What is an ideal dosage of Valium to eliminate fear?

[adam2893]

Okay well here's the thing I take 5mg every day and have since January for panic, but it's not enough and I am so severely underweight I'll be shocked if I am not put on a feeding tube within the next few months, this goes back to my anxiety and not an eating disorder, I have a fear of vomit and that causes me to fear food because it may make me vomit. Anyway, what dosage would or should I go up to so I can leave my house (I haven't left my house in 6 months) and/or eat without panicking because I really need to gain a lot of weight but I can't while panicking. I have tried nearly every SSRI, TCA, Anti-psychotic, nothing works for my anxiety except benzos and in particular valium. Any suggestions guys? 7.5mg? 10mg? 15mg?

I would just like to add, doctors where I am will not prescribe anyone benzos (I am in a low socio-economic area where they are abused) despite me being very treatment resistant so I can't ask them unfortunately

I've done therapy but my therapist didn't do much and yeah I agree, benzos aren't the answer long term, but I am not in a position to get help right now since I can't leave the house to get therapy (plus I live in a small aboriginal community in Australia where there is no help) and I need to eat so I don't end up dying, I hate taking the valium but I'd be dead already if it wasn't for the 5mg a day letting me eat the little that I can.

I know peoples views on benzos but please don't give me the "don't take them" thing, I realise they are shit in the long run but I need them for right now, I need the band-aid for now so I can try and get the help by going outside to see a doctor and eat until the therapy can take the benzos place and I can (very) slowly rip that band-aid off and replace it with proper treatment.

I fully understand Valium is stupid long-term and not a fix but I urgently need to start leaving the house to get help from a therapist and doctor and urgently need to eat to gain weight so I am trying to find a better dose.

 

[SS373dOH]

I have a fear of vomit and that causes me to fear food because it may make me vomit.

I've never heard of this before, it's quite amazing. It's hard for me to comprehend! Was this caused by a different tramatic event?

I would just like to add, doctors where I am will not prescribe anyone benzos

So do you get you benzos on the street?

Maybe order pizza's and things of the nature so they can be delivered to your house? Also in some areas they have people that will run errands for you and do your grocery shopping, then deliver it to your house as well. sort of an uber of sorts for errands and shopping. You've probably thought about this already, but is something like a protein shake less worrisome?

Anyways as far as your dosage, it really depends on the individual and their tolerance. I'm assuming you're not that heavy, but 5mg is a very small dose! You can safely go up to 10mg, and add 10mg every 2-4 hours until you feel better. It's called tritration, it's a method that allows users to safely find their correct dosage. Once you find your sweet spot, you can either dose 2-3 times daily, or once in the morning, then as needed throughout the day.

This is quite an odd scenario, but I really wish you the best of luck bud! Keep us updated in this thread, or if you need to get something off your chest, feel free to post away here, and we'll read it and respond!

- Hopeless Soul

 

[adam2893]

I've never heard of this before, it's quite amazing. It's hard for me to comprehend! Was this caused by a different tramatic event?

Kind of, I randomly started getting extreme nausea after eating and it happened for months up until I would actually vomit after eating and then when that continued I cut back on how much I ate so the nausea would subside, then I let my anxiety take over and I developed a phobia of it. I asked doctors about it but they insist the nausea is from my anxiety despite the fact that it started before the anxiety existed so I haven't had any tests on my stomach to actually see what is wrong.

So do you get you benzos on the street?

Yeah either online or on the street depending on where is easier, the only reason I chose valium over any other benzo is in Australia it seems to be prescribed the most often as it's the easiest for me to acquire.

Maybe order pizza's and things of the nature so they can be delivered to your house? Also in some areas they have people that will run errands for you and do your grocery shopping, then deliver it to your house as well. sort of an uber of sorts for errands and shopping. You've probably thought about this already, but is something like a protein shake less worrisome?

Anyways as far as your dosage, it really depends on the individual and their tolerance. I'm assuming you're not that heavy, but 5mg is a very small dose! You can safely go up to 10mg, and add 10mg every 2-4 hours until you feel better. It's called tritration, it's a method that allows users to safely find their correct dosage. Once you find your sweet spot, you can either dose 2-3 times daily, or once in the morning, then as needed throughout the day.

