Valium and Memory

Question

Does anyone out there know from experience if 40 mg daily (20 taken before bed) is considered a high dose? If so, can this type of dosage impair memory? I've reviewed several websites and the info seems to vary considerably.

needguidance49 · Answer

Hey Eagle,
I just realized you apologized for what you wrote. Hey, no need to say sorry. I totally understand your rationale and thought the same thing until I saw the site and talked with my personal Doc. I guess this Dr. Ashton is the worlds expert on Benzo's and actually got them outlawed or is close to it in the UK. She is trying to get them outlawed in every country..good luck. Dr's make too much $ on them. Take a look at her site, it's interesting and scary. I recommend anyone taking any kind of benzo to stop. The withdrawal schedules can take up to over a year to complete but you can still function while you are doing it. The difference between, as I'm sure you know, Xanax and Valium is the Xanax is much more powerful and enters and leaves your system faster which actually makes tapering off more difficult. That is why the cross over technique is used then you very slowly reduce the amount Valium over an extended period of time. The closer to the end the harder it gets...

needguidance49 · Answer

I meant to say I was on 10mg Xanax to start with then crossed over and started the decline. We basically did it like that taper schedule outlines and have a  couple of months to go.

needguidance49 · Answer

Thanks for all of your comments. I am coming off of 10mg daily taper and was on 10mg Valium and over the last few weeks I'm down to the 40 mg. and still declining. I've only been on them (all combined) for about eight months. I still have memory problems but they are getting better as time goes on.

bubbaganoosh · Answer

40mg is alot and does cause memory loss i think something like dementia they say. I take 2mg daily.

LateAugust · Answer

Interesting I always thought that xanax  and valium when prescribed correctly were to treat anxiety disorders and panic attacks.   And the memory blocks/medications  were called,  gosh  can't remember now,  they are normally only given prior to surgery, not as on-going med treatment,  but interesting viewpoint.   Best to all of you with your continued efforts to quit!!

abby10 · Answer

i was on 8mg of xanax, 4 mg of klonopin and 30mg of temazapem a day. i drank alcohol every day too. the denzo's made the alcohol much stronger. eventually i lost my house, recked my car and on and on. i don't remember what year i first started taking the pills, as my memory comes back i think around 1999 or 2000. the withdrawls were horrible, horrible, horrible. i tappered myself off.  a neurologist said klonopin is slower release so i took that, reduced by .25mg each reduction. as of 3 weeks ago i took my last 1/2 of .25mg klonopin. i have nerve damage in my left leg, but it is not really painful anymore. i sleep 5 hours a night instead of 1 hour.  the neurologist said basically i have been going throoug life with amnesia.

the benzo's cause a rebound effect on your brain receptors. so your even more nervous after they wear off than before you took them. hense the need to take more and more. i thought i was going crazy for a while there. i'd look at the phone and think about calling the guys in the white coats. 

i havn't had a drink since june 29, 2007 and thats when i started tappering off the benzo's. over 9 month's of hell. my legs are still "nervous" but i can move my arms great, very flexable now. i think i had some kind of seazures. my legs contracted then would relax and "spark" then the nerve damage. not pleasant at all. 

as for your memory, yes, the 40mg valium will cause memory loss, how much loss is determined by how long you have taken them. that is the job of benzo's. they are used before surgery to cause anmesia.  

with the pleasure comes the pain. i took zanax for nerves and to help me sleep. now i just wish i was the same person before when i never took them. i was calm enough to drink coffee. and i  really didn't sleep all that bad.

122 Tactical Fighter Group · Answer

Sorry - you didnt mention that in your post - I certainly wont argue with your Doc....if you were self medicating as an experiment or something that could go poorly - many would just have a valium problem instead of zanax problem.....but under a Doctors guidance I can see how that would work - but like i mentioned to answer your question - no. 40 mg isnt a gorilla dose of diazepam at all.....good luck on your taper - - it sounds like you have it going properly...how many zanax are you tapering from?

needguidance49 · Answer

The taper schedule with a cross over to Valium was developed by a Dr. in the UK. She is an expert in the field of benzodiazapines. Valium is much weaker therefore the taper down to it. The schedules are on the attached site: http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha01.htm

122 Tactical Fighter Group · Answer

Actually 40mg of valium throughout the day is not an extremely high dose of valium - one 10mg tab every 6 hours is a therapeutic dose - but what is this about taking them while attempting a zanax taper? That is self defeating......and yes, those things could be called mind erasers for some - both the zanax and the valium. And yes, I do have experience with both of them....................good luck

needguidance49 · Answer

Thanks for your response. I guess it is considered a high dose after reading more sites. They just don't seem to affect me but my memory is really bad. I'm actually on a withdrawal taper from Xanax so the reduction and WD may also be a factor. I can't wait till this is over and my brain starts firing on all cylinders again.

Firefaery1023 · Answer

I don't know if what you are taking is a high dose, but I know from experience that tranquilizers can impair your memory.  After taking one, I know when I try to remember that day, there are a lot of things that I don't remember.