Diazipam and new drug driving law March 2015

[Michelle1]

Hi all

Can anybody shed any light please.... I'm presently on a low dose of diazipam (1mg). I have tapered down and been struggling a bit on this low dose.

I've been on diazipam around 5 years always at a low therapeutic dose (usually 2 mgs). Never craved an increase, but built up a tolerance over the years and it does nothing for me anymore.

However a decrease of 50% to 1mg hit me quite hard. I went to see my dr today to discuss and she told me of a new drug drive law which came in force last month.

This was the first time I'd heard about it.
8 prescription drugs were listed. 6 of these being benzodiazepines and diazipam being one of them.

My question is, is it still legal to drive which taking diazipam on prescription.
I've looked on the internet and see....Valium (diazepam), one of the six prescription benzodiazepines listed in the new regulations, is allowed at up to 550 micrograms per litre of blood. I’m sure you’ve heard of Valium. It owes its notoriety to its remarkable effectiveness. After any kind of bender, no matter how wired, coked-up or strung-out, you can (apparently) pop a Valium and look forward to a restful eight hours. Temazepam, another knockout ‘benzo’, is allowed at up to 1,000 micrograms per litre.

How much of a daily dose would this equate to? Any ideas?

[nicola1980]

Hi hun, you can drive on it if it has specifically been prescribed for you, so basically if you get stopped and your found to have Diazepam in your system or you admit to taking it as long as it has been prescribed by your Gp or physc then it's ok, it's actually on the patient information leaflet in the Diazepam packet about it. Obviously you have to be sensible and if you've took a particularly high dose or its makes you drowsy then don't drive. I've drove fine after taking 2mg XX

[Moley]

Yes as Nicola says as long as ur taking it as prescribed and it doesn't effect ur driving then it is perfectly legal. tho is ur driving is impaired by it is classed as illegal even if ur on a prescribed dose. hope this makes sense.

[Michelle1]

Thanks just found this on Internet too

It’s illegal in England and Wales to drive with legal drugs in your body if it impairs your driving.

It’s an offence to drive if you have over the specified limits of certain drugs in your blood and you haven’t been prescribed them.

Talk to your doctor about whether you should drive if you’ve been prescribed any of the following drugs:

clonazepam
diazepam
flunitrazepam
lorazepam
methadone
morphine or opiate and opioid-based drugs, eg codeine, tramadol or fentanyl
oxazepam
temazepam
You can drive after taking these drugs if:

you’ve been prescribed them and followed advice on how to take them by a healthcare professional
they aren’t causing you to be unfit to drive even if you’re above the specified limits

---------- Post added at 21:16 ---------- Previous post was at 21:14 ----------

My gp had me worried for a min.

Thought I might of been breaking the law :-(

What about anti depressant meds?

[nicola1980]

AD'S fine to drive on too aslong as they hardware prescribed for wound obviously aslong as they don't make drowsy, my Gp told me as was fine to drive on Diazepam aslong as it didn't make me drowsy or impair my vision so I presume the same is for AD's XX

[MyNameIsTerry]

Wow, Michelle, your GP is a bit of an alarmist! A classic case of why they shouldn't only tell you part of the story there! No wonder you were worried.

Its the same with anything that can make you drowsy. You will see these warnings on the pharmacy printed labels on things lie the drowsy histamines, steriods, even antibiotics if there is a possibility so they can make the patient aware. It will also say "heavy machinery" in other words, consider whether you could put ourself or others at risk e.g. operating a crane, flying a plane, being the bloke with his finger on the trigger in the tank, etc.

They print the same things in OTC's to so you can monitor how you feel.

By adding these labels they then make you responsible for when it becomes unlawful. So, if you are fine on a prescribed med or OTC, there is no problem but if you are not and you still make the choice to drive, you become responsible for that in law.

