Diazepam Addiction

[popsy]

Can anyone tell me how you would know if you were becoming addicted to Diazepam? I have been taking it in only small doses (2mg) twice a day for about 3 months now and it definitely takes the edge off my anxiety. However, would there be physical symtoms i should be looking for if i am concerned i could be becoming addicted to it? Im wondering if the shakiness i feel inside the whole time is a side effect of the diazepam or just my anxiety/pa's? Anyway, thats kinda beside the point, in general i just wanted to be aware of how i would know if i was becoming addicted to it?
Thanks guys in advance :shrug: :bighug1: :hugs:

[rossi]

hi if i take it in small doses a half when i need it or sometimes a quater if the half works for awhile thats ok if it doesent then ill take the other half then you know how much you really need cos some days you may not need it you may learn to cope with it and keep it as a backup.

[jesse08]

Hi Popsy, six years ago and beyond that, I WAS addicted to diazepam. So despite my anxiety and panic today, I cannot and will not take it. I was getting it off three Doctors to fuel my addiction. I would take them like smarties and was taking far more than you are in any one go. I was abusing it. Being addicted means you have to keep taking more and more of them and you get obsessed with getting hold of them. There are side effects to taking diazepam in normal quantities; read the instructions that come with your prescription. Anxiety can increase even for a while. My advice is check with your GP as to what he/she thinks is the right and most effective dose for you and if you have any health concerns, let him/her know.

[honeybee3939]

Hi Popsy

I took Diazipam for around 8months a few years ago, 2mg twice a day, and it did help me. I didnt have any problems coming off them either, i just weaned myself off them cutting them in half for a couple of weeks then a quater after that.

Love
:hugs:
Andrea
xxxxx

[bluebottle]

I am addicted to Diazepam but I don't have to keep taking more and more and neither am I obsessed with getting them. I was over prescribed years ago and was on them for far too long. Now I'm cutting them down, and I will be using the liquid solution so the withdrawal can be in small amounts, I am also waiting to see the surgery drugs counsellor to get assistance with withdrawing. I am on 7mg after being on 10mg for years and years. I break them in half every month but at the moment that seems to be too fast a withdrawal, but we are all different.

Your GP should know that any tranquilizer is intended for short term use. I suggest you raise your concerns with them.

[dave2007]

Hi Popsy,

I was on a small dose of diazapam as well for about 10 months. I did take them every day and I did start to get a lot better. I am now off them and it took me nearly two months to come off the lowest dose possible (i.e. 2mg). I only noticed when I started to come off them how much I had grown addicted to them and by that I mean the mental addiction, i.e. that I need to take a diazepam in certain situations otherwise I would not get through them.
Coming off them was awful too, that was when I got all the symptoms of panic and anxiety all the time, like shaking in the mornings (incidentally, I had the same when I started taking them), tight chest, funny taste in mouth and depression. Even though I came off them really slow and started reducing my dose in about four week steps it was still hard.

However, in general all I can say now is, that even though they took the edge of my anxiety, they also prevented me from really facing up to it. It was like some kind of fog hanging over my mind. I am not as depressed anymore (I do think they alter the mood as well, even on small dosages) and I have started to accept that I suffer from panic/anxiety disorder. Well, what I am trying to say is that you are possibly better off without them. Only keep them for emergencies and don't let them fool into thinking there is an emergency either, because at the end of the day it is you who has to fight your anxiety not the meds. :shades: :yesyes:
dave

[decca]

Well I have to say that those are the most helpfull replies we've received on the topic.
I to like popsy am concerned about addiction to Diaz. and we've shared many posts like this so I'm sure she won't mind me jumping in.I've been taking 2mg per day for about 12 weeks now.

Dave,Bluebottle & Honeybee,
How did you withdraw ? did you go by the 10% cuts as per the Ashton manual or did you just quarter the 2mg tabs.
My Doc's happy to keep me on 2mg per day so I'm also wondering whether to stay on that rather than risk horendous withdrawal symptoms.
Best wishes
Decca

[dave2007]

Hi Decca and everyone else,

I reduced the dosage from 6mg to 4mg and then was stuck with 4mg for about four months. I then decided to half that, to 2mg, but that's when the withdrawal symptoms started getting really bad. Actually, so bad that I had another major panic attack which I hadn't had since I started on diaz. So I went back on 4mg and alternated after a couple of weeks between a day on 4mg and a day on 2mg slowly edging closer to just 2mg a day. I did the same coming down to zero (alternating between 2mg and none at all). However, I would defo recommend taking a week or two off work once you hit zero and stick with it. I was having enormous panic/anxiety like symptoms and my GP said that I had come off them too quickly, but since I had been off them now it would be better to just stick it out.
To be honest what helped me through in the end was talking to mates and the realisation that all these symptoms came from the diaz withdrawal and not from an actual panic attack and obviously constantly reminding me of the same, doing my deep breathing and doing some muscle relaxation techniques.
And it is defo worth it. I feel so much better now, even when I panic :winks:

