Hi,
i was just wondering if anyone on here suffering with anxiety is being prescribed any kind of benzodiazepines at the moment and if they are helping?
I am currently being prescribed diazepam and i can take up to 20mg of that a day though i try to limit it to just acouple times a week i also usually take some lorazepam once a week also.
Just wanted to hear about other peoples experiences pleasex
I used both lorazepam and diazepam. They helped me feel less tense bit didn't help me with my anxiety.
I really want to try beta blockers but because I am asthmatic my doctor refused me them.
If you haven't tried beta blockers before then give them a go. They do something like block the adrenaline being released, which in turn should prevent an anxiety attack
Dear Lisa362,
I have taken 1 mg. of clonazepam twice a day for over 20 years. At night I take 25 mg. of seroquel to help me sleep as otherwise my thoughts would circle around in my head all night. This concoction has worked for me! Best of Luck!
Morning Lisa like you I take 10mg of diazepam 2 x per day,(so total 20mg per day) they really help me. I take 10mg when I wake as that seems to be the worst time with anxiety then the other 10mg mid afternoon. I had my first period of anxiety in 1991 & then another bad period in 2006, since then there has been the occasional blips. unless you are someone who has/ had it you cannot begin to understand what a horrible illness this is.
I am am currently going through a bad period hence the high dose, that will be reduced over the next few weeks and replaced by an alternative drug that is not so addictive. For your info I also take 150mg Venlafaxine morning and night & 2 x 25mg quetiapine 3 times per day. I am in a much better place than I was a few weeks ago, in fact flying away on holiday next few days.
Here if you need a chat
Don't get me wrong I have long spells when I am fine
Hi patient241156,
I'm sorry to hear that you are going through a bad patch with your anxiety at the moment.
i am interested to know how you are finding the quetiapine as i was offered that recently but didn't want to take it as I'm not very good with new drugs and because it is an epilepsy drug i was a bit wary.
Also, I would be interested to know what the alternative drug that you are going on is. I know that propanonol is widely prescribed and non addictive but unfortunately it didn't work for me as my anxiety is all in my head so something that only slows the heart rate was never going to work for me.
i totally agree with you though-anxiety is a devastating debilatating illness. It has been ruining my life for quite some time now but I am relieved that i have an understanding doctor who is willing to prescribe me the benzos long term as otherwise i don't know where i would be and also you are so right about anxiety being much worse in the morning I usually feel like death when i first wake up.
Anyway, I am glad to hear that you are going on holiday soon hope you enjoy it,
take care,
Lisa
PS Like you I am also on an anti-depressant though mine is an older tricyclic one called dosulepin which is rarely prescribed nowadays but it works for me to an extent.
I wondered if anyone was able to take quetiapine (Seroquel) without gaining any weight? I have been taking 50mg. at night for a couple of years now and have been really hungry. I am also a diabetic so it is not good that I am eating more! Thanks!
hi again patient 241156,
Just to clarify I haven't been offered quetiapine it was pregabalin - I got the two names mixed up. Just wanted to say incase you were wondering what i was on about when I said it was anti-epilepsy lol
Hi Deborah,
I've never been on quetiapine but i had no idea that it could cause weight gain.
I suppose the problem with all of these drugs whether it be anti-depressants, mood stabilizers or tranquilizers is that they make us feel better and more sedated which in turn gives us a better appetite which is a good thing especially if the illness was causing poor or no appetite in the first place but obviously if it gets out of hand and weight gain occurs it is distressing.
Have you tried having some boiled sweets or mints in the house that are suitable for diabetics? if you could just suck one of them when you feel hungry it is going to be a lot less calories than going into the kitchen and raiding the cupboard or even sugar free gum, you get some nice flavours nowadays. I'm probably stating the obvious but I hope that it helps in some way,
take care
Lisa
Thank-you for advice. I am going to bed now and have written a note to myself
Saying Do Not Eat until morning unless sugar is low!
It depends on your body I'm on 50 mg of seroquel at night and its not doing anything to me with my weight like I said it depends on the person cuz everyone is different and as u grow older on this medicine your body will change and make u eat more or u could eat less but overall seroquel is a good drug for anxiety and depression I use it for sleep and hallucinations
Diazepam helped me during panic attacks a while back, I remember loving the feeling of bieng spaces out but there wore off after a couple of weeks and my doctor wouldn't up my dosage becasue they are addictive, I unused to take one in the morning 1 at around dinner time and one before bed.
