Diazepam

[Phill2]

Have you ever missed a dose by mistake, Phill? I just wonder what would happen if you did after so many years of regular use.

I was originally prescribed it to ease the side effects of Lexapro and just kept it up.
They reckon that it loses it's effect over time and you have to keep increasing the dose but that has never happened to me.
I suppose the addiction aspect varies from person to person.

[pulisa]

Blimey! So no one has questioned the repeat prescriptions? My daughter has also been promised unlimited repeat prescriptions of diazepam because she has complex issues which are now considered "untreatable". I doubt whether this would be allowed to continue in the UK though and at some point some doctor would pull the plug. This is why she won't be taking them as a regular med.

If they work for you, Phill, and you don't need to increase the dose to get the same effect and it improves the quality of your life then they are doing their job. It's whatever works for you.

[panic_down_under]

I was originally prescribed it to ease the side effects of Lexapro and just kept it up.
They reckon that it loses it's effect over time and you have to keep increasing the dose but that has never happened to me.
I suppose the addiction aspect varies from person to person.

Most studies have found relatively few of those prescribed benzodiazepines (BZDs) for anxiety increase the dose over time.

BTW - there is *evidence BZDs inhibit the neurogenesis mechanism by which antidepressants work so they probably should not be taken together for long periods, but only for a few weeks to ease the common initial anxiety spike when antidepressants are first taken, or following dose increases.

* Boldrini M, 2014; Nochi R, 2013; Sun Y, 2013; Wu X, 2009; Stefovska VG, 2008

[Turnaround00]

Panic down under, I too heard thst BZD's can inhibit antidepressants working, Do you know much about this? For me antidepressants have worked all my adult life but since I took diazpam for a while when they put me back on an anti d it just wasnt working. Usually yhe anti depressant wipes out all my panic attacks but it didnt work this time and I told the doctor that I was pretty sure the diazapam was involved in it.
Anyway, I was wondering if you know after stopping the diazapam can anti depressants work again in the future or have I screwed that part of my brain now?
Thank you

[panic_down_under]

Panic down under, I too heard thst BZD's can inhibit antidepressants working, Do you know much about this?

Only what I've posted. And it's not just BZDs. Alcohol and the synthetic opioid dextromethorphan which is in some cold and flu remedies can too (it is also problematic because of serotonin syndrome, and probably doesn't actually work).

For me antidepressants have worked all my adult life but since I took diazpam for a while when they put me back on an anti d it just wasnt working. Usually the anti depressant wipes out all my panic attacks but it didnt work this time and I told the doctor that I was pretty sure the diazapam was involved in it.

It may well be the diazepam, but also be aware that the risk of antidepressants working may *decrease each time they are stopped and restarted and this can apply not only to the meds previously taken, but potentially all of them, although, from what I've observed a med from a different class will often work.

* Two studies, Amsterdam JD, 2016 and Amsterdam, 2009 found the likelihood of antidepressants working drops by between 19-25% at each restart (see also: Amsterdam JD, 2009; Leykin Y, 2007).

Anyway, I was wondering if you know after stopping the diazapam can anti depressants work again in the future or have I screwed that part of my brain now?

The brain is a very resilient organ and many of the parts involved in anxiety/depression and med function such as receptors and transporters, even entire neurons in some brain areas, are not permanent structures so it is very difficult to permanently "screw" it.

So give antidepressants another shot without a BZD. Low dose mirtazapine is a *good alternative sedative to BZDs for controlling the initial anxiety spike when starting antidepressants, or following dose increases. It might also speed up their kick-in. The main mirtazapine issue is sedation which, unlike the BZDs, tends to continue for as long as it's taken.

* the antihistamine hydroxyzine (Vistaril) may be even better, but I understand NHS GPs probably can't/won't prescribe it.

[Phill2]

Only what I've posted. And it's not just BZDs. Alcohol and the synthetic opioid dextromethorphan which is in some cold and flu remedies can too (it is also problematic because of serotonin syndrome, and probably doesn't actually work).



It may well be the diazepam, but also be aware that the risk of antidepressants working may *decrease each time they are stopped and restarted and this can apply not only to the meds previously taken, but potentially all of them, although, from what I've observed a med from a different class will often work.

* Two studies, Amsterdam JD, 2016 and Amsterdam, 2009 found the likelihood of antidepressants working drops by between 19-25% at each restart (see also: Amsterdam JD, 2009; Leykin Y, 2007).



The brain is a very resilient organ and many of the parts involved in anxiety/depression and med function such as receptors and transporters, even entire neurons in some brain areas, are not permanent structures so it is very difficult to permanently "screw" it.

So give antidepressants another shot without a BZD. Low dose mirtazapine is a *good alternative sedative to BZDs for controlling the initial anxiety spike when starting antidepressants, or following dose increases. It might also speed up their kick-in. The main mirtazapine issue is sedation which, unlike the BZDs, tends to continue for as long as it's taken.

* the antihistamine hydroxyzine (Vistaril) may be even better, but I understand NHS GPs probably can't/won't prescribe it.

I haven't read any of that stuff and they work just fine together for me.
Sometimes a little knowledge can be a bad thing.

[pulisa]

I agree, Phill. Psychiatry is still mostly trial and error anyway even in this day and age.

[Turnaround00]

It makes sense though, to me anyway. If I was taking a valium each time I felt panic coming and got use to that then took an anti d but was still just using the valium each time I got the panic then maybe my brain was use to the valium and only able to work off that calm.
I dunno, all I know is that prozac hasn't stopped my anxiety this time

[Phill2]

It makes sense though, to me anyway. If I was taking a valium each time I felt panic coming and got use to that then took an anti d but was still just using the valium each time I got the panic then maybe my brain was use to the valium and only able to work off that calm.
I dunno, all I know is that prozac hasn't stopped my anxiety this time

I took one Prozac and vowed never to touch it again.
It worked too well and then dumped me really hard leaving me wanting another.
I can see how people become addicted to it.

[Turnaround00]

I find this hard to believe.
Prozac doesn't work like that. It is an SSRI so takes a few weeks to build uo in your system first then takes effect but its a gradual effect. Prozac especially has a very long half life so is one of the ones that take longer to build up in you.
Perhaps you were worryign about taking it and was overthinking things