Good luck and fingers crossed!

dave

P.S. I don't think that the dosage one takes has to do a lot with whether you will become addicted or not. Addiction is in the head mainly, even though admittedly, there is a strong physical component to diaz withdrawal, as well. And we are all different, even though I was on very low dosage I was getting bad dreams, depression and only occasional relaxation from diazapam. Diaz gives some relieve from a frightening situation and to be honest I don't think I could have gotten through my initial panic attacks without it, but I don't think it is a long term solution to fighting panic/anxiety.
I hope that answers your question.

[jesse08]

Maybe my situation is unusual because I am an addict. However the point I was trying to make is that for me, and I can only speak for myself, I was addicted because I craved them and did not stick at 2mg a day. I might take 16mg in one go. Everyone is different. I got off them myself which I don't recommend either. This is just my experience because in Popsy's post she asked how could you tell if you were becoming addicted? I don't think you are addicted Popsy. Maybe I should have stuck at just saying that!! LOL
:roflmao:

[decca]

Thanks Dave,
Wow that was heck of a cut to make , glad you made it and are OK now.
It seems small cuts over a long period of time is the way to go then, shall have to think about that, just worried that if I start to taper off my original symptoms will return and I won't be able to reinstate, It's defo still helping with the tachycardia,palpitations and blood pressure but I don't think it's ever done much for my anxiety and panic.

Jesse,
I'm sure popsy will be glad to hear you say that .
As a matter of interest how did you withdraw ?

Cheers all
Decca.

[doodah]

Hello all, thought I'd add my "addiction" info for you here too.:winks: I was prescribed all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff back in the late 70s/early 80s and got totally hooked on Nitrazepam (Mogadon), which is a sleeping tablet (benzo). When I was weaned off loads of other "rubbish" I started to take small amounts of Nitrazepam throughout the day. It had a similar effect I guess to Valium etc. I knew I was totally dependant on these tablets because I'd always run out before my new repeat prescription was due and feel very guilty when I rang the doctors for another prescription. Also, before I'd go to the doctors I'd have massive anxiety "will they know I've taken too many - will I get my prescriptions - what if they haven't got the prescription ready?". Waiting at the counter at the doctors would feel intolerable but ... as soon as I had the prescription (a piece of paper!!) in my hand, all my anxiety would instantly disappear. I knew then that I was addicted/dependant - grrr! I tried twice to come off the tablets but it didn't work. Then, a few years ago, my doctors gave me no option and I was told I had to start coming off them and that they weren't really having any effect on me, it was all psychological.

I very slowly started reducing by 1 or 2 mg every 2 months - a local chemist would send away to a lab for them to be made into capsules. Anyway - cutting a VERY long story short - I took my last Nitrazepam capsule in March 2007 - which is a miracle for me!!!:yesyes:

I really wanted to post my long and boring story for anyone who, like I was, is scared or doesn't believe they CAN come off these types of medication. If I can do it, anyone can - honestly! But I would definately say get the help of your doctor - it's very, very hard doing it on your own.

Wendy xxxx

[decca]

Thanks Wendy,
I was on Mandrax then Mogadon (or was it t'other way round) along with 3x 30mg Phenobarbitone per day , way back in the 60s when I had a severe bout of Eczema.I was addicted to all of them but nobody tried to stop me taking them, I just did it myself when the Eczema got better and I was able to sleep without them over a number of years, there was no hooha then like there is now about Benzo's.
Decca

[rsindigo]

This is my experience of Diazepam.
I was on 12 mg of Diazepam a day for 5 years for Anxiety/panic attacks. If I knew I had to go somewhere, that would add to my anxiety then I would take extra Diazepam that day maybe an extra 2-6 mg and I always took Diazepam with me when I went out just in case I panicked.
After 5 years of taking it I was advised that some of my anxiety symptoms could be caused by long term use of Diazepam? and I was advised by my doctor to come off.
I was horrified at this prospect because I believed that Diazepam stopped me from having a bad panic attack.
Anyway in October 05 I started to come off - I cut down by 1mg a fortnight until I got down to 5mg. Then I cut down more slowly by cutting down by 1/2 mg once a fortnight until I was off completely.
It took me in total 7 months to come off Diazepam.
But I NEVER had any problems or extra anxiety coming off, If anything I actually felt better for being off I havn't taken Diazepam since and I have now been off 12 years.

