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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 24 of 24. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sdb on December 2, 2006, at 19:41:09
What's the average dosage of Valium (diazepam) prescribed in psychiatry? Is it approximately 10mg, or am I plain wrong?
sdb
Posted by Phillipa on December 2, 2006, at 21:57:21
In reply to Valium (diazepam) average dosage, posted by sdb on December 2, 2006, at 19:41:09
I take 20mg is this high? Love Phillipa ps been on benzos over 30years
Posted by ace on December 2, 2006, at 22:32:25
In reply to Valium (diazepam) average dosage, posted by sdb on December 2, 2006, at 19:41:09
> What's the average dosage of Valium (diazepam) prescribed in psychiatry? Is it approximately 10mg, or am I plain wrong?
>
> sdb2-40mg daily - contingent on severity of sx.
but average is usual 5-20mg/daily
Posted by Phillipa on December 2, 2006, at 22:35:23
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage, posted by ace on December 2, 2006, at 22:32:25
Ace how come mine doesn't work anymore and I'm taking 25mg of seroquel with it to sleep. Nothing during the day and I am afraid to be alone, agoraphbic, scared of everything? Love Jan/Phillipa ps on 20mg
Posted by zmg on December 3, 2006, at 2:00:35
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage » ace, posted by Phillipa on December 2, 2006, at 22:35:23
Phillipa,
I think its tolerance, although I've read reports of people using benzodiazepines at the same dose for years I've always kind of suspected that maybe they simply didn't need them as much (or were taking something else that relieved the symptoms).Of course I could be wrong, but that was my experience (tolerance, dose escalation, increased side effects, rinse, repeat).
Posted by Phillipa on December 3, 2006, at 18:48:31
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage » Phillipa, posted by zmg on December 3, 2006, at 2:00:35
So any advise? I'm getting old seriously. Love Phillipa
Posted by ace on December 3, 2006, at 19:10:34
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage » ace, posted by Phillipa on December 2, 2006, at 22:35:23
> Ace how come mine doesn't work anymore and I'm taking 25mg of seroquel with it to sleep. Nothing during the day and I am afraid to be alone, agoraphbic, scared of everything? Love Jan/Phillipa ps on 20mg
Jan,
sorry things arent going too well.1. At what rate did you titrate your Valium dose at?
2. How long, in total, have you been on it?
3. In addition to the Seroquel, any other meds.4. You feel the Valium used to work but now does not?
5. How hard is it to leave the house
hit me back, and try to stay positive!
Ace
Posted by zmg on December 3, 2006, at 19:11:47
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage » zmg, posted by Phillipa on December 3, 2006, at 18:48:31
I'd talk to my doctor and see if s/he was more comfortable increasing dosage or trying something else.
I'm not sure what getting off Valium would be like after taking it for so long. When I stopped I'd only been using it for about 2 years, I went down very gradually (> 1 month) and had few negative effects (I did use Phenibut at night to help me sleep, but it sounds like you've got that covered).
Being scared of everything makes it sound like something isn't working for you, thats no good.
@ sdb: I was taking 30-40 mg but without the oversight of a healthcare provider. I found that anything above 40 mgs didn't helps with anxiety or mood and increased side-effects (like being physically drunk, incoordinated, more likely to trip or fall, foggy mind, etc).
Posted by Phillipa on December 3, 2006, at 20:00:42
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage » Phillipa, posted by ace on December 3, 2006, at 19:10:34
Ace on and off benzos for over 30years. When ativan came out that, then xanax with klonopin, and chloral hydrate for about five years with xanax to sleep . Now back to valium for about 3 years at first l5mg then 20mg at night. But for the last ll years I've been agoraphobic by myself out since my thryroid went hasimotos thyroiditis and I had to stay home and stop working. Now my husbands money is gone and he wants my savings for bills so my stress is sky high. Oh he's been home for about 4 years as the job he held for 20 years he quit when we moved. And I'm l3 years older than him and ready to retire he's not so constant fighting. I'm in a holding pattern with meds as my thyroid went from hypo to hyper when I got diverticulitis. So it's being lowered. I'm like a trigger. I just flip. Love Phillipa
Posted by Phillipa on December 3, 2006, at 20:03:53
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage » Phillipa, posted by ace on December 3, 2006, at 19:10:34
Ace it's me not the meds I need to do something positive. Love Phillipa ps 25mg of luvox and my pdoc said I could play with the seroquel and I take .5 of xanax at night too. All meds at night. And ad's have never worked for me except l0mg of paxil my first ad. After being sick with sides effects for three months. With the xanax and beer. So no drinking for ll years. Oh and when stress was low no meds period.
