Diazepam withdrawal from sporatic use?

[keggsy]

A friend of mine was taking 10to15mg a day for several weeks and his Gp told him to just stop taking it.
What planet was he on!

This site is so useful!

[scott jenkins]

I think some doctors need to educate themselves. I seemed to know more than my doctor and I am an idiot lol!

[nicola1980]

Unfortunately Gps aren't clued up on these meds, my physc even thought I could drop by 1mg at a time which was too much for me towards the end X

[scott jenkins]

May i ask? did you complete the withdrawal process and if so was it difficult and do you feel better now?

[nicola1980]

Yes I did withdraw and it wasn't too bad, there were days when I had the odd slip up especially so when I got down to just 3mg a day as that's the hardest part, the lower you get the harder it is so the odd day I succumbed and took an extra 1 or 2mg as I couldn't bare the anxiety and shakes but I soon got on track again. Unfortunately I've had a major setback since Christmas so I have been using the Diazepam again but I make sure I never take more than 3mg a day, i cut the 2mg tablets in half and take it like that when and if I need them. Anxiety and panic is such a horrible feeling you sometimes need some respite. You've done exactly the right thing seeing your Gp and getting help, you should be proud of yourself it's a big step for you. Just take one day at a time and you'll get there X

[MyNameIsTerry]

Glad you are feeling better Scott. Its amazing how much you can learn on a peer support website like this, a lot of which doctors don't know or understand.

Its incredible how GP's tend to work without researching their actions. You get an appointment and they treat you there and then unless they need tests first and they don't seem to refer to anybody for advice at all. In the case of antidepressant medication there is a service that doctors are advised to call to discuss anything tricky so they have the support but they just don't seem to bother using it and once you are out of the surgery its all over and they don't care until next time you are down there. Its just treating people as numbers really.

The odd thing is, if you contacted a private company or the council and had this type of experience, you would expect them to go and find out what to do & why and wouldn't accept any other answer. So, the answer keggsy's mate had wouldn't be tolerated and would be seen on the same level as any call centre agent who blags to get you off the phone!

[scott jenkins]

So, i just started to take my 20ml diazepam (10 ml in morning, 10 in night) Im still feeling a little bit anxious, i think im still in a bit of shock from the whole ordeal to be honest. What im wondering now is that is 20 ml a day overkill. I mean, am i going to be causing a bigger addiction this way.
Perhaps I should stick to 10ml a day just in case, or should i just listen to doctor?
Thank you to everyone for your kind support

[nicola1980]

Listen to your Gp hun, it sounds about right to me considering the amount you have been taking, i think if you take just 10mg your going to still suffer withdrawal, stick with your prescribed 20mg and wait until your stable before even thinking of reducing, my Gp once told me he has patients on high doses of Diazepam so in my opinion 20mg isn't that high X

[MyNameIsTerry]

Is 20ml an increase Scott? If 10ml was the equivalent of what you were originally on then I would expect it to be the dose set by your GP but unless perhaps Nicola or someone else can advise better, it might be worth querying with your GP or asking a pharmacist.

What reason did your GP give for an increased dosage?

[scott jenkins]

Because I was taking them sporatically and I was also buying them from people, I have no idea what my average does was. I was supposed to be taking 5ml when required at a total of 10 tablets per month, but obviously I was taking more than that. How much more exactly, I dont know but I was not taking them every day.

---------- Post added at 19:49 ---------- Previous post was at 19:45 ----------

Perhaps 30 - 40 ml per week sometimes higher, sometimes lower at a guess but id been doing it for years