Benzodiazepines (anyone been on them?)

[HearMeNow]

Heya, my name is Ellie and I am new here... I hope you don't feel like I am intruding. :blush: The main reason I have signed up here is because I want to become a clinical psychologist, and I am currently doing some biology coursework focusing on anxiety disorders (a topic I am very interested in.. long story). Thing is I need to include some graphs/tables in my work so I was wondering if anyone would help me please? :unsure:

If you are on or ever have been on benzodiazepines, could you answer a few questions for me please? There are 10 of them, but please just answer what you feel comfortable with, or what you have time to answer...

What Benzodiazapine were you on?

How long for?

Were you on any other drugs for anxiety previously?

Why did you change if so?

Were you undergoing any other treatment at the same time as taking benzodiazepines (CBT for example)?

Did you find them effective (if you have been on any other meds were they more or less effective)? Did they work in decreasing your anxiety?

If you have now come off them, was it difficult? Did you find them addictive or get withdrawal symptoms?

Why did you come off them? (Side effects or just because they are often addictive with long term use?)

Was the dosage correct the first time? What dosage worked for you (if it did work)?

If you have come off them now, are you on any other medication or are you going to any talking therapies?

Thank you so much, I really hope you don't feel I am intruding :mellow:

[nomorepanic]

Hi

I will move this to the appropriate forum for you

[unspoken]

I'll try to answer your questions the best I can...

What Benzodiazapine were you on? I have been on diazepam and temazepam, both to deal with anxiety and insomnia.

How long for? Diazepam - 1 week (then I voluntarily stopped taking it because it wasn't helping me). Temazepam - about 1 week 10mg per night, another couple of weeks not taking it every night.

Were you on any other drugs for anxiety previously? I was prescribed beta blockers before the diazepam but they didn't help me. I was prescribed sertraline (SSRI anti-depressant) at same time as temazepam, I'm still taking it 10 months later.

Why did you change if so? Beta blockers (propanalol) didn't deal with the kind of symptoms I had and didn't help me sleep.

Were you undergoing any other treatment at the same time as taking benzodiazepines (CBT for example)? I was having group counselling whilst taking diazepam. I was on a 6 month long waiting list for CBT while taking temazepam.

Did you find them effective (if you have been on any other meds were they more or less effective)? Did they work in decreasing your anxiety? I found that diazepam was not the right drug for me at the time that I was taking it. I still felt anxious and was still unable to sleep but I felt slow and empty when I needed to be studying. I found temazepam the most effective insomnia treatment I have ever tried. It was very effective at the time, when I was very anxious and unable to get any rest.

If you have now come off them, was it difficult? Did you find them addictive or get withdrawal symptoms? It wasn't difficult to come off them because I didn't take them for long either time and with the temazepam I cut down gradually, taking them every other night rather than every night.

Why did you come off them? (Side effects or just because they are often addictive with long term use?) I came off diazepam because I was trying to finish my university dissertation so needed to be alert and it was making me dizzy and spaced out but I was still unable to sleep and felt even worse taking it. My GP prescribed me temazepam as a short term treatment. It helped me to get over a viral illness that had been made worse by anxiety preventing me from sleeping. There were side effects that were troublesome - mainly some blurred vision and falling over a lot, particularly when I first got out of bed. I also felt sleepy during the day but I was quite ill so it's hard to say what was related to the drugs and what wasn't.

Was the dosage correct the first time? What dosage worked for you (if it did work)? Diazepam - 2mg taken 3 times a day didn't work for me. Temazepam - 10mg a night seemed to be a bit strong for me so after the first week I broke the tablets in half and took 5mg.

If you have come off them now, are you on any other medication or are you going to any talking therapies? I'm still taking Sertraline 75mg a day at the moment. I had some CBT but only got 3 sessions on the NHS.