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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

Benzos Diazepam didn't work :(

E

evo4ever

Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 14, 2016
Messages
1,418
Location
UK
Hello all.

Yesterday I had an appointment with my doctor for chronic insomnia and he prescribed me Diazepam 2mg. I took one an hour before bed and it done absolutely nothing :(. Has anyone got any ideas as to why it didn't work? Cheers guys.
 
In my experience diazepam is bad for inducing sleep and it's not a good choice for treating insomnia. It was the most activizing and stimulating among all benzos I tried. And that would explain why it didn't work for you and I am suprised you got diazepam prescribed for chronic insomnia.

Among this type of substances a better choice would be z-drugs but I'd stay away from benzos and z-drugs anyway. If you never tried quetiapine you should look it up it's my fav sleep aid
 
Sound logic when i was no longer Benzo naive XL i did develop some 'getting used to the effects', they are hardly noticeable first few times ⚠️. The danger lies there i assume.
But in general my tolerance never got higher then taking it here and then.

But 10 x that amount during day time during a long-lasting period of insomnia.
Where i drank Alcohol took RC benzo s so assumed i would at least have some tolerance. Obvious not as after 20 mg 2 x during day i slept through Alcohol WD.

But that was no success a s that night was spent wake, WD-ing from Booze.
While at the same time nodding from 40 mg Diazepam but no sleep.
Had my dose halved the next day. So i safely assume your dose is a bit low.

My experience told me that 20- 20 40 mg was overkill. So i would search for your sweet spot work your way up. I know i was given a 5 mg when 100 % naive never felt a thing.

And be warned addiction is a series issue with this medication, i was afraid i might had done something dumb. Get addicted to these as well, didn t happen. Stay safe. @evo4ever
 
aag said:
In my experience diazepam is bad for inducing sleep
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Especially two milligrams, Jesus Christ. Coincidentally, I filled a diazepam prescription yesterday and I had expected 10 or 15 milligrams because the doctor said he would raise it to either of those from 5, but it turned out to be 5. These doctors are such rip offs.

 
aag said:
quetiapine
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It will ruin the body's to relearn how to sleep. I was at Seroquel 400mg for over 6 years. I stopped taking it and switched to Ambien 10mg and did not sleep more than 1-3hrs per night for 71 days. I was hurting bad after 71 days of that. I mean I looked horrid under the eyes. Then I switched to Lunesta 3mg (equals Diazepam 10mg but stronger as a sedative/hypnotic). I started sleeping better.
 
Anyone looking for a benzo alternative or taper aid:

Niacinamide/nicotinamide is OTC. 50-200mg daily with carbs/sugar. Larger doses are often counterproductive.
Start with 50mg and slowly increase the dose.
It appears that niacinamide has similar anxiolytic properties to that of the benzodiazepines. This is supported by the fact that the patient did not feel any difference, in terms of response and effectiveness, between the benzodiazepines and niacinamide. He was able to switch with little difficulty from the daily use of a benzodiazepine to niacinamide.
...
While it is impossible to conclude that the effects of niacinamide are due to its interaction upon the benzodiazepine receptor, it does appear to influence neurotransmitter metabolism in a manner that is comparable to benzodiazepines by a route as yet undetermined. Even though most of the studies dealt with animal rather than human models, the results suggest that niacinamide has a potent benzodiazepine-like action on the CNS.
- source
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Nicotinamide is an active compound found in rat or bovine brain that shares several pharmacological properties with benzodiazepines.
It has been shown to facilitate GABA-dependent presynaptic inhibition.
Like benzodiazepines, nicotinamide protects animals from seizures ... and also possesses myorelaxant and sedative activities.
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/nicotinamide
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Theanine powder is OTC, the dose range is 100mg to 1g+
L-Theanine, a non-proteinogenic amino acid is a well-known agent for improving sleep disturbances. Previous studies suggest that L-theanine exerts its relaxant effect by enhancing GABA levels.
In animal studies, L-theanine was shown to oppose caffeine’s effect and promote sedation. In addition to its relaxant potency, L-theanine has a neuroprotective role since it acts as a glutamate receptor antagonist, upregulates GABA receptors, and increases the expression of antioxidant enzymes.
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.874254
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Magnolol is OTC, usually sold in capaules.
Magnolia bark contains magnolol, metabolized to tetrahydromagnolol and honokiol, with both GABA-ergic/cannabimimetic activities
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28517911/
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Phytol is sold online in several places, including amazon.
It is postulated that the phytol is able to elevate the neurotransmitter GABA levels in central nervous system through its inhibitory action on one of the GABA degradative enzymes, SSADH.
- https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02976937
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2mg of diazepam is very low dose.insuficcient imo for a lot of people to produce efficient sleep....it's more like tranquilizing dose...also for some people diazepam just don't work..may be something relating to metabolism or idk what
 
Shinji Ikari said:
2mg is fuck all. 5mg will make it easier to sleep. 10mg will make it much easier to sleep.
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Yea I would need like 30-50 mg just to even feel it. Idk why they give such low doses. Xanax I would need 4 bars to even have a recreational dose. 2mg is a therapeutic dose for me
 
2mg is a tiny dose, usually reserved for tapering off of prolonged benzodiazepine use.

