Diazepam no longer working for Anxiety & Insomnia. Any other suggestions please?

[pally pete]

As the title says, Diazepam is longer having any effect on my Anxiety or is it helping me relax and therefore help me sleep.

I'm at my wits end! Is there any other medication out there that would be effective for me? I really need something asap as livelihood depends on it. I know pretty much all medications have severe negative consequences but I've tried all the natural ways, eating a very healthy balanced diet, daily exercise and all the other natural remedies (Which I actually believe do not help at all)

I very rarely make my own threads but I'm in a desperate situation. I've suffered crippling Anxiety for around 18 years now.

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[femaletrouble]

how often do you take your diazepam? is it every day! you may have built up a tollerance so i would suggest increasing the dose to perhaps 20-30mg see how that feels. i would like to recommed a book called...self help for your nerves by claire weekes its based on teach your mind to relaxin the natual way

 

[mycrowis_name]

Benzodiazepines are both physically addicting and habit forming. with that being said...
diazepam is a Benzodiazepine...
anything for anxiety that's equal to diazpepam? well that would include pretty much any other benzodiazepines family. including...


(brandname/genergic)

Xanax (Alprazolam)

is a benzodiazepine anxiolytic commonly prescribed as a sleep aid and for the treatment of anxiety disorders. It is considered to be one of the shorter duration benzodiazepines.

Clonazepam (Klonopin)

is a benzodiazepine and anti-convulsant used in the treatment of seizures and panic disorder.

Etizolam (Etilaam)

is a somewhat uncommon benzodiazepine-like anxiolytic used as a sleep aid and for the treatment of anxiety disorders.

Lorazepam (Ativan)

is a benzodiazepine used in the treatment of anxiety disorders. It is similar to valium, but is taken at much lower doses. It is also prescribed off-label to reduce nausea associated with chemotherapy.

Temazepam (Restoril)

is a benzodiazepine used in the short-term treatment of insomnia and anxiety.

Triazolam (Halcion)

is a short-acting benzodiazepine used in the treatment of insomnia and anxiety disorders.

Librium (Chlordiazepoxide)

is a benzodiazepine prescribed for anxiety and panic disorders, acute alcohol withdrawal symptoms, tension headaches, and other symptoms relieved by tranquilizers. It has slight analgesic and appetite-stimulating effects.



Withdrawal Risks:
Anxiety, Insomnia, Seizures, Death
Regular use of benzodiazepines leads to phyiscal addiction (strong withdrawal effects upon cessation of use). Stopping or reducing dosages can lead to mild to severe anxiety, including panic attacks, insomnia, and extreme dysphoria (very bad mood).

Stopping chronic use of benzodiazepines without tapering dosages down can lead to very dangerous physical complications. Case reports include seizures, psychotic behaviour, and even death:
SO PLEASE NO ONE EVER JUST STOP TAKING BENZO'S BEFORE CONSULTING A DOCTOR....... unless you know how to properly wean yourself off.

how ever there are alternatives to Benzodiazipines. as for pharmaceutical..

(brand name/generic)

(Neurontin / Gabapentin)
Gabapentin is prescribed -- usually in combination with other medications -- for the treatment of seizure disorders, though its anticonvulsant mechanism is not known. It is sometimes prescribed for the management of neuralgia (nerve pain) and has been prescribed off-label for the treatment of mood disorders, anxiety, and tardive dyskinesia (a neurological syndrome caused by the long-term use of neuroleptic drugs).


(Vistaril /Hydroxyzine)

Hydroxyzine is prescribed when the onset of an organic disease state manifests through anxiety, as generalized anxiety disorder, or in other more serious cases as psychoneurosis, and is therefore prescribed as a means of regulating normal function. Hydroxyzine has shown to be as effective as the benzodiazepine drug bromazepam in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder.

Hydroxyzine link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroxyzine

Gabapentin link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabapentin

and there are others out there but these seem to work the best, hope this helps you.

 

[pally pete]

how often do you take your diazepam? is it every day! you may have built up a tollerance so i would suggest increasing the dose to perhaps 20-30mg see how that feels. i would like to recommed a book called...self help for your nerves by claire weekes its based on teach your mind to relaxin the natual way

Benzodiazepines are both physically addicting and habit forming. with that being said...
diazepam is a Benzodiazepine...
anything for anxiety that's equal to diazpepam? well that would include pretty much any other benzodiazepines family. including...


