My doctor has stopped my diazepam!

[labridges7]

definately go back to the doctor. I had a similar situation a few years ago. Try to see a different doctor and explain EVERYTHING. You could ask if any of the doctors have an expertise in panic/anxiety as they will understand more.

I dont know why they would stop them but i know that its not nice. If you really have a bad epissode and need them then you can always go to A and E which does take longer I know but you will get the help you need at least for that particular attack.

Take care xxxx

Laura

[nickieb]

Con

Hun your Dr should never have prescribed Diaz for that long...that is very unprofessional & extremely lazy of him to do so.
As you are taking so little i would personally try & come up with an alternative to diazepam. Maybe a herbal supplement or propanolol.

There will be a message on your notes with a warning about not re prescribing them so for your GP to have ignored this for so long is actually a breach of his role. They are used as a temporary measure & like you said extremely addictive...they should be avoided at all costs.

Con try & speak with your GP about an alternative & see how you get on for a while without them xxx

[CONS]

Have you read the Ashton manual
http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha01.htm

or read some of the stories on here -
http://www.benzo.org.uk/

You may well change your mind.

Decca.

If its in my mind it wont or doesn't i will stick to my original thoughts.

Look hard enough and you can find anything.

CONS

EDIT: in time i will get rid of all meds but for now it suits me ok, sorry Decca for coming out so strong but i believe the weaker the dosage the weaker the withdrawl, although that in itself is dependant on the person.

[decca]

Hi Cons,
A few months ago I would have agreed with you but since then I've met a lot of people that were on low therapeutic dose that have suffered severe withdrawal when they've tried to come off of Diaz. incorrectly.
I've been on 2mg Diaz. since Feb. and tried withdrawing by 25% cuts 6 weeks ago and it wasn't very nice, so I had to reinstate and now that I'm stable again have started reducing by 10% cuts.

Decca.

[ConfusedByLife]

Thanks guys> I really appreciate the advice and am shocked how many replys already lol. I made an appointment with doc for 15th Oct (I think I can last that long). Its complicated but in my doctors surgery for repeat prescriptions some docs have different ideas. If I go to my own doc I think he'll give me more. It has woken me up a bit to the fact though that I may be more addicted than I thought as the panic of being without them has hit me. I know I should really come off them but cutting down seems the best option. I know alot of doctors are refusing to re-prescribe diazepam though so until I go back I don't know. I don't know if I can do without but maybe i'd learn to - I dunno. My whole surgery is up the left. Seems different doctors sing off different hymm sheets. See what happens anyway. Cheers again

[dianes]

Hi,

I would agree with some of the posts advising you to see your GP to discuss coming off the diazepam. Also, if you have a panic episode before hand and feel you do need them urgently go to A.E.

Cons: I was horrified to read your comments about diazepam. Believe me, I was given diazepam over 20 years ago, and was never told how addictive they were. I was prescribed 10mg daily, when I suffered with severe depression due to PTSD they kept increasing the dose. To cut a long story short I was on diazepam for 18 years and taking 55mg daily with all the increases. I had been undergoing 4years of specialist PTSD councelling when my councellor told me I had to wean completely off the diazepam before I could complete the last part of the therapy or it wouldn't be effective.

Any physciatrist will tell you that diazepam affects the receptors of the brain. Which basically means, anything that happens to you while taking this drug doesn't register fully in your brain, as the receptors are 'dulled'. that is why it is a waste of money for anyone taking diazepam on a daily basis, undergoing hypnotherapy. I was also horrified to be told that no-one knows what damage is caused in the brain, or what the long term side effects are to someone taking diazepam over a long term period of time as it was only ever designed to be taken short term.

I was advised by my doctors to keep on it as I had been taking it for so long.
But thank god, with the help and close supervision of a wonderful physciatrist I managed to wean off it completely. It took me just over 2 years and to say the withdrawal was truly horrendous is an understatement. I went on to complete my therapy and again thank god it was successful. I personally believe this drug should be banned as it ruins lives and GP's still prescribe it to easily. The physciatrist who helped me off it says he only uses it for really acute cases where his patients are hospitalised and even then only for a max of 1 week. He believes that you do no favours to patients by giving them this drug as sooner or later they have to stop taking it and they end up becoming more anxious as they stress that they won't be able to manage their anxiety without it.

Sorry for the long reply, as I said, I was horrified at the ignorance about this drug. GP' should explain fully before prescribing or withdrawing this drug.

to you all.

Diane
'Your imagination is always much worse than the reality'

I managed to wean

[CONS]

18 years is along time be taking any medication of 55mg a day,

I pick and choose when i take mine and rarely ever take 6 a day, sometimes i go days without depending on how i feel. Reading your post made me feel nautious but to be honest when i came off Mirtazapine and the withdrawl from that NOTHING can compare to those feelings.

I used to take drugs regularily, i mean paid on the street drugs.

Everything except crack and heroine ive tried so i know about side effects and withdrawl symptoms.

Havnt touched anything like that for 3 years now.

Thats why i can easily talk about diazepam, try to keep in context that even in my original post i said about "weening" off them. My information may have been not apropriate BUT EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT.

Thats all there is to it,

although now im going make a constant effort to rid myself of these sooner from reading Dianes post, litterally made me feel anxious reading it.

CONS

EDIT: great a panic attack at 9am in the morning and too scared take the 1 thing that reassures me.

[Mikke]

Sounds crazy.
Change GP or try to get oxazepam for a period, it's considerably less addictive but helps a lot.

[decca]

Sorry Mikke,
I disagree - Oxazepam is a short acting Benzo with a half life of only 4 to 15 hours with a dosage requirement twice that of Diazepam and would certainly make withdrawal a lot harder.
See here -
http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzsched.htm#s10

Decca.

[Oceanblue]

Hi,

"I dont feel Im addicted to them but some situations would be uncomfy without them"

placebo effect maybe?

Reason i say this is my only med is Diazepam and has been for 3 years:

5mg 6 times a day as required

Someone above mentioned blunder, yup my doc is in deep, he probably wants me get better as much as i do.

Back on topic,

confusedbylife your already on a low dosage and to a degree with 5 years under your belt you would hardly be feeling the effects anyway. I can take mine in 4's and barely feel a thing and i consider myself in touch with my bodies reactions to most things.

The low dosage that you have taken are stepping stones just to ease the nerves, which you know right?, cold turkey is a strong term for such a low dosage but maybe take half of what your weekly input is and that would help to ween you off them.

As of yet i have never heard of withdrawl symptoms from diazepam aka Valium.

CONS

Hi,

I've quoted CONS first post, as I saw no problem. Infact, I would say that I agree with what he has written, other than the last sentence. My view would be that -(Withdrawal symptoms/Side effects apply to higher dosages, or say 2mg taken on a much regular basis) Not just 2mg - 4x a week as Confusedwithlife had stated.

CONS, I think you've explained your thoughts clearly from what I've read, I feel that some people have taken your post out of context, and haven't quite understood your opinion.


Confusedwithlife mentioned that he had been taking 2mg for five years (roughly 4x a week), and I would agree that with such a small dosage for this lengthly amount of time really isn't enough to go 'Cold Turkey'. I would agree that taking this dosage for 5yrs, the body would surely be quite immune to the med, and that he could well be reacting by a placebo effect.

Anyway, whatever the case, ...Confusedwithlife I hope you're able to sort something out.

I feel it's probably best to make an appointment with your doc or maybe try and call and discuss how you feel about the whole thing.

Good luck.