Doctors refuse

[Jessica123]

Hi guys some advice needed please ? I have had Valium only when my anxiety is really bad and I only take one when I feel the need but my doctor refuses to allow me any more as may can addicted so I feel my lifeline has been taken away when my anxiety levels were really high and had to take 4 weeks off work they were a godsend to me and give me a bit of respite . Just wondering anyone else had this problem be good to here from you thanks xx

[AlexandriaUK]

Your Dr is right they are a very addictive drug and there can come a point when a low first dose is not enough so the body needs more to get the desired effect, it will always depend on how many your Dr prescribed last time and how long they lasted you, if he feels that you are taking more than maybe 1 or 2 a week then he will not re proscribe, maybe you should go back and see if he will give you something else to get you back on an even keel.

[Jessica123]

Thanks for your reply well I started with 5 mg then 2 mg ( which didn't really do anything ) but I still have a supply if things get bad , I am looking at other ways of dealing with my anxiety ie ctb deep breathing etc this site is fantastic only just joined x

[steveo]

Yeah you have a damn good doctor there!! My doctor has allowed me to be on them for 5 months and now I'm REALLY struggling to come off them. REALLY struggling.

Don't rely on diazepam. It wallpapers over cracks and makes things worse in the long run. It's about as effective as drinking alcohol.

[flori]

Thanks for your reply well I started with 5 mg then 2 mg ( which didn't really do anything ) but I still have a supply if things get bad , I am looking at other ways of dealing with my anxiety ie ctb deep breathing etc this site is fantastic only just joined x

Hi Jessica,
That is the way I treat my anxiety. GP prescribes them as I only take them when anxiety and panic attacks are really bad. I have tried anti depressants and they don`t work for me. It`s a struggle but I know that taking diazepam everyday is not good in the long run.

[BobbyDog]

Yeah you have a damn good doctor there!! My doctor has allowed me to be on them for 5 months and now I'm REALLY struggling to come off them. REALLY struggling.

Don't rely on diazepam. It wallpapers over cracks and makes things worse in the long run. It's about as effective as drinking alcohol.

I have to agree with you here Stevo, I have friends who have had a really bad time coming off this drug.x

[Ducky]

It is horses for courses: you have to balance the equation of the quality of life versus the addictive qualities. I was initially prescribed them in the early 90s, partly for migraines, partly for tension and anxiety and have been on them ever since. Couldn't withdraw even if I wanted to. Couldn't survive without them. Don't want to withdraw. Some people need them forever; some just for short periods, though British GPs are so obsessed with the addictive qualities and bad press, they are loath to prescribe them. In S E Asia & you can buy them OTC, though a number of them may be counterfeit.

[steveo]

Just because you can purchase them in SE asia, doesn't mean that's a good thing. You can purchase child prostitutes in parts of Asia too. I'm glad I live in a country where these tablets are hard to get hold off and classed as an illicit substance when not prescribed them.

Being on them long term is an awful thing. There are so many studies to show how damaging they are when taken long term. They will be inevitably effecting you negatively in many many ways. In the early 90's, there was much less known about the long term and addictive qualities of this drugs that they were handed out much more readily. Had they known in the 90's what they know now about them, you probably would have been more carefully monitered and now allowed to reach a point where you couldn't withdraw if you want to.

British GP's are not 'obsessed' with the addictive qualities and 'bad press'. They are here to make sure we don't harm ourselves. Why do they not hand out methadone or morphine to everyone? No one would suffer panic attacks or depression then! We would all be hunky dory!

There is no 'horses for courses' in this discussion. You can't weigh up a quality of life versus addictive qualities for this. It's not what these drugs were intended for. They wallpaper over cracks and as our bodies hit tolerance, we need more and more 'wallpaper' as the cracks get even bigger until the only thing keeping the house from falling down is the layers of wallpaper.

In that sense ducky, would you advise alcoholics to stay on alcohol? If they are happy on it and if gives them a better quality of life rather than the painful alcohol withdraw process, they why not keep them topped up on special brew for the rest of their days? Or the same with heroin users?

This kind of rhetoric should not be taken as advice for people who are already vulnerable and looking for a nice easy mask for their anxiety issues.

And I happen to be a qualified nurse as well as a short term diazepam user myself so I don't just take into account hearsay off a couple of users who say it's harmless to take long term. I look at peer reviewed research papers.
You have said the equivalent of "It's ok to smoke. I've been doing it all my life and I don't have cancer so it must be fine!"

[AlexandriaUK]

I am totally in agreement, if you could see my friend of 40 + years (looks 70) you wouldn't be saying that, she is completely dependent and at 50 doesn't have a day without taking uppers downers and whatever else she has been prescribed to keep her happy, the only drugs I agree to being taken indefinitely are things that keep you alive ie BP, Heart and anything that is not counter productive.
I don't even want to take statins , if their is a healthy way to control things, diazepam is a very addictive drug as you yourself know, and it does cause some very bad side effects if you take them long term, I was prescribed them when I was in my very early 20s when it was seen as being a safe drug by many Drs, luckily not mine, he gave me 6 and said I was to only take them in extreme emergencies, that's what I did, maybe 3 or 4 a year and my anxiety was really bad at the time, I have had 38 in total in nearly as many years.
Advice on here is free so always be aware that it will also be clouded by the givers own experiences, I hope you are feeling better

[Ducky]

Just because you can purchase them in SE asia, doesn't mean that's a good thing. You can purchase child prostitutes in parts of Asia too. I'm glad I live in a country where these tablets are hard to get hold off and classed as an illicit substance when not prescribed them.

Being on them long term is an awful thing. There are so many studies to show how damaging they are when taken long term. They will be inevitably effecting you negatively in many many ways. In the early 90's, there was much less known about the long term and addictive qualities of this drugs that they were handed out much more readily. Had they known in the 90's what they know now about them, you probably would have been more carefully monitered and now allowed to reach a point where you couldn't withdraw if you want to.

British GP's are not 'obsessed' with the addictive qualities and 'bad press'. They are here to make sure we don't harm ourselves. Why do they not hand out methadone or morphine to everyone? No one would suffer panic attacks or depression then! We would all be hunky dory!

There is no 'horses for courses' in this discussion. You can't weigh up a quality of life versus addictive qualities for this. It's not what these drugs were intended for. They wallpaper over cracks and as our bodies hit tolerance, we need more and more 'wallpaper' as the cracks get even bigger until the only thing keeping the house from falling down is the layers of wallpaper.

In that sense ducky, would you advise alcoholics to stay on alcohol? If they are happy on it and if gives them a better quality of life rather than the painful alcohol withdraw process, they why not keep them topped up on special brew for the rest of their days? Or the same with heroin users?

This kind of rhetoric should not be taken as advice for people who are already vulnerable and looking for a nice easy mask for their anxiety issues.

And I happen to be a qualified nurse as well as a short term diazepam user myself so I don't just take into account hearsay off a couple of users who say it's harmless to take long term. I look at peer reviewed research papers.
You have said the equivalent of "It's ok to smoke. I've been doing it all my life and I don't have cancer so it must be fine!"

A qualified nurse you say? Well clearly one on the NHS because you are obviously a nasty piece of work. I was only offering my opinion and my own personal experience - your response was aggressive and uncalled for. But what else would one expect from the crappy, incompetent NHS who employ so many foreigners who don't speak English resulting in the death of some patients.

Your comment regarding alcoholism was evil beyond belief - my only son was an alcoholic and died as a result in December 2010.

What a horrible person you are. But don't worry - I shan't be returning to this site ever again.