Valium overdose?

[Alicetwee]

Someone close to me was admitted to hospital for a valium overdose last night. She said she took 31 x 5 mg pills. So roughly 155 mg of valium, and nothing else. She is pretty small, probably weighting under 50kg.

Anyway, she is in a DV situation and has BPD among other things, she wasn't intentionally trying to harm herself. Just trying to get some peace from her mind and calm her symptoms. After being admitted, she freaked out in the hospital, tore her IV out and fled.

She was in a very agitated and confused state, passing out and vomiting when she was admitted last night.

She feels rubbish today but am I right in thinking she should be fairly fine physically?

I thought the toxicology for valium was really high and the main risk would be if she mixed it with other drugs or alcohol, which she didn't?

Just wanting advice on if she should still get checked out by a GP?

 

[4DQSAR]

Unless there are comorbidities, diazepam on it's own is a remarkably safe compound. There are records of people surviving intentinal overdoses in the range of GRAMS.

The vomiting (a sign the body thinks it has been poisoned) is unusual. I've never heard of that. Agitated and confused can be a person 'fighting' the effects of a drug and maybe that can result in vomiting, but that is the symptom that stikes me as unexpected.

There are benzodiazepine antagonists but I've never heard of them being used in situations such as you describe. If only because a doctor can never be totally certain what a patient has taken and if they are physically dependent on benzodiazpines (an antagonist would then be a BAD idea).

Hope it all works out for the best.

 

[4DQSAR]

FYI knew someone who took 100 x 10mg diazepem as what I would consider as 'pseudosuicidal act' i.e. a person thinks they will survive but is flagging mental health isses. Why we STILL consider mental illness to be less significant than physical illess seems bizarre to me. Anyone who knows, knows. It's just horriffic how a decent person will act in ways that harm them. Ttue suicide often follows pseudosuicide - so be aware.

Not leaving your home for a year, not talking to a single person for that year. Hard to FAKE such symptoms. You KNOW when someone you care for has a serious mental illness (and or prsonality disorder)+,

My ONLY possible suggestion is that you as friend is the one named on the prescription as a 'valid person to accept medication for others so you can fill the script and give on as needed basis.

* I think a lot of people either do not understand and or believe that mental illness and a personaity disorders are in any way dfferant. But let me tell you, in 55 years I've noted that people struggling with mental illness almost uniformly harm themselves, not others. Whereas people with personality disorders typically act in ways that are likely able to result in harm of others. So someone who downs so much diazepan seems a person who needs help and importantly, for whom help will aid. So while bad, fixable - especially with people like YOU helping then out,

*The interesting thing? That person was able to earn about $250,000 per annum. They were never nasy or difficult... they had simply decided NEVER to leave their home or speak to anyone. as things stand, he WAS functioning in a financial sense.

I do think we need to understand that mental illness is something a person wants or would ever wish on others. However much I may dislike a public figure, I still wouldn't wish for them to go throgh that amount of suffering.

You do know that just by being you, you are the best meddical option.