DIAZEPAN

[Jay83]

Hi, about 2 weeks ago I went to the doctors after another week of feeling anxious and having panic attacks. He prescribed me 2mg Diazepan, when I told some friends they told me to stay clear if I could. Which I have done until today, unfortunately today in work I had a client coming in for a meeting. This is nothing unusual have done it loads of times but it was the first time since i've been having panick attacks... I know what i did, I was so worried about having a attack in front of the client or in the meeting I ended up making myself have one :( Anyway was in such a mess I took one of the Diazepans and although feeling a little tired It calmed me down and the meeting was fine. What i'm worried about is becoming relient on them, I don't know enough about them and was wondering if somebody could give me some advice on what to do.

Appreciate any help you can give.

Thanks,

Jamie

[Alabasterlyn]

Hi Jamie, I wouldn't worry too much about taking the odd Diazepam when you really need one. As long as you don't start to take them regularly then you will be fine. A lot of GP's won't prescribe benzos these days as they are so aware of just how addictive they can be. If you took them too often after awhile you would become tolerant to the dose and need to take more to get the same effect, so I'm sure that will make you aware of how you need to take these meds with so much care.

Did your GP not suggest anything else for your anxiety? Apart from meds there is also therapy, in particular CBT which is very helpful for many people that try it. Most people these days seem to feel that a combination of anti anxiety medication and therapy work the best.

Perhaps if your GP is not too used to treating anxiety disorders you could ask to be referred to a pyschiatrist as they tend to be much better at diagnosing anxiety disorders and prescribing meds.

[domino]

Hi jamie, why not try rescue remedy, i find that it is very good ,i used to take diazipam, and find that i no longer need to. x

[tamo]

Hi Jamie, Please,please please try and stay away from Diazepam.You get to rely on them for support.I agree with Lyn,try CBT .
I agree with Lyns post very strongly especially about some GPs not knowing anything about anxiety.Try and get advice from x sufferers , they know the score.
I am speaking from experience about diazepam,They are very good to start with but eventually you will become hooked.They take away your confidence and leave you with another load of symptoms you didn't have.

[nomorepanic]

I was only ever given 10 at time and they really helped me to calm down during bad panic episodes.

As long as you treat them with respect you won't get dependant on them at all.

[Jay83]

Thanks Guys some good advice.

I have seen the doctor twice now but each time I feel like i'm waisting his time. Doesn't really give much advice and both times they have just palmed me off like it's nothing. I recently had quite a big operation to have a metal plate put in my collar bone after a sporting accident and have gone from very active to not being able to do much at all. It has been 6 months since I had the op and it looks like it's going to be at least a year before I can start doing the things I enjoy again. The doctors seem to think that this is probably the cause of the anxiety & panic attacks.?... If it persists I will go back and will have to try and make sure I get something sorted because it's starting to really effect me now. Something else though is that I have quit smoking, I stopped because before I knew what the Panic attacks where I thought it was something related to smoking... have carried it on and am up to 5 weeks now so not sure if that is making it worse? Also I was told that Nicotine gum can bring on panic attacks? Has anybody else experienced this.

Sorry feel like I'm asking a million questions but this really is the first place where I have been able to ask these questions without people looking at me daft or feeling like i'm being a hypochondriac.

I have tried Rescue Remedy, infact that is the 1st thing I had given to me by a friend. On a day to day basis it is fine but today in work it just went on and on and although I really didn't want to take the diazepan I felt like i'd ran out of options. Will have to look into CBT, not really sure what it is. Did buy myself a Controlling Anxiety CD which up untill today has helped alot.

Anyway sorry to go on + really do appreciate your responses.

Thanks

J

[Alabasterlyn]

Hi J, Well once again I can relate to how you feel regarding your GP. However I think a lot of us forget that our GP's are just General Practitioners and they do not specialize in anxiety or anything else unless they have chosen to have further training. I read somewhere that in the 7yrs of medical training to be a doctor that only a tiny fraction of that time is spent learning about mental health problems. When you take on board the fact that there are many many types of psychotic type conditions as well as anxiety disorders then you get an idea of how little a GP will really know about these kinds of things. Everytime I go to see my GP he gets a book out and reads up on my problems, not exactly very reassuring :ohmy:

If you really want to talk to someone who will understand then you should ask to be referred to your local Mental Health Team or a Psychiatrist. A Psychiatrist can not only explain more to you about your particular problem but is also able to refer you on for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. You can read more about CBT here

http://www.mind.org.uk/Information/Booklets/Making+sense/MakingsenseCBT.htm#What_is_cognitive_behaviour_the rapy_

It is quite possible that your surgery may have been the trigger for your anxiety as there is quite a lot about how physical illnesses can trigger anxiety disorders in the Claire Weekes books, very good books to read by the way.

[Thomp]

My Dr prescrbed 2 mg diazepan x3 daily - I had one and was in quite a drugged state so after talking to him I have stopped them - I also have sleep apnoea and on the blurb it says not to be taken if one has this - I have some Dosulepin from last year and taking x1 at night seems to help but takes up to 5 nights before the panic attacks subside - I had no understanding as why they happen but the GP thinks it is caused by a combination of current painful situations; athritis in my hips and tendonitis in my shoulder followed by major dental work all causing sleep disturbance because of the pain - its quite scary as never had problems like this before