[Michelle1]

Thanks everyone for your answers it's put my mind at rest. When my gp said the law had changed last month for people taking certain drugs including diazepam and driving it was a bit of a shock because I'd never heard anything about a new law coming in so wanted to check I was still ok behind the wheel of my car whilst taking a benzodiazepine.

I has previously just told her how I had dropped down to 1 mg and the side effects I'd experienced since. I mentioned feeling spaced out and feeling like I had fog head and not quite with it, so I expect she mentioned the new law because I was feeling disassociated.

---------- Post added at 08:50 ---------- Previous post was at 08:38 ----------

I think I'll not drive for a while because I am feeling out of sorts at the moment.

Last couple of days felt bit better se wise being on the 1 mg but last night sleep was terrible and this morning felt really dizzy getting out of bed.

Bad memory too, this morning it took me about 2 mins to think what day of the week it was :-( and yesterday I struggled filling in the back of my prescription because I couldn't think if it was 2015 or 2016. I really didn't know I had to check the calendar on my phone.

When this happens I really worry about dementia etc. I hope it's just se of reducing my diazepam and my brain cells will return to normal eventually.

My gp didn't seem happy about me reducing my diazepam to be honest, I was surprised and tearful in the appointment as I thought gps would want patients off benzodiazepines but she said she thought I would need to be on it forever.

She knows me very well and has seen me at my worst and I understand she is worried withdrawl from diazepam might tip me over. Maybe she thinks it's safer stopping on them than risk another breakdown.

Bit confused now. I most definitely don't want to make myself ill again but the thought of taking diazepam for life even on a tiny dose really worries me.

I think the long term effects can't be good even on 1 or 2 mgs a day.

What do you think ? Continue with a very slow taper off and risk a breakdown or stay put on 1 mg?

Thanks for reading
Michelle xx

[nicola1980]

Michelle I'll be honest with you and I would stay on a low dose whether it's 1mg or back to 2mg rather than risk having another breakdown because if that happens your probably going find yourself back on it again and more than likely a higher dose, your Gp knows you so I would probably take her advice and stick at what your on for the moment anyway, it's only a very small dose of Diazepam and I do know people that take it everyday at higher doses than 2mg, it's totally up to you of course but you really don't want to go backwards especially as you've been doing so well now your back on the ven XX

[Michelle1]

Thanks Niic,

I'm in a right dilemma. I think I might stick with the 1mg and not decrease any further just now. I've been at 1mg for about 3 weeks or more now so my body should be used to this dose soon.

I don't want to rock the boat by decreasing any more right now because the last thing I need is another nervous breakdown and I could tell from my gp that's what she thought would happen.

Maybe in a few months or after a substantial time of being stable I may slowly reduce again. Such a difficult med to come off when you have taken it daily for a number of years. Wish I'd never started it or at least was warned to come off after 2-4 weeks.

Most of the physical side effect have gone. My heart is now behaving itself and beating to a normal rhythm.

Main side effects I'm left with is extremely sensitive to sounds (never had this before as a se). Even a ticking clock in the house sounds ten times louder. All noises irritate me, ie traffic going by outside, a neighbour TV that I would never usually hear now annoys me.

Thinking I'm going mad is the worst, this really freaks me out far more than any physical symptoms. All of a sudden going off into my own world, depersonalisation and derealisation. Never had these as a se before and scare me.

Memory loss and feeling like I'm heading for dementia really scare me. All in all not a nice experience. I think its worse too because it is such a low dose I'm on too that I'm not getting any therapeutic benefits now just discontinuation side effects.

I'm just taking each day, day by day. I know the signs of a re-lapse so won't let myself go down that route.

It's just so different from the withdrawal from venlafaxine or paroxitine which were mainly physical this is mainly mental changes with a few physical ones thrown in for good measure!!!!

Hope I'm doing the right thing staying on 1 mg, time will tell. In the mean time I'm just going to try and stay active and distract myself.

Will update you and let you know how I'm doing, good luck to all others trying to wean off benzodiazepines after long term use. Let's all encourage and support each other xx

[Michelle1]

Last 2 days been a nightmare!!!!! Can't believe I can feel like this just from going from 2ng to 1.

