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Benzos Question about Valium

taylor_105

taylor_105

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 15, 2007
Messages
153
Location
Clearwater, Fl.
I know I just posted another question but I forgot to ask this one. My PM doc is sending me for an MRI of my lower spine. It will be a closed machine and I am terrified of being in tight spaces. My psychiatrist because of tolerance over many years has me on 5 mg.s a day of Xanax. I know that is a high dose but I have severe anxiety and have since I was 10 and have been on this drug for more than twenty years now. So it does not get me high in any way. I take it as prescribed and it just keeps me normal. Without it I wouldn't be able to leave my house. My anxiety levels are crazy. The question is...the PM doc gave me one 10 mg. Valium to take before the MRI because of my fear. He said to take it while in the waiting room so that it did not wear off mid-way through the MRI which is supposed to last about 30 minutes. I have never taken Valium. My question is for someone like me who is tolerant of 5 mg.s of Xanax a day...will this Valium even do anything to help me with this test and the fear? I am not opposed to chewing it up if that would help. I never abuse my meds or take them in any way other than prescribed but for this one time and this test....I would be willing if it would make it stronger. I'm terrified. Please, let me know if this drug will help at all.8(
 
I have a feeling it will have 0 effect on your anxiety (what the hell is your Dr. thinking?)
Maybe if it was a drip it would help...
You probably need 30 mg's to have ANY effect
You dont want to know how many Xanax I would use (after telling the "Dr" why) because it has nothing to do with "harm reduction' !!
 
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If you go into it thinking that it won't work, then it probably won't work. Yea, it's not that high of a dose really, but it may help. I find that it takes close to an hour to peak, so take that into consideration when dosing it.
 
Tommyboy said:
If you go into it thinking that it won't work, then it probably won't work. Yea, it's not that high of a dose really, but it may help. I find that it takes close to an hour to peak, so take that into consideration when dosing it.
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She takes 5 mg's of Xanax a day ! It doesnt matter how much "ahead" of time she takes it !
 
Fire&Water said:
I have a feeling it will have 0 effect on your anxiety (what the hell is your Dr. thinking?)
Maybe if it was a drip it would help...
You probably need 30 mg's to have ANY effect
You dont want to know how many Xanax I would use (after telling the "Dr" why) because it has nothing to do with "harm reduction' !!
Click to expand...

I wonder if I take my Xanax dose with the Valium if they would potentiate each other.
 
Talk to the doctor that is giving you the diazepam and explain how much aprazolam you take to function daily. Perhaps he would be willing to up the dosage of diazepam or allow you to dose higher with the aprazolam for break-through anxiety.
 
ms4104 said:
Why does your doc have you on such a high dose for so long?
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I won't get into details but my childhood was something Stephen King could not come up with. I have been on anti-anxiety meds since I was 10 and found out I had a bleeding ulcer in my stomach. I started out on a .5 like everyone. Over the years though tolerance is a bitch and now decades later I am still on it but take 5 mg's a day. I do not feel any sort of high or anything but it just makes me feel normal. However, if I miss a dose...man do I ever start getting sick. I dread the day something happens and my meeds are stolen or something. I would straight to the ER at this high of a dose of Xanax the withdrawals could mean death.
 
I suggest trying to switch over to valium by slowly supplementing some valium in for the xanax, until the switch is complete. If you are just taking benzos to feel normal, why not take one that will make you feel normal longer? I was scripted 3mg of xanax a day for a while, and I think I made it 24 hours without it once, and it was horrible. I switched to valium, and I don't have to worry about dosing as much, and I have been able to go 2-3 days between doses on it, which I could never have done with the xanax. It at least provides me with the sense of well being, knowing that I have a day or so to replenish my supply if it goes missing now.
 
Tommyboy said:
I suggest trying to switch over to valium by slowly supplementing some valium in for the xanax, until the switch is complete. If you are just taking benzos to feel normal, why not take one that will make you feel normal longer? I was scripted 3mg of xanax a day for a while, and I think I made it 24 hours without it once, and it was horrible. I switched to valium, and I don't have to worry about dosing as much, and I have been able to go 2-3 days between doses on it, which I could never have done with the xanax. It at least provides me with the sense of well being, knowing that I have a day or so to replenish my supply if it goes missing now.
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The reason is that my insurance does not cover benzos of any kind. The Xanax is the cheapest at $35..00 for 75 2 mg. pills. The Valium pill I bought the other day cost me $14.00 for one pill. I could not pay for it.
 
^ Find a better pharmacy. I actually pay cash for my valium because it's cheaper than the copay. Also, they are really weird with prices, so just because 1 pill was $14 doesn't mean that 2 pills would be $28. I think that 30 and below will all be the same price (so $14 in your case), and 30-60 would all be the price, etc...
 
