-12, 21:07
Tricia, please don't worry, I take 5 mg diazepam a day and it has helped so much. 2 mg is such a small dose and I am sure it will help you. Let us know how you get on, Sal x

TriciaB
29-04-12, 04:45
:)Many thanks Sal and Bea for your positive comments about taking valium. I woke at 4am this morning, as soon as I wake the anxiety starts in my stomach and then my heart starts thudding, its like my stomach has this enormous pulse that in turn starts my heart thudding, then my mind starts working a million miles an hour. I was so close to thinking to hell with it I am going to take a tiny piece of my 2mg valium but yet again I chickened out and reached for my phone and headphones and listened to a inner peace hypnosis guide.

God only knows when I will eventually pluck up courage to take this valium.

Anxious_gal
29-04-12, 05:29
Wow I could have wrote the post myself , I've got the same problem from a bad reaction to one medication .
Can you tell me if diazapam take away the mental anxiety too ?
The Seditives I'm on relax me , make me sleep bit the fear /anxiety is still in my head .
I only rarely it though , my doctor offered me diazapam but I was too paranoid to try it/switch meds.
Is it the same as Valium or slighly different ?
The Seditives I take are called lexotan .
They have no side effects other than my anxiety goes up when they start to wear off .
They last 12 hours so I try to sleep before they wear off :)

All I can say is try a 4th and go up in the dosage .

TriciaB
29-04-12, 08:42
Hi Mishel

Thanks for your reply, can I ask how you plucked up the courage to take lexotan after having had an adverse reaction to a previous medication.

Diazapam and valium are the same drug, its just called by either name from what I understand, or it could be that valium is the generic name of diazapam:shrug: lol dunno, just having a guess.

I would hope that when I eventually take the valium it will take away my mental anxiety, eeek I was hoping that was the whole point of the drug.

cmc46
01-05-12, 12:19
Hi Tricia,

I am so glad that there is someone out there like me as far as taking medication is concerned, I started to suffer with anxiety last November after suffering a bad bout of food poisoning, the GP put me on beta blockers at Christmas but last week I seemed to be getting even more anxious so he changed the tablets to Paroxatine, I took one and within an hour was rushing to the loo, now it has put me off taking anything, he said the next thing would be Valium, there have been so many good remarks on here concerning it, if you do manage to get round to taking it please let me know how you get on as I think it is going to be the last thing for me, hope all goes well for you.

TriciaB
01-05-12, 12:39
Hiya cm,

Many thanks for your post:) I just find it crazy that for nearly 2 weeks I have had severe anxiety virtually 24/7 yet I still havent plucked up courage to take this damn small amount of valium. Everyone who has answered me here so positively about valium has sort of eased my mind a little bit about the drug. But as yet I havent taken it, I do have a tiny piece of valium waiting on my bedside cabinet ready for when I do pluck up the courage.

I did speak to my Dr on the phone yesterday and yet again I told him of my fears about taking the valium because of what happened to me with the frisium, he said "I doubt very much that valium would give that reaction" ...but you can guess what I am going to say....lol....I am now focussing on the..."I doubt" ..part of his words.

:)Believe me cm you will hear me shout from Australia to England when I do take it....just joking, of course I will tell you on here.

JB63
02-05-12, 10:11
Hi Tricia B

I know exactly where you are coming from with your fear of medication. I too have a deep rooted fear of all meds due to being sedated for most of my childhood. That's another story but I just wanted to share my experience with you in the hope that I might be able to help a little with what you are going through. Back in 2010 I had a mental breakdown and suffered psychotic depression. I had no choice but to take medication or goodness only knows where I would be today. I was prescribed 3 different meds and one of those was Diazepam. It was just 2mg 4 times a day and I thought I was going to be knocked out and feel out of it but it was a life saver. I didn't have any bad effects at all , it was so subtle but my anxiety was so greatly reduced. I was taking it for 11 months and still do on occasion. If I get very anxoius I just take one and get on with my day in a normal way but with reduced anxiety. Honestly I have done exactly the same as you over the years with meds, tried just a crumb and thought it was making me feel strange or sedated. We do all react differently to meds and I know my saying that will probably make you feel anxious in its self. I only pick up on the negative bits when some one is trying to reassure me that "it won't hurt/harm me" I really think once you have found the courage to take the first one you will be watching the clock until you can have another one. That for me was the only downside of Diazepam, it made me feel so much better that I liked them a bit too much. My problem was coming off them but like I said, I was taking them every day for 11 months. My Doctor told me that 2mg is a tiny dose but it was enough for me, some people take it in higher doses and still function on a normal basis. I don't know if any of this is a help to you but it is good to read other peoples experiences and then you can decide for yourself.
I wish you well.:)