I took Etizolam and it was great! for a while. When i stopped taking them though i got really bad withrawral symptoms and it was so bad i couldnt even leave my bedroom. I started hallucinating and i thought i was going to die. I started having hallucinations that a voice from above was talking to me telling me the meaning of life! It was really weird. I wasnt myself on them either. I took them on my birthday at a meal with my family and they said i was slurring my words and really chatty but in a strange way. I didnt even realise i was. Anyways know i just stick to a healthy diet, excercise and supplements, i find they work way better for me.
I felt that way when I ran out before it was awful.
Yeh you have to come off benzodiazepines slowly, not just suddenly as i found out the hard way D:
Hi Dave,
Oh yes i can totally relate to loving the feeling of being spaced out. unfortunately though as you said it starts to go quite quickly and you have to up the dose to achieve the same results whch is why doctors are so reluctant to prescribe any type of benzo. Cos I was referred to a psychiatrist i now get diazepam 20mg prescribed to me daily indefinitely which a gp would never have done. If I take a few on an empty stomach I can feel quite out of it but it depends and also although diazepam loses its sedative qualities quite quickly the psychiatrist said that it never loses its anti-anxiety properties though obviously if you do have to stop it has to be done gradually
Yes it has to be done very slowly as brain gets so used to them. I was on 2mg of lorazepam a day for 4 months a while back and i had to taper off very slowly and even then I definitely felt alot worse while i adjusted to the reductions
Hi Lisa I have suffered with anxiety all my life yet to others seem to function normally-good job ,house, children ,husband etc but this makes it worse no one understands how it feels to live with all your emotions, fear responses to everthing real and imagined etc tuned in at overdrive level. For 30 years I self medicated using alcohol . This gave me controlled respite and I was happyish. Gave up drinking 3 years ago and doctors cannot find anything to help me tried all the SSri s no help-currently on the highest dose or Pregabalin morning and night- no help. I really need diazepam am and pm to take the edge of it yet still lead a normal life. Can't find a doctor willing to prescibe it, addiction issues etc . I think at 53 they should let me have it so I can live the next 20 years calmly anxiety is hell to live with.
Hi again I'm not just suggesting diazepam without knowing what it does to me I've been prescibed it for flying and following the deaths of both my parents . As an ex heavy drinker it just calms me enough to function normally like normal people -whatever they are ?? Shall I go back to my psychiatrist and ask if he would switch me from the Pregabalin -huge dose that is doing nothing. Thanks Catherine
Hi Lisa362 great to hear how you have been coping with anxiety on benzodiazepams many years ago I used to use a mix of the privately obtained Xanax and Pot chlordioxipide and these managed my condition quite well for many years....sadly as I got older I was given the right diagnosis of being bipolar and now use a mix of heavy mood altering drugs and phsycotics but I manage well because I take my meds knowing (either physically or psycologically) they keep me as I am and I would be foolish not to take them.....I still have the prescription for 5mg of diazepam in case of pamic attacks but have found I have rare need of this drug these days.
Hi catherine,
I'm sorry to hear that you are suffering from anxiety. i know how devastating it is without the correct medication as i was in hell for months.
Yes I certainly do think that you should ask your psychiatrist to switch you from pregabalin to diazepam if as you say the pregabalin isn't working for you.
I to was offered pregabalin but i declined to try it as i was already on diazepam and was happy with it as it has no side-effects (other than addiction).
I feel lucky because my psychiatrist seems to be easy going when it comes to benzos and although he warned me that i would be addicited to diazepam if i took it everyday he was happy to prescribe it to me long term as long as I was aware of that fact.
In my opinion diazepam is a great drug for anxiety as it is long acting so stays in your system for many hours and has little or no side effects. The only pitfall is that if you take it an awful lot it will eventually lose its sedative properties but it will never lose its anti-anxiety properties so you will always feel the benefit.
Anyway, i hope that your psychiatrist is understanding if you ask him to do this. The dose that I am on is 20mg per day which is probably an average dose,
good luck
lisax