Posted by sdb on December 3, 2006, at 21:52:30
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage » Phillipa, posted by zmg on December 3, 2006, at 19:11:47
> @ sdb: I was taking 30-40 mg but without the >oversight of a healthcare provider. I found that <anything above 40 mgs didn't helps with anxiety or >mood and increased side-effects (like being >physically drunk, incoordinated, more likely to >trip or fall, foggy mind, etc).
When I take one 10mg Valium I have your mentioned side-effects. But some days later at least the fatigue subsides slowly. 40mgs is quite a large dosage. A benzo is more a benign drug so it is very likely that you won't die if you take it without the oversight of a medical doctor. There are some better benzos unfortunately not available in the US such as Prazepam and Ketazolam. Both are definitely better concerning side-effects, pharmacokinetics and mood properties. I've never taken a benzo longer than a week. I don't know about tolerance. Some studies say that there will no dosage increase, whereas in every pharmacology book is written something like "efficacy longer than six weeks is not sure".
Kind regards
sdb
Posted by sdb on December 3, 2006, at 21:58:09
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage » ace, posted by Phillipa on December 3, 2006, at 20:03:53
Have you ever thought of a higher dosage Librium (chlordiazepoxide) treatment? Probably Librium could be a little bit better for mood than Valium.
Love sdb
Posted by zmg on December 4, 2006, at 1:19:13
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage }} zmg, posted by sdb on December 3, 2006, at 21:52:30
SDB,
I think its safe to say dosage is very different for different people (as are the effects, I can't take Xanax without it making me tired, cranky and foggy-headed).I was probably on a relatively high dose, but I'm keen on functionality so I tried to keep it low (relatively speaking) enough that I didn't end up with any kind of 'drugged' effect.
Its funny, but aside from emotional blunting (which is main reason I'm no longer using Valium) I was more energetic and clear-headed then I've probably ever been.
Posted by sdb on December 4, 2006, at 12:10:39
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage » ace, posted by Phillipa on December 2, 2006, at 22:35:23
Dear Phillipa,
How much was your dosage in mg and how long did you take Librium (chlordiazepoxide) - you said Librium was a failure.
Love sdb
Posted by sdb on December 4, 2006, at 12:28:12
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage }} zmg » sdb, posted by zmg on December 4, 2006, at 1:19:13
> SDB,
> I think its safe to say dosage is very different for different people (as are the effects, I can't take Xanax without it making me tired, cranky and foggy-headed).
>
> I was probably on a relatively high dose, but I'm keen on functionality so I tried to keep it low (relatively speaking) enough that I didn't end up with any kind of 'drugged' effect.
>
> Its funny, but aside from emotional blunting (which is main reason I'm no longer using Valium) I was more energetic and clear-headed then I've probably ever been.Dear zmg,
What do mean with more energetic and clear-headed under Valium < 40mg? Do you mean you had a better memory, memory recall, calculation abilities thus mental abilities better than without Valium?
Do you mean with emotional blunting some kind of depression or fatigue?
If you don't take Valium anymore, do still take something?kind regards
sdb
Posted by zmg on December 4, 2006, at 16:06:07
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage }} zmg, posted by sdb on December 4, 2006, at 12:28:12
SDB,
Yes, I believe I was (more) clear-headed while I was taking Valium. Before I started taking it I'd have expected the effects to be the opposite, but there you have it. :)By emotional blunting I mean I felt less, which was fine for a lot of the time but eventually became (in part) reason enough to stop (it was time to try another solution). It didn't cause any depression, if anything I had one position: up. But it was a kind of drug/muted up and that can just feel, well, weird.
I switched off Valium and have started taking Stablon (http://www.servier.com/pro/Neurosciences/stablon/stablon.asp) which has given me kind of mixed results so far (I think its been about a month now). I'm taking 12.5 mgs and when I take my first dose I get something like a positive activating effect. Really something that ripples just below any clear mood-lift. If I take a second dose (the half-life is pretty short) in the afternoon I typically get a headache and more of a jittery kind of feeling so I'm staying around 12.5 (a low dose).
Anyway, I had a much easier time focusing and performing somewhat repetitive tasks (I'm a systems admin, lots of repetition). I also built a fairly involved website that required a lot of socializing and extra work during my off-hours (doing interviews, radio programs and generally managing the who thing).
Posted by Phillipa on December 4, 2006, at 17:47:13
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage }} Phillipa, posted by sdb on December 4, 2006, at 12:10:39
Gee you're asking me to try and remember back 30 years or more. I do remember the dose was 25mg and I don't think I took it long . It wasn't as effective as valium Love Phillipa
Posted by sdb on December 4, 2006, at 18:06:51
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage }} zmg » sdb, posted by zmg on December 4, 2006, at 16:06:07
> SDB,
> Yes, I believe I was (more) clear-headed while I was taking Valium. Before I started taking it I'd have expected the effects to be the opposite, but there you have it. :)
>
> By emotional blunting I mean I felt less, which was fine for a lot of the time but eventually became (in part) reason enough to stop (it was time to try another solution). It didn't cause any depression, if anything I had one position: up. But it was a kind of drug/muted up and that can just feel, well, weird.
