Hi there,
I suffer from panic attacks. Sometimes, very severe ones. They can come on at any time and they typically last for anywhere between 30-120 minutes. I've tried a bunch of different things (meditation, counselling, anti-depressants, beta-blockers, and others) but the only thing which works for me is valium.
Anyway, I'm very concerned about valium's addiction potential (my uncle got hooked and it took him 2+ years to come off). However, my panic attacks are always more frequent this time of year (lack of sunlight or something, probably) and I've noticed that in the last couple of attacks, I've needed to use more valium to get them under control than I used to. Whereas, when I first started taking valium nearly a year ago, I only ever needed one single 2mg tablet to fix things if I got a panic attack, for the last couple of attacks, I've needed 6mg to fix them. For the record, here's a couple of things to know about my usage:
1) I never take valium recreationally. I only ever take it for panic attacks.
2) I typically take it 2 or 3 times a week.
3) I always try to keep the dose as low as possible.
My first question is, do you think I'm building up a tolerance to valium?
My second question is, if I am building up a tolerance, how long would I need to go without any valium in order to reset that tolerance back down to zero again?
It's been four days since my last dose of valium (6mg) and I've not experienced any of the common withdrawal symptoms (yet). At the moment I'm dealing with panic attacks by just doubling down on my beta-blockers and gritting my teeth. I daren't ask my doctor in case he cuts me off (getting valium from him is like getting blood out of a stone anyway. I always have to argue the point) so any advice you may have would be much appreciated. How long do I have to wait before any tolerance I may have built up disappears entirely? A couple of weeks? A month? Longer?
Thanks in advance!
I suffer from panic attacks. Sometimes, very severe ones. They can come on at any time and they typically last for anywhere between 30-120 minutes. I've tried a bunch of different things (meditation, counselling, anti-depressants, beta-blockers, and others) but the only thing which works for me is valium.
Anyway, I'm very concerned about valium's addiction potential (my uncle got hooked and it took him 2+ years to come off). However, my panic attacks are always more frequent this time of year (lack of sunlight or something, probably) and I've noticed that in the last couple of attacks, I've needed to use more valium to get them under control than I used to. Whereas, when I first started taking valium nearly a year ago, I only ever needed one single 2mg tablet to fix things if I got a panic attack, for the last couple of attacks, I've needed 6mg to fix them. For the record, here's a couple of things to know about my usage:
1) I never take valium recreationally. I only ever take it for panic attacks.
2) I typically take it 2 or 3 times a week.
3) I always try to keep the dose as low as possible.
My first question is, do you think I'm building up a tolerance to valium?
My second question is, if I am building up a tolerance, how long would I need to go without any valium in order to reset that tolerance back down to zero again?
It's been four days since my last dose of valium (6mg) and I've not experienced any of the common withdrawal symptoms (yet). At the moment I'm dealing with panic attacks by just doubling down on my beta-blockers and gritting my teeth. I daren't ask my doctor in case he cuts me off (getting valium from him is like getting blood out of a stone anyway. I always have to argue the point) so any advice you may have would be much appreciated. How long do I have to wait before any tolerance I may have built up disappears entirely? A couple of weeks? A month? Longer?
Thanks in advance!