A few days ago I thought I was over the worst but yesterday and today been in bed all day. Found something on line about rebound symptoms 2 weeks later which is maybe what I've now got.

Diazepam Withdrawal Timeline
Diazepam withdrawal symptoms can begin in as little as a few hours after the last dose was taken. These symptoms will get progressively more intense within the next few hours as the body begins the detox process. After the severe symptoms have passed the patient may experience rebound side effects that can last for weeks or months, though you should see a decline in approximately 6-8 weeks after the initial effects began to appear.
The first 24-72 hours- Within the first three days of stopping your Diazepam usage you will experience symptoms similar to heavy alcohol intake. You may feel agitated and notice excessive sweating or tremors. If you were taking Diazepam to address anxiety issues these symptoms may become more pronounced.
1 week after you stop taking Diazepam- Withdrawal symptoms should lessen. You will notice fewer physical symptoms, though emotional or mental symptoms may still be present. Side effects including trouble sleeping and mild aches and pain throughout the body may persist.
2 weeks after you stop taking Diazepam- Rebound side effects will return. Withdrawal symptoms that you experienced before will return with the same level of intensity that you experienced in the first few days.
3-4 weeks after you stop taking Diazepam- The withdrawal symptoms begin to fade again. You may experience another rebound, but this will be less intense than the one you faced previously and will last for a shorter length of time. You may feel as though your body is starting to return to normal and it is easier to manage your anxiety issues.

---------- Post added at 17:54 ---------- Previous post was at 17:49 ----------

Posted this in case it helps anyone else going through diazepam withdrawl. Hopefully I will sound be over this rebound stage. Can't wait to report that things have settled down again because right now it's awful.

Anybody else going through this right now who can encourage me? Or anybody been through it and come out the other side. Would love to hear some positive stories right now. Once I stabilise on 1mg I'm staying there for a while. Going to take this very slow. Maybe I was naive but I never thought it would be this hard when I was on such a low dose (2ngs for 5 years).

[nicola1980]

Hi Michelle, im really sorry your having a tough time, are you sure what your experiencing is Diazepam withdrawal still? I'm just asking incase it might be just your anxiety playing up as I always find when I'm bad im looking for reasons why when infact it's quite simply my anxiety. It must be awful what your experiencing, i used to be on 10mg of Diazepam a day 3 and a half years ago when I was very bad and I was on that for months, i very slowly tapered down but I will admit it was harder the lower I got, i used to cut my tablets in quarters and cut off a quarter at a time and wait until I stabilised. Your on a very low dose of ven, do you think you would benefit from a small increase? Say 75mg a day? I'm only asking as I know you respond well to ven and it may just be the case that your dose needs adjusting slightly. I really hope you start to feel better soon, keep posting so we can support you as best we can, sending love and hugs XXXX

[Michelle1]

Thanks Nic,
I think it is the diazepam decrease what is causing these most recent side effects (least I hope that's all it is). I thought withdrawl would be like ven withdrawl. Feel awful, and then each day/week start feeling bit better. This is different every day. Last two days been in bed with really bad head, night time sweats, muscle aches, as well as the sound sensitivity and depersonalisation.

A lot of the side effects are new to me, so think it's the reduction. I guess 5 years is a long time of putting a drug into your body everyday and then halfing it has been a bit of a shock to my cns. I just hope it's the rebound effect and then I'll stabilise once again.

It's so difficult knowing what to do for the best isn't it? I keep thinking should I increase the ven, try the Pregabalin, or just ride it out. I think it's about 3 weeks since I reduced and I did expect a few side effects I knew it wouldn't be plane sailing I just didn't think I'd feel this way. I'll see how things go the next few days and keep you updated.

The only good thing is s loss of appetite:-) that side effect is the only plus. Anyway how are you doing at the moment? Thank you for responding and caring xx
Are you completely off the diazepam now ?