This is quite an odd scenario, but I really wish you the best of luck bud! Keep us updated in this thread, or if you need to get something off your chest, feel free to post away here, and we'll read it and respond!

- Hopeless Soul

Yeah I was thinking about even just going up 2.5mg and then seeing how that feels but I think I will settle on 10mg and try that as from what I've read that's a pretty standard dose for severe panic while 5mg is for more mild anxiety. and no I'm not heavy im probably about 120 pounds/55kg and 6 feet tall so I'm very anorexic, I am very scared I will die from being very underweight, I have started getting boils over my legs and I can't ejaculate anymore because my body is so malnourished it doesn't make semen anymore, I assume. In regards to the protein shake I have thought about it but I am scared that the dairy in the protein (i know i can get dairy free but most have dairy) will make me sick, though I've never had issues with dairy in the past so it's all in my head. Thank you so much for your help I tried asking on another site and got a lecture about how bad benzos are and they are just a band-aid like I didn't already know that, I'm not looking for a cure but without a quick band-aid solution for right now I will probably die.

I would look into Ativan. It's is much more fast acting and you will likely feel more relaxed on it then a long acting benzo like valium.

Xanax is another fast acting benzo but in my experience it would leave me too tired and out of it.

Good luck, sounds like a rough situation.

I was once prescribed Ativan, I should try and get my hands on some and see how they go. Xanax is extremely hard to come across in Australia, I am fairly sure it's not even prescribed anymore due to abuse.

 

[kleinerkiffer]

Od -> BDD

 

[Rachella666]

OP, I thought that I was the only one in the world suffering from emetophobia! Plesae pm me if yo want, it's the main reason why I abuse drugs

 

[SKL]

I would look into Ativan. It's is much more fast acting and you will likely feel more relaxed on it then a long acting benzo like valium.

Xanax is another fast acting benzo but in my experience it would leave me too tired and out of it.

Good luck, sounds like a rough situation.

Bad advice
Valium despite during long action and active metabolites starts working very fast
Xanax while fast acting is just a terrible drug, highly addictive, dangerous, will IMO be taken off the market eventually, it's already on the way to essentially being so by consensus of sensible prescribers

 

[adam2893]

OP, I thought that I was the only one in the world suffering from emetophobia! Plesae pm me if yo want, it's the main reason why I abuse drugs

It's awful, right? at the moment I am so scared of having a heart attack or ending up on a feeding tube

Od -> BDD

oops sorry.

 

[Slow_Mobius]

This might seem like an odd suggestion, but have you considered zolpidem? Its much easier to get than benzos(in the US at least). Eating food and not remembering any of it is actually a side effect. I've noticed somewhat incidentally that it's very good for combating nauseua IME. It also has pretty potent antianxiety properties.

Obviously this isn't something that you can take during the day and remain functional, but you could certainly take in the evening and eat food for a couple hours to get a decent meal in. That should at least prevent malnourishment if it worked

 

[Raysu]

I've had something very similar but as a child and so was forced into social situations and became borderline anorexic then massive anxiety with panic attacks as an adult. I'd suggest looking into high calorie foods that have the least volume so you can eat bites small enough to handle mentally, or lick peanut butter, or make your own high protein shakes/smoothies. Start by overcoming small obstacles like if you can't leave your home open windows for short lengths of time or sit in your doorway with the door open and as you reach those goals work your way up to walking outside around the yard or past the neighbors or whatever seems to fit your environment. As far as meds go I found clonazepam worked best for my anxiety. Fear is a different animal overcome by courage. For me certain uppers and opioids got me very social but they come with the worst kinda addictive pull. It may sound silly but really setting goals and achieving them is the greatest and safest confidence builder. For me keeping a list of what I ate even if it was meager was helpful because it helped me see what I did eat instead of worrying about what I didn't eat as much and the list each day expanded. At first it was like literally "8 peas, 1 cracker, 2 sips of juice" and the next day maybe one cracker more but I could see the improvement. Best of luck to you. You are on the right track in getting advice and wanting to improve! No doubt you had days where you put off seeking help and wanted to give up so you're moving forward even if it doesn't seem that way.