Anyone else have this problem?

[Jen1989]

Hi everyone :)

Not sure where to post this but looking for some advice. I was prescribed 2mg Valium for my anxiety but I am so terrified taking new medications. Anyone else have trouble with this? And if u do how do u force yourself to try it? I'm always scared incase I take some horrible reaction to them. Also does anyone take them and feel it helps?

Thanks xXx

[kristaok]

Valium is a strong medication... I've never taken it, personally I prefer xanax, I pop a half in and anxiety is gone in minutes.

I'm afraid of taking meds too, so I just take a xanax as needed.

[Magic]

Take the medication Jen. See how it goes. Anything is worth a try x

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yeah Jen, I know I've seen threads on here and on the Phobias board about it as well. For me, I was so concerned about side effects of anything I stopped taking vitamins, paracetamol, etc.

The only way through is exposure to it and seeing that it can't harm you. It takes time though. Also, when your anxiety is really high, it can be much harder and as you recover you will find yourself more open to trying new things or at least without less of a spike of anxiety about it.

Diazepam helped me initially but you very quickly become used to it and it stops working for you so use it sparringly I found but I never used it much so don't have much experience of it. I found it can be useful in giving your respite when starting on SSRI/SNRI's if the side effects started to peak for me.

I found when I took it, I felt like a wave of calm was sweeping down over my body from my head.

[kristaok]

Ever heard of Rescue Remedy Anxiety Drops? I tried some last night and it seemed to work. I need more time to further test it but even others say it works wonders.

[anthrokid]

Jen, if you are really uncomfortable taking the medication then don't feel like you have to try it. However, Valium can be really helpful, particularly for quickly reducing the effects of a panic attack. Many people use Valium for quick relief of severe anxiety and panic, and have no bad side effects if used as directed by a doctor. It is unlikely that you would have any severe reaction to using Valium.

Just keep in mind that both Valium and Xanax are benzodiazepines, so they are strong medications and can cause problems if they are used long-term. Prolonged use (e.g. using Valium 10 times a day, every day, for a year) can cause some negative side effects (including dependency), so it is best to only use Valium as directed by your doctor or when you are having a panic attack/suffering from very high anxiety.

Perhaps you could talk to your doctor about your anxiety and see if maybe you can try it first at the doctor's clinic? That way, if anything bad does happen (which is very very unlikely), you are somewhere safe :)