TriciaB
03-05-12, 02:39
Hi JB,

Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me of your experience with valium, please believe me you and everyone else who have answered me have made me feel less anxious about any negative effects of the drug. You are so right when you say people like you and me (and I am sure many others) will pick up on the tiniest negative comment about a medication, a medication which I am sure all the positives would outweigh the negative.

I am on 20 mg prozac, but for the last 18 months I have felt its not been working as it was, I saw my Dr yesterday and rather than changing meds he thinks (and I agree) that we should try upping my prozac, even though I have been on them all these years I am still worried about doubling my dose, (in case of side effects) so he has prescribed me the dispersible prozac tablets and I will start out by taking 2.5 mg for a week, then up it to 5 mg etc etc .

Yet again I talked to him about the valium and he said in all his years of prescribing valium he has never heard of an adverse reaction like having murderous thoughts as I experienced within 10 mins of taking frisium 25 years ago. So that gives me some reassurance (kind of...lol) ...

southey
16-05-12, 13:48
I take Diazepam rarely as It's so hard to get from Dr's and save it for when anxiety goes off the charts.

For me it is a beautiful drug, almost a life-saver. I have taken it for several years very sporadically never taken it more than a couple of days in a row and have not become dependant but that would not worry me at all as the immediate benefit outweighs the future potential issues.

I can see why people may want to keep on taking it at first as for me it just works so very well. 10 minutes in I feel it working and I stop trembling then the anxiety stops, not just subsides but stops and my head clears and the chatter abates and I feel like a weight has been lifted.

Yes I suppose a person could become addicted to the calm it provides then become dependant? I believe you also become tolerant and may have to up the dose but with me it hasn't happened and 2.5mg usually works fine still.

I would not be scared to take valium if your under a DR's care and have extreme anxiety. View them as a short term fix or crutch for when you can't cope.

Atb,

Steve.

grotbags
16-05-12, 19:14
I have never had any noticable side effects from Valium. For me, it just makes me feel relaxed again (without being woozy) and back to "normal." I think it's something that should be saved for as and when needed though, if possible. It's something you want to avoid having to take regularly. I find that I can be more brave because I have them with me to take if I get panicky, and that can be quite liberating.

josh1987
10-07-12, 13:52
it seem to b alot of people are scared of diazepam. im with you on this. how did you go did you take it?

Glitter19744
10-10-12, 10:33
I am the same,scared to take tablets. I have had anxiety for the last 4 months badly that I'm now starting to panic when I go out which hasnt been very often in the past 4 months. I have diazepam here and so desperately want to take them but can't pluck up the courage to do so. I fear taking it so much that I want to know that when I take it will it not make me fear having took it?

josh1987
27-10-12, 14:03
I am the same,scared to take tablets. I have had anxiety for the last 4 months badly that I'm now starting to panic when I go out which hasnt been very often in the past 4 months. I have diazepam here and so desperately want to take them but can't pluck up the courage to do so. I fear taking it so much that I want to know that when I take it will it not make me fear having took it?



i would allso like to no this.

mimijames
28-10-12, 09:22
Im so glad I came to read this post, Ive been managing my anxiety for a while at home, outside is different story, and just recently became ill with IBS, my stomach is in knotts and my anxiety is constant all day long. I had the Dr out as Im agoraphobic and hes given me Diazepam 2mg to take , he only gave me 6 tablets though until Dr opens on Monday but I have a packet in the cupboard from before that I was afraid to take .. unfortunately they are 8 months out of date now so I was wondering if anyone knows if they would be ok, I read that they may lose a little potency but they are still safe to use, so far its only the Diazepam thats allowing me a little calm... sleep though is still only a couple hours even with the valium ..