No, 10 mg of valium will do nothing for you. And benzos should not be prescribed long term no matter what your childhood was lilke. Instead of healing, you are just making things worse by taking that much xanax every day. Benzos are the most soul destroying drug out there. I am a recovering xanax user myself, was prescribed 4 mgs a day.

Of course its a wonder drug at first but after a whille it loses its affectiveness. Then it acctually makes your anxiety worse and causes all sorts of other neuroses and depression. Have you experienced any of these things?

How long have you been on it? If you've been on it for decades as you say, I am not even sure if withdrawing would be advisable for you. Withdrawal has been the most difficult thing Ive ever gone through and i was only on it for two years. So you might never be able to get off benzos completely. However, I do think that like someone else said, you might benefit from switching from xanax to valium (or another long acting benzos) and reducing your dose somewhat (though very gradually). You might actually feel better on a lower dose. I would talk to your doctor about that.
 
For the anxiety about the MRI machine-experience, why not take the 10 mg Valium (equal to about 0.5 mg Xanax) on top of a few extra mg of Xanax? The 10 mg Valium alone will not provide significant relief with your tolerance. I say take it, but along with maybe 1-2 extra mg of Xanax.
 
Alex000 said:
For the anxiety about the MRI machine-experience, why not take the 10 mg Valium (equal to about 0.5 mg Xanax) on top of a few extra mg of Xanax? The 10 mg Valium alone will not provide significant relief with your tolerance. I say take it, but along with maybe 1-2 extra mg of Xanax.
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Thank you....this is what I will do.
 
I went to the pharmacy today to fill my 5.mg a day Xanax. I asked them what it would cost for a months worth of Valium and you all were right. It would be half as much. I have only one question. How much Valium should I switch to since I am on 5 mg. of Xanax a day? I do not want to end up in any type of benzo withdrawal. The pharmacy said I could not do a switching taper. They said they would not fill a new script for Valium unless my Xanax was gone. So I want to make a smooth transition and since I live off disability every penny counts. My question is how many mgs. a day of Valium will I need to equal 5 ms. a day of Xanax? Thank you all!! One more thing. I asked about Klonopin and it was over $100 for a months supply so I am not even going to go back on that one. I just wish Medicare and Medicaid covered benzos in the state of Florida.
 
Some conversion charts have .5 xanax = 10mg valium, and others have it at .5 = 5mg so according to that you would need anywhere from 50-100mg of diazepam. I switched from 1mg of xanax to 10mg of valium and was completely fine, so I agree with the charts that say .5 xanax = 5mg of valium. See what your doctor has to say about it.

I have never heard of a pharmacy refusing to fill a different benzo. There are a lot of people prescribed 2 different benzos, and if they are prescribed by the same doctor it is even less of an issue. Now if you were going to a pharmacy month after month with 2 scripts from different doctors for various benzos then I could see that being a problem, but that is not the case with you.

Here is what I suggest. 2 weeks into you xanax script, get the valium filled (from a different pharmacy if need be). Attempt the switch and see how it goes, and if there are any issues, you still have 2 weeks worth of xanax left, and you can iron out any issues the next time you see your doctor.

Valium has a long half life, so it is able to build up in your system over a few days, so it may take 3 days to get the full effect of the dose.
 
Tommyboy said:
Some conversion charts have .5 xanax = 10mg valium, and others have it at .5 = 5mg so according to that you would need anywhere from 50-100mg of diazepam. I switched from 1mg of xanax to 10mg of valium and was completely fine, so I agree with the charts that say .5 xanax = 5mg of valium. See what your doctor has to say about it.

I have never heard of a pharmacy refusing to fill a different benzo. There are a lot of people prescribed 2 different benzos, and if they are prescribed by the same doctor it is even less of an issue. Now if you were going to a pharmacy month after month with 2 scripts from different doctors for various benzos then I could see that being a problem, but that is not the case with you.

Here is what I suggest. 2 weeks into you xanax script, get the valium filled (from a different pharmacy if need be). Attempt the switch and see how it goes, and if there are any issues, you still have 2 weeks worth of xanax left, and you can iron out any issues the next time you see your doctor.

Valium has a long half life, so it is able to build up in your system over a few days, so it may take 3 days to get the full effect of the dose.
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So I would need 50 mg. of Valium a day to replace the 5 mg. of Xanax a day? Yeah, I see only one shrink and fill at only one pharmacy. My shrink is a cool guy and when I tell him I want to make the switch due to the price difference he will go with it for sure. What I wonder is other than Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, and Ativan....can anyone name any other benzos that could be cheaper than Valium? I'm just wondering as it is not so much the benzo I ma taking but I need to get the cheapest one available. Thanks for your help and suggestions.
 
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