Question about Diazepam for panic attacks?

[emma81]

Hi i just wanted to say thanks for the replies, i am very wary of the whole addictiveness part of diazepam but i am also at a point where i feel i have suffered these horrible symptoms long enough and my GP did give me a kind of 'plan' which made sense to me:

-carry on with my citalopram for general day2day anxiety
-take diazepam when i know i am going into a situation where i am likely to feel severe anxiety and only then
-try and push myself when taking them to go further afield than i would normally attempt to go so that i become more familiar with places i havent been to in a while - anywhere more than 5 miles or so away
-hopefully by then in a month or so i will have a new cpn sorted for cbt and exposure work and will feel slightly less anxious about it as i will have familiarised myself slightly with these new places therefore more able to focus on the relaxation and cbt side of things

That was his idea and it makes sense to me whether or not it will work i have no idea all i know is i cant handle feeling the way i do much longer. I am scared of taking that 1st diazepam but i think it is the fear of the unknown, i have no reason to worry about the addictiveness of them as i know i will only use them maybe once or twice a week but i still am worried of how they will make me feel as i am anytime i have to start any new medications.

Thanks again for ur replies
Emma

[pete69]

good luck emma sounds like your pretty clued up with it all...
a coward dies a thousand times a he....oh balls just got that as my sig,wanted to quote it again,ah well u get the message

[willp]

Hi Emma,

I am at a similar stage of treatment to you and the plan your GP has given you has definitely worked for me. I'm still waiting for CBT but Citralopram is working in the meantime. I have taken a low dose of Diazepam in addition to other medication in the past as and when required and I didn't get addicted or need to use it very often. It will help you through servere anxiety and is nothing to worry about providing you only use it as your GP advises.

Good luck - it sounds like you're taking really positive steps to help yourself.

Will

[joan2007]

Hi emma, im also on citalopram, have been for 4 months, doctor gave me 5mg diazepam for very anxious times only, i have terrible fear of hospitals amongst other things, i only use them at these times and find they are a godsend, please dont be afraid to use them when you really need to, they only take about 40mins to work, and will make you very calm and able to cope with very stressful situations. Hope this helps emma, and good luck
Joan. xxxxxxxx

[maxine]

Hello Emma,

I'm having a bit of a relapse at the minute after 2 years off meds and panic free ( i used to be a full blown agoraphobic) about 3 months ago i started panicing again , anxious all the time, off work you know the drill.

Anyway, i went to the doctors who started me off on 20mg citalopram and 2mg diazapam until they kicked in i was told to take them when needed, I like you was very worried about the " addictivness" of them. I took them for a month everyday and if it was a really stressful day i took two of them.
I stopped taking the Diazapam just before xmas and i had no problems stopping them at all.
I would advise that if you are taking them for the first time stay in just so you know how your body will react to the Diazapam ( it made me really sleepy and a bit dopey the first few days).
The doctor has since increased my dose of citalopram to 40mg per day which i only started yesterday so we'll see how that goes.

Don't be scared of Diazapam it is a very helpful drug but you will notice the more often you take it the less effect it has, look at it as something just to get you over the settling in period for everything else you are doing meds wise.

Good luck x

[juicy lucy]

hi i am due to go on a cruise around the cannaries next tuesday with my family and i suffer from agraphobia and panic disorder i am not on any medication at the minute. what i want to find out is if i feel anxious can i take diazepam? i have nerver taken it before and am really nervous about going on holiday what will it make me feel like? and how much can i take not to become addicted?i was thinking 1mg 3 times a day for 10 days is this dose okay i dont want to become addicted i just need something to get me through the holiday? any information would be a great help

[RENMAN]

I took Diazepam for 8 years for relief of anxiety attacks. I ended up on about 30 to 40mg a day. After a bout with the flu and a sore throat being vey sick I had not taken any Diazepam so I decided to try to get by w/o it. After a year of attack freemy affliction came back full force. My Dr. had recently retired and the new replacement was reluctant to prescribe a benzodiazapine. She put me on Paxil it made me sick, constant diarrhea, headache and a very irritable disposition. I am a professional musician singer/songwritersometimes I perform as a solo acoustic act and other times I have a band that travels with me. There is no way you can get up on a stage in front of hundreds of people and be worrying if your gonna start having a panic attack in the middle of the show. So I went to A Dr.of Psychiatry. He has me on four 1mg Xanax a day as needed and I see him by monthly now at first I saw him every month. I immediately notice a much more compassionate attitude from my Shrink. So if you suffer from Panic disorder I would tell you do not be afraid to try Diazepam or Xanax a good Dr. will start you out with a small dose of maybe 2 5 mg's a day as needed or maybe less. Then adjust you accordingly. The medication has a quick on set and peaks at one to two hours so it isn't like getting high on booze not even close. I do not drink alcohol at all because I am hyper sensitive to it, but these drugs just help you in your battle to over come that crazy scared panic that affects millions of Americans. i hope my story helped someone. Good Luck and a Good Life.

[RENMAN]

No not a chance will you get addicted in such a short time, but just 1mg may not be a large enough dose either. My advice to you is go see a reputable Dr. of Psychiatry if you are not already, he will be able to help you in a way no GP or D.O can. I started out on 1 5mg tablet three times a day. You may not be able to tolerate that much. But I willl tell you this there is no way in the World you will become addicted to Diazepam in 10 days. You may decide that the Diazepam is worth taking regularly as needed so you can start living your life to the fullest. It's a big beautiful World out there and although I don't have agraphobia I do suffer panic disorder and a crazy fear of the unknown, just being very scared for no reason. So I can imaginne agraphobia must be hell. Good Luck to you.