ricardo
28-10-12, 09:47
2mg a day is a very low dose but if the doctor has actually seen you,you should be guided by what he/she said.
The last effect is not more than 5 hours. I take a much stronger dose, usualy for emergencies and i find the trick is take the valium half an hour before you may feel anxious.Easier said than done especially if you are housebound .
As far as taking the medication that is 8 months out of date, I would try and phone a local chemist or doctor if possible.I can't answer that question,but maybe others on here can.

mimijames
28-10-12, 09:59
Thank you ricardo,

yes its a very low dose, it doesnt quite take the edge off, it was an emergency call out and its all the Dr had with him.. I just took one now, its a lil relief but not much, stomach still in knotts :(

little scientist
28-10-12, 10:49
I personally wouldn't use the out of date ones, dates are on there for a reason and are indicative of safety with these kinds of things.

steveo
14-01-13, 20:43
Just taken my first one. Doc prescribed me 5mg for emergencies although I've been very scared to take one. Just had a panic attack in my bedroom really bad so got out the packet. Was very scared! I decided to cut one in half incase I had a bad experience on it. I took it and panicked more for a bit but then the 30 minute mark kicked in and they worked. Bit of a life saver. I don't want to take more than one a week though!

littlevoice70
29-10-16, 18:17
Steer clear of valium!!! they are physically addictive!!! TELL not ask your Doctor you want a referal to your community mental health team for a mental health assessment. When you get to that point you will be under their care and be prescribed medication that a standard doctor cannot. I was prescribed valium following deaths in my family, after a year of increasing the dose because the body needs more and more they told me i was an addict and put me in rehab to come off them! when i came out my psychatrist put me on anti anxietys non -addictive. When i questioned why i was not prescribed at the start i was told it came down to cost!!!! Valium is cheaper to dish out than psychiactric prescribed non -addictive treatment!!! Unbelievable isn't it but very good to know. Keep it in mind, dont stand for what the doctors say, iv'e been there and done it!! Good luck X Try herbal remedies until you get your referal. Holland and Barrett Valerian root or Kalms or Bach Rescue remedy. They all work but DO NOT mix with valium, just throw them away!!!!

skymaid
29-10-16, 19:10
the internet is full of horror stories about the evils of benzos.

if you can have the self discipline to take them only in "emergencies" then you'll just fine.

they have perfectly valid place in medicine or they wouldnt be prescribed. you've be prescribed them for emergencies. obviously you cant take them everyday or for very long as the doctor has advised you.

please don't listen to unqualified people on the internet telling you to throw your medicine away over your doctor (no offense intended littlevoice)

---------- Post added at 19:10 ---------- Previous post was at 19:07 ----------

ermm I just noticed the date steve took his diazepam... why are you replying to such an old post?

I hope steve is better by now lol

MyNameIsTerry
31-10-16, 09:16
Steer clear of valium!!! they are physically addictive!!! TELL not ask your Doctor you want a referal to your community mental health team for a mental health assessment. When you get to that point you will be under their care and be prescribed medication that a standard doctor cannot. I was prescribed valium following deaths in my family, after a year of increasing the dose because the body needs more and more they told me i was an addict and put me in rehab to come off them! when i came out my psychatrist put me on anti anxietys non -addictive. When i questioned why i was not prescribed at the start i was told it came down to cost!!!! Valium is cheaper to dish out than psychiactric prescribed non -addictive treatment!!! Unbelievable isn't it but very good to know. Keep it in mind, dont stand for what the doctors say, iv'e been there and done it!! Good luck X Try herbal remedies until you get your referal. Holland and Barrett Valerian root or Kalms or Bach Rescue remedy. They all work but DO NOT mix with valium, just throw them away!!!!

Sorry to hear you have been through a rough time being messed about by GP's and the deaths you experience. :hugs:

I think your psychiatrist is being economical with the truth though. Many generic forms of SSRI's like Cit & Sert are incredibly cheap. So cheap in fact that the NHS are making a profit out of the prescription charges!