Diazepam and Alcohol - Staying safe

[Jonnyboy1973]

Hi all

I have GAD. I usually need to take 10mg of Diazepam to get on a flight. I’ve got my best mates stag do this weekend which will obviously involve alcohol, I’m both terrified to go and terrified to miss it! (First flight without my partner)

- If I take diazepam at 5am for my Friday morning flight, will it be safe to have a few drinks the same evening?
- or if I wait til the Saturday night to have a drink, is it then safe to take diazepam the Sunday morning after for my flight home?

I have never even considered the effect the two have on each other til now as I’m not a big drinker. If holidaying with my girlfriend I usually have 2-3 drinks the night of arrival with diazepam still in my system and never felt side effects except being a bit tired. It is only now reading up on it ahead of this trip I am wondering if I have been/will be putting myself in danger

Apologies if this subject has been done to death on the forum, but any honest advice/your own experiences would be massively appreciated

Jonny

[Cherryade]

I'm sure you will be fine with a few drinks on the night you arrive. But I would consider taking just 5mg before leaving home and then another 5mg at the airport if you still feel very anxious. I think with all your mates around you, the lower dose would be enough. Same on the way home. Wait and take them until you really really need them. Amazing what the support of some good friends can do to your nerves!
Have fun.

[Jonnyboy1973]

I'm sure you will be fine with a few drinks on the night you arrive. But I would consider taking just 5mg before leaving home and then another 5mg at the airport if you still feel very anxious. I think with all your mates around you, the lower dose would be enough. Same on the way home. Wait and take them until you really really need them. Amazing what the support of some good friends can do to your nerves!
Have fun.

Thanks so much for your advice. I will try to space out 2 doses as suggested, hopefully that stops any panic escalating in the airport

Unfortunately though, it’s going with my friends that’s making me most nervous! It’s my first trip without my partner so not having that support is really worrying me. My friends aren’t aware of my mental health problems and I want to keep it that way if I can. (They’re good friends but not the most mature!)

[ankietyjoe]

You might be surprised at how mature one or two of them might be if you told them, and it would make your life a WHOLE lot easier if they knew.

[Jonnyboy1973]

You might be surprised at how mature one or two of them might be if you told them, and it would make your life a WHOLE lot easier if they knew.

Yeah I guess. I suppose part of me likes them not knowing and treating me any different, so on my good days with them I can be back to feeling how I used to before i developed GAD.

Either way, the diazepam/alcohol thing is still going to be an issue for me so any advice/personal experience from anyone would be a huge help

[ankietyjoe]

Well mixing booze and benzo's is a bad idea in my opinion. I think the effects are unpredictable and potentially (very) dangerous.

I know you've come here to reduce your anxiety about mixing these two things, but I have first hand experience of somebody who used to do the same.

If it were me, I'd choose one or the other. Mixing them is a bit of a lottery.

[venusbluejeans]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your problem.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

[Benjammin69]

My personal experience is that whilst not recommended and absolutely not safe to do so - no one can tell you how you will react to the mix. I have mixed benzo with alcohol unintentionally and it just made me drunk quicker and have amnesia... I have taken many different benzo and diazepam is a very mild benzo.

In terms of half life MNIT is absolutely spot on with his guidance on elimination etc I think your Dr means the ‘effects’ of diazepam will be gone in 8 hours. Whilst it has a very long half life it’s mode of action is moderate compared to lorazepam or clonazepam where their half lives are shorter their mode of action is much longer.

Good luck with the flights your be fine and just don’t drink too much at the airport before hand