A standard dose is 10mg; 5mg will likely have some effect. But this is the first I have ever heard of someone being prescribed 2mg diazepam for anything other than gradually tapering off.
 
Ativan 2-4mg w/ Roxicodone 210mg, Methadone 40mg, and Clonidine 0.9mg is fire for chronic pain syndrome.
 
Yeah I suspected the dose was way too low (2mg). Should I take maybe 4mg, 5mg, or 6mg instead? The only problem with that is my supply will run out much quicker (he only gave me 7 tablets :rolleyes: lmao).

PS: I'd probably get better results from Promethazine than 2mg of Diazepam! I've got a pack of Phenergan (promethazine) 25mg arriving today.
 
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Yesterday I took all of the remaining tablets which equalled to 9mg and again it did absolutely nothing, I feel really disappointed! Now that I've got the Promethazine I'm going to put it to use. I've got a feeling the Promethazine is going to have a better effect than the Diazepam when it comes to insomnia. I'll report back tomorrow.
 
I'm happy to report that the Promethazine worked!! I took 75mg while in bed and I drifted off and I woke up roughly 6.5 hours later which was confirmed by the health app on my Apple Watch :)
 
I had an appointment with my psychiatrist a few days ago and he prescribed me Zopiclone 7.5mg. I took the Zopiclone alongside the Promethazine and I slept for 8 hours and 8 mins! and the next day I slept for 7 hours and 2 mins! This was recorded by my Apple Watch. That's the most I've ever slept in many years!! Should I keep taking the Zopiclone/Promethazine on a daily basis or should I have a few days break in-between? Cheers guys.
 
2mg's of Valium is going to do fuck all for sleep. In my experience Valium isnt great for sleep anyway temazepam works much better for that imo
 
evo4ever said:
I had an appointment with my psychiatrist a few days ago and he prescribed me Zopiclone 7.5mg. I took the Zopiclone alongside the Promethazine and I slept for 8 hours and 8 mins! and the next day I slept for 7 hours and 2 mins! This was recorded by my Apple Watch. That's the most I've ever slept in many years!! Should I keep taking the Zopiclone/Promethazine on a daily basis or should I have a few days break in-between? Cheers guys.
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I currently get prescribed 7.5mg's of zopiclone for sleep every night as well. It works great but i tend to abuse it and run out after about 2 weeks every month lol. But i find with zopiclone you should take breaks as it stops working if you dont. I have never become dependent on zopiclone and i dont know anyone that has but t can happen. I think its alot rarer then benzo wd though. Rebound insomnia can happen though

Im not sure i would take promethazine with it for long though. Both these drugs carry a dementia risk so combing them both would raise the risk for sure.
 
evo4ever said:
Hello all.

Yesterday I had an appointment with my doctor for chronic insomnia and he prescribed me Diazepam 2mg. I took one an hour before bed and it done absolutely nothing :(. Has anyone got any ideas as to why it didn't work? Cheers guys.
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Probably because 2mg diazepam should equate to somewhere around 0,1 - 0,133mg alprazolam (whether you consider diazepam 15 - 20x weaker than alpraz, the literature is inconsistent), thats below threshold effects for the majority of people, id say absolute minimum an equivalent to 0,25mg alpraz and even then anyone with serious anxiety or insomnia will NOT get sufficient relief.

I think 7,5 - 10mg diazepam would do you better for insomnia but try to exhaust every other non-addictive option first.
Antihistamines, orexin antagonists,
maybe antipsychotics but would avoid those if you dont need them since they will atrophy your brain.
Even Z-drugs are a better option for sleep than benzodiazepines IMO
 
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I think I'll stick to the Zopiclone/Promethazine combo because it works and I'm only going to take it infrequently and occasionally to keep it effective. Also I think I should tell you guys the other meds I'm on...

Oxycodone IR 30mg x4 daily (120mg/d max)
Pregabalin 150mg x4 daily (600mg/d max)
Mirtazapine 45mg nightly
Hyoscine HBR 250mcg twice nightly (500mcg/d max)
Promethazine 50mg nightly PRN (NEW)
Zopiclone 7.5mg nightly PRN (NEW)
Diazepam 2mg nightly (discontinued/depleted)

Now your probably thinking why on earth do I need a sleep aid after taking all those meds I'm on. I often ask that question and I think it's all down to tolerance. Crazy right?

PS: Please stop sending me DM's asking to buy my meds, and stop asking me which doctor is prescribing my meds. Also if your a US citizen then look at my country of origin. Thank you.
 
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