Benzos addicted to valium Q

[bighooter]

can you get benzo withdrawl if you have been using diazepam between 5-20mg 1/2 or 3 times a week for 2 years? never more than 3days a week though but at least once a week fir 2years.

its been 3 weeks since any diazepam and i have severe anxiety so much so that i cant go anywhere without feeling intense anxiety and severe paranoia so much so that I have stopped sociailisng with family and friends because I feel so uncomfortable.

I have been going to the gym with my brother which i find very difficult but am manging to go to the gym 3 times a week, not working coz i have such bad anxiety and trying to fill my time going to drug meetings etc.

is there anything i can do to improve my situation/ reduce anxiety and is my anxiety likely to be due to diazepam withdrawl or just plain anxiety? as i had anxiety before ever using diazepam.

 

[InHerOwnWrite]

Sounds like general anxiety, nothing to do with any kind of benzo withdrawal, especially if you're already 3 weeks clean from diazepam. As for what to do about it, you should make an appointment with a psychologist or psychiatrist or any mental health expert and they can give you a better answer than i can. Good luck

 

[pbuilder]

^ Valium has a long half life, taking up to 20mgs three times a week can definetly leave a person with withdrawal symptoms when they quit cold turkey. If I remember right the half life is 100 hours so it takes half a week to eliminate only half the dose, thus when using up to 3 times a week it will continue to build up in your blood...

You should plan out a short taper, a quick google search can give you tons of information on how too correctly taper.

 

[brutus]

With the long half life of Valium and its metabolites, you sound like you were physically dependent on Valium, even though you only took it three times a week. It was still in your bloodstream those days that you weren't taking it. I would gradually taper my Valium dose if what you are experiencing is completely unbearable. You could always try supplements such as L-Theanine for anxiety.

 

[laCster]

^this is a great post.. valium's long-half is the main culprit that caused your WD. do you have any valium left over? a taper tremendously helps negate symptoms of WD

 

[maxalfie]

You are also doing the right thing by going to the GYM 3 times a week. Exercise will help you with your anxiety and any bodily withdrawal side effects that you may be suffering from.
Best advice you've been given so far though is to gradually taper down your Valium usage if possible and that will make things as painless as possible for you.

 

[shreddedlettuce]

After oral administration peak plasma concentrations are reached in 1 to four hours. Drug elimination follows a biphasic pattern, with a rapid phase (half-life = 2 to 3 hours) followed by a slow decay with a half-life of 2 to 8 days. Diazepam is metabolized to active products including oxazepam. One third is excreted as oxazepam and 70% of the metabolites appear in the urine. Metabolites have been found in the urine and in the plasma 14 days after a 10 mg dose.

source

So yeah, taper FTW.

 

[chrisalt]

yes, yes you can. Valium has a half life of 72-100 hour in your system. So your GABA receptors always have some of the substance interacting with the receptor and this is where you get dependant.

 

[tricomb]

With the long half life of Valium and its metabolites, you sound like you were physically dependent on Valium, even though you only took it three times a week. It was still in your bloodstream those days that you weren't taking it. I would gradually taper my Valium dose if what you are experiencing is completely unbearable. You could always try supplements such as L-Theanine for anxiety.

^This, OP, you're experiencing PAWS / rebound anxiety from abruptly discontinuing your diazepam (something you were NOT supposed to do due to increased risk of seizures, I know your doctor didn't tell you to just stop taking it). You should have / could have tapered to avoid this, but now that you're a month clean, just stay benzo-free and it will subside with time.