[decca]

Thanks Roger and welcome to the forum,

[decca]

Thanks Roger and welcome to the forum,
You did well to get off of Diaz. that quickly and it's good to hear you didn't get any symptoms.
So really then to start with you did the 10% taper that Prof. Ashton recomends,(not sure if I got my maths right,bit fuzzy headed today)
I'm on 2 mg per day and thinking of cutting down but 10% of 2mg isn't going to be easy without going to Liquid Diaz. and all the fuss it entails.
What did you do when you got down to 2mg ?
Cheers
Decca.

[rsindigo]

HI Decca,
I was given a book by some one in 1995(I can't remember the books name) about coming off medication and I followed the books recommendation on withdrawing from Diazepam and it worked extremely well for me.
I was using 2 mg tablets and cutting them up myself (I found them easier to control) in that;

1 tablet = 2 mg
1/2 a tablet = 1 mg
1/4 of a tablet = 1/2 mg

When I got down to 2 mg I took 1/4 of a tablet in the morning, then 1/4 of a tablet at dinner and then 1/2 a tablet at night which meant I took 2 mg that day in total.
I did that for a fortnight then I cut down to 1 & 1/2 mg a day. i.e. I took a 1/4 tablet in the morning, a 1/4 tablet at dinner and then a 1/4 of a tablet at night and I did this for a fortnight.
Then I cut down again by 1/2 mg so that I then took a 1/4 of a tablet in the morning and then a 1/4 of a tablet at night and missed dinner time out. which meant I was now taking 1 mg of Diazepam a day.
Then after another fortnight I cut down again to 1/2 mg a day and took a 1/4 of a tablet in the morning only.
Then after a fortnight I stopped taking Diazepam.
I never had any withdrawal symptoms or extra anxiety coming off and I always felt comfortable to cut down each fortnight because I wasn't having any symptoms.

I 'm no expert but this way of coming off Diazepam worked for me.

[decca]

Thanks a lot Roger for that very informative reply,
It's Basically how I thought about doing it, by cutting my 2 mg tabs into quarters and dropping a quarter every two weeks.
I take mine in one go, I wonder if it helps to split the dose as you did.
Cheers
Decca.

[rsindigo]

This is the dosage and cut downs I used when withdrawing from 12 mg
First of all 12 mg a day and NO extra.
Then I took;

morning..........dinner............evening
4 mg...............2 mg..............4 mg............= 10 mg for 2 weeks.
4 mg...............2 mg..............3 mg.............= 9 mg for 2 weeks.
3 mg...............2 mg..............3 mg.............= 8 mg for 2 weeks.
2 & 1/2 mg.......2 mg..............2 & 1/2 mg...= 7 mg for 2 weeks.
2 mg...............2 mg..............2 mg.............= 6 mg for 2 weeks.
2 mg...............1 mg..............2 mg.............= 5 mg for 2 weeks.

Then when I was down to 5 mg I cut down more slowly by 1/2 mg a fortnight.

morning.............dinner...........evening
1 & 1/2 mg.........1 mg..............2 mg.............= 4 & 1/2 mg for 2 weeks.
1 & 1/2 mg.........1 mg............1 & 1/2mg........= 4 mg for 2 weeks.
1 & 1/2 mg.........1 mg..............1 mg.............= 3 & 1/2 mg for 2 weeks.
1 mg.................1 mg..............1 mg.............= 3 mg for 2 weeks.
1 mg.................1/2 mg............1 mg............= 2 & 1/2 mg for2 weeks.
1/2 mg..............1/2 mg............1 mg............= 2 mg for 2 weeks.
1/2 mg..............1/2 mg............1/2 mg.........= 1 &1/2 mg for 2 weeks.
1/2 mg..............nothing............1/2 mg.........=1 mg for 2 weeks.
1/2 mg..............nothing............nothing........ .= 1/2 mg for 2 weeks.
nothing..............nothing............nothing

Yes I think it helped to split the dose throughout the day instead of taking that days dose in one go.
This is the plan that worked for me.

[bluebottle]

My surgery has a drugs counsellor who is experienced in helping people come off Diazepam.

[decca]

Thanks Roger,
I'm starting from this point using 2mg tablets-
1/2 tablet = 1mg , 1/4 tablet = 1/2 mg.

1/2 mg..............1/2 mg............1 mg............= 2 mg for 2 weeks.
1/2 mg..............1/2 mg............1/2 mg.........= 1 &1/2 mg for 2 weeks.
1/2 mg..............nothing............1/2 mg.........=1 mg for 2 weeks.
1/2 mg..............nothing............nothing........ .= 1/2 mg for 2 weeks.
nothing..............nothing............nothing

Sounds much beter than trying to cut a 2mg tablet in 8 peices as per the Ashton manual.

Thanks bluebottle,
I don't think my surgery has a drugs counsilor.

I asked my Doc what to do if I wanted to stop taking them and he said to just stop taking it .
I'm sure that can't be right.

Cheers
Decca.