>
> I switched off Valium and have started taking Stablon (http://www.servier.com/pro/Neurosciences/stablon/stablon.asp) which has given me kind of mixed results so far (I think its been about a month now). I'm taking 12.5 mgs and when I take my first dose I get something like a positive activating effect. Really something that ripples just below any clear mood-lift. If I take a second dose (the half-life is pretty short) in the afternoon I typically get a headache and more of a jittery kind of feeling so I'm staying around 12.5 (a low dose).
>
> Anyway, I had a much easier time focusing and performing somewhat repetitive tasks (I'm a systems admin, lots of repetition). I also built a fairly involved website that required a lot of socializing and extra work during my off-hours (doing interviews, radio programs and generally managing the who thing).Hey, thanks zmg for sharing your knowledge.
For what did you take Valium (anxiety?), how long did you take it and were there any symptoms of tolerance during treatment?
The withdrawal from <40mg Valium with the phenibut technique in one month was not so hard to bear as I understand?
kind regards
sdb
Posted by sdb on December 4, 2006, at 18:15:45
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage }} Phillipa » sdb, posted by Phillipa on December 4, 2006, at 17:47:13
> Gee you're asking me to try and remember back 30 years or more. I do remember the dose was 25mg and I don't think I took it long . It wasn't as effective as valium Love Phillipa
Sorry Phillipa to remember such a long time.
I don't know but probably Librium 25mg was too less. 25mg Librium = more or less = 5mg Valium.
You take 20mg Valium = 100mg Librium.Librium does not kick in immediately because its
main substance has a much more weaker affinity to
the gaba receptor. You have to wait longer for the build up of the active metabolites.
Valium itself has more affinity to the gaba receptor and thus muscle relaxing, sedating properties.love sdb
Posted by Phillipa on December 4, 2006, at 19:14:49
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage }} Phillipa, posted by sdb on December 4, 2006, at 18:15:45
Well that makes sense as it was prescribed as 5mg of valium three times a day. So the librium was probably the same. Just didn't do the same thing. And don't forget I was on 450 of mephbrobamate. And it didn't sedated me I felt normal. And the three beers at night. Boy things were different then. And I just stopped the mepbrobamate. No withdrawal at all. Love Phillipa
Posted by zmg on December 4, 2006, at 20:03:02
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage }} zmg, posted by sdb on December 4, 2006, at 18:06:51
SDB,
I took Valium for almost 2 years for anxiety. I started loosely at between 10 and 20 mgs and over the course of those 2 years nearly doubled my dose (to 30 to 40 mgs) so I'd say yes to tolerance.The last week of my withdrawl was probably the worst (at 5 mgs). I was pretty short-fused and snapped a bit at work (which was unexpected!). I'm fairly sure the Phenibut helped, but I took it irregulary so I'm not 100% sure (I'd have to try it again!). :)
Posted by sdb on December 4, 2006, at 20:36:16
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage }} zmg » sdb, posted by zmg on December 4, 2006, at 20:03:02
> SDB,
> I took Valium for almost 2 years for anxiety. I started loosely at between 10 and 20 mgs and over the course of those 2 years nearly doubled my dose (to 30 to 40 mgs) so I'd say yes to tolerance.
>
> The last week of my withdrawl was probably the worst (at 5 mgs). I was pretty short-fused and snapped a bit at work (which was unexpected!). I'm fairly sure the Phenibut helped, but I took it irregulary so I'm not 100% sure (I'd have to try it again!). :)Hopefully the Stablon will do something for you especially for anxiety too. If it doesn't work you could switch back to Valium (and to try it again :-) ) Stablon is a quite exotic drug not often used by pdocs, but this does not imply that it is ineffective. Just don't know.
kind regardssdb
Posted by zmg on December 4, 2006, at 22:36:16
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage }} zmg, posted by sdb on December 4, 2006, at 20:36:16
Ya, we'll see! Stablon is the successor to Survector (Amineptine) which was of some acclaim before being taken off the market in most places (apparently because of pressure from the US).
I'm not having remarkable results (I took a second pill today and have the headache). I'll probably be trying Adrafanil next, but going back to Valium is always a possibility.
Posted by sdb on December 8, 2006, at 10:07:44
In reply to Re: Valium (diazepam) average dosage }} zmg » sdb, posted by zmg on December 4, 2006, at 22:36:16
> Ya, we'll see! Stablon is the successor to Survector (Amineptine) which was of some acclaim before being taken off the market in most places (apparently because of pressure from the US).
>
> http://www.amineptine.com/
>
> I'm not having remarkable results (I took a second pill today and have the headache). I'll probably be trying Adrafanil next, but going back to Valium is always a possibility.Good luck!
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