(brandname/genergic)

Xanax (Alprazolam)

is a benzodiazepine anxiolytic commonly prescribed as a sleep aid and for the treatment of anxiety disorders. It is considered to be one of the shorter duration benzodiazepines.

Clonazepam (Klonopin)

is a benzodiazepine and anti-convulsant used in the treatment of seizures and panic disorder.

Etizolam (Etilaam)

is a somewhat uncommon benzodiazepine-like anxiolytic used as a sleep aid and for the treatment of anxiety disorders.

Lorazepam (Ativan)

is a benzodiazepine used in the treatment of anxiety disorders. It is similar to valium, but is taken at much lower doses. It is also prescribed off-label to reduce nausea associated with chemotherapy.

Temazepam (Restoril)

is a benzodiazepine used in the short-term treatment of insomnia and anxiety.

Triazolam (Halcion)

is a short-acting benzodiazepine used in the treatment of insomnia and anxiety disorders.

Librium (Chlordiazepoxide)

is a benzodiazepine prescribed for anxiety and panic disorders, acute alcohol withdrawal symptoms, tension headaches, and other symptoms relieved by tranquilizers. It has slight analgesic and appetite-stimulating effects.



Withdrawal Risks:
Anxiety, Insomnia, Seizures, Death
Regular use of benzodiazepines leads to phyiscal addiction (strong withdrawal effects upon cessation of use). Stopping or reducing dosages can lead to mild to severe anxiety, including panic attacks, insomnia, and extreme dysphoria (very bad mood).

Stopping chronic use of benzodiazepines without tapering dosages down can lead to very dangerous physical complications. Case reports include seizures, psychotic behaviour, and even death:
SO PLEASE NO ONE EVER JUST STOP TAKING BENZO'S BEFORE CONSULTING A DOCTOR....... unless you know how to properly wean yourself off.

how ever there are alternatives to Benzodiazipines. as for pharmaceutical..

(brand name/generic)

(Neurontin / Gabapentin)
Gabapentin is prescribed -- usually in combination with other medications -- for the treatment of seizure disorders, though its anticonvulsant mechanism is not known. It is sometimes prescribed for the management of neuralgia (nerve pain) and has been prescribed off-label for the treatment of mood disorders, anxiety, and tardive dyskinesia (a neurological syndrome caused by the long-term use of neuroleptic drugs).


(Vistaril /Hydroxyzine)

Hydroxyzine is prescribed when the onset of an organic disease state manifests through anxiety, as generalized anxiety disorder, or in other more serious cases as psychoneurosis, and is therefore prescribed as a means of regulating normal function. Hydroxyzine has shown to be as effective as the benzodiazepine drug bromazepam in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder.

Hydroxyzine link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroxyzine

Gabapentin link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabapentin

and there are others out there but these seem to work the best, hope this helps you.

Thanks for your replies but... I'm sorry I should have explained. The reason I didn't was because I wrongly thought that everybody knew that I used to be a Benzo fiend consuming hundreds of various Benzos every weekend. I started abusing them back in early 2009 and this soon escelated. For most of the past 18 Months I was using them at prescribed doses after one of my many cold turkey withdrawals went horrifically wrong and I ended up spending 7 days in hospital due to Psychosis.

I tapered down to 5mg and then completely jumped off. Now that my tolerance has dropped the occasional time I'd take a sensible dose (Between 20 - 50mg) which would slightly take the edge off things. But now they do not work at all, even though I haven't abused them in over 6 Months.

Anyway, I'm no expert (Who is??!!) but I'm aware about tolerance etc.. What I was looking for were alternative medications to Benzos as they are now almost useless for my condition.

@Femaletrouble - Suggesting to anybody up the doseage is poor advice (IMO) I've also read that Claire weekes book which like a lot of other self help type books is complete garbage! A lot of it is stating the obvious, but she has got very very rich by sucking people in. Thanks all the same.

@mycrowis_name - I've tried all them Benzos already, aswell as Pregabalin (Lyrica) which is average at best and tolerance builds uicker to that drug than any other that I have ever tried. As for Hydroxyzine - when it comes to Anxiety I find it about as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

Thanks for your time.

Any more imput would be greatly appreciated.