Diazepam dosage?

[Ash09]

After trying a few weeks of trying mirtazapine my GP suggested diazepam and has pescribed me some. I've read the equivilency charts but I wanted to know first hand of how much people here have to take to get anxiety relief?

[meyaj]

Didn't your GP tell you what dose to try out? Go with that first before you see what other people think "works," otherwise you're not going to expect lower doses to work... and you want to keep the dose as low as possible.

Also, if you're at the point where you need valium you should really be seeing a psychiatrist

[Ash09]

Originally Posted by meyaj

Didn't your GP tell you what dose to try out? Go with that first before you see what other people think "works," otherwise you're not going to expect lower doses to work... and you want to keep the dose as low as possible.

Yeah I'm trying 2mg first, just interested in what doses other people take for different situations.

Also, if you're at the point where you need valium you should really be seeing a psychiatrist

I agree but alas this is the NHS, 20 week waiting time just to see a CBT therapist.

[UltraShy]

Originally Posted by Ash09

Yeah I'm trying 2mg first, just interested in what doses other people take for different situations.

2 mg of Valium is an absolute joke and is the kind of nonsense they pull in the UK, the epicenter of benzo bashing.

I'd expect far more placebo effect than anything else at that level.

[meyaj]

Ah I hear you... it took me nearly 6 months to finally get my psych evaluation and everything going at the local mental health clinic here in Canada. I've never had to wait very long for physical medical treatment and operations, but apparently the mental health system is in very high demand these days...

As for the 2mg, I have to admit that does sound a bit low, but I'd still try it with an open mind. Even if you get an anxiolytic effect from placebo, it's better in the long run to be using as low a dose as possible. My therapist tells me a lot people feel much less anxious just knowing they have the pills nearby and available if needed.

[Cast Away]

Some people have a higher natural tolerance including me, and it takes a hell of alot more valium than that to make a difference to me.

[Ash09]

Well I've taken 10mg a couple of times now which seemed to have a good effect on my unease and inhibitions, bizarrely my reaction time decreased on average by 20ms after taking the drug totally contradicting what the doctor said about 10mg being a large sedating dose.

[arth67]

its often the sedation level that limits the benzo dose
the sedation level varies a lot between people so start low, 2mg is a typical starting dose but take it at home forst as it could have some people feeling very drunk until they got used to it

[RockiNToM]

I have absolutely no idea what dose I was given of diazepam when I had to have an op a good few years ago, but it was an absolute joke. My eyes felt tired, but it did absolutely nothing to calm me. I mean, this was in the hospital, with access to higher doses and it did not work. Yet put some alcohol inside me and I will be fine lol.

[jim_morrison]

Yeah I always found alcohol to be slightly more effective than benzos (klonopin, xanax) but I guess alcohol hits more receptors than benzos, so there not completely comparable.

[RockiNToM]

[arth67]

needless to say, alcahol makes benzos work stronger

[Lisa]

If you havent taken it before you will notice a difference with 2mg.

[euphoria]

2mg of diazepam might not do much at first, but after continued usage it builds up in your body and reaches a far greater effect.

[rhanch]

Originally Posted by euphoria

2mg of diazepam might not do much at first, but after continued usage it builds up in your body and reaches a far greater effect.

That might be the case, though it may also be the case that the more you use benzodiazapines, the less effective they are.

If you look at the benzo equivalency chart at:
http://www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm
0.5 mg of Xanax has about the same anti-anxiety effect as 10 mg diazapam. However, diazapam can last more than three times as long. So it would seem to depend upon whether you have a constant low level anxiety, or more of a situational and temporary anxiety. I would hate to think of how many diazapam I would have to take to deal with a panic attack.

[meyaj]

Originally Posted by rhanch

That might be the case, though it may also be the case that the more you use benzodiazapines, the less effective they are.

If you look at the benzo equivalency chart at:
http://www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm
0.5 mg of Xanax has about the same anti-anxiety effect as 10 mg diazapam. However, diazapam can last more than three times as long. So it would seem to depend upon whether you have a constant low level anxiety, or more of a situational and temporary anxiety. I would hate to think of how many diazapam I would have to take to deal with a panic attack.

Diazepam has an extremely long half life (it's primary active metabolite having the longest of ANY benzo) and, with regular use, can build up to a relatively high and stable level in the blood.

No doubt that tolerance is an issue with benzos, but these are two very different things with very different timelines. It might take a week or so of regular use to reach the peak blood levels, but it will take somewhat longer for tolerance to develop to the point where it will counteract this.

That being said, 2mg is a very low dose, and I barely noticed 10mg when I first took it. I've only started taking benzos on a regular basis about 3 months ago, haven't noticed any tolerance, so I haven't needed to increase it at all, and according to that chart I started at, and am still taking the equivalent of 40mg diazepam (2mg clonazepam) at a time... that's 20 times a much! In terms of the subjective effects, I'd call that a pretty close approximation too.

The reason I think it's even worth mentioning is that lower doses just flatten my mood and energy without any real anxiolysis, and make me feel crappier than ever, but with a sufficiently high enough dose the disinhibition kicks in I feel great and a lot more comfortable with people.

[Ash09]

I took 20mg today and still didn't feel anything, I'll try 30mg when I get another pescription tomorrow, try and get my GP to up my dose as well.

[Arisa1536]

Originally Posted by meyaj

Didn't your GP tell you what dose to try out? Go with that first before you see what other people think "works," otherwise you're not going to expect lower doses to work... and you want to keep the dose as low as possible.

Also, if you're at the point where you need valium you should really be seeing a psychiatrist

oh pish posh LOL sorry but chances are if you are on benzo's the GP would have had you referred to someone professional
usually its a shrink you prescribes my benzodiazepines

Ash, i have found that personally Valium is not strong at all
and my doc informed me that 20mg of Diazepam (Valium) is the same as 0.5 of Clonazepam and 1mg of ativan and those two are a much much much better option as they work faster and stay in your body longer

you may find with Valium, because they need to be in higher doses to work, that you end up taking more and more in the first few days cuz they o nothing, i have been there and unless i am on 10x2mg i would rather be on what i am now, 0.5 three times a day of klonopin they are much better
ask you doc about that

[meyaj]

Originally Posted by Arisa1536

oh pish posh LOL sorry but chances are if you are on benzo's the GP would have had you referred to someone professional
usually its a shrink you prescribes my benzodiazepines

Read my own paragraph that you chose to quote. You're not disagreeing with a thing I said. The OP made clearly stated that it was the GP doing the precribing, and I even went as far as mentioning that if someone needs valium they really should be seeing a psychiatrist about it rather than a GP.

It always puzzles me why people on the Internet seem to endlessly look for arguments where there are none.