valium question

There is a friend that I have who was getting valiums. Because of "circumstances" he suddenly was not able to. He went to the doctors to try and see if he could get some and they want him to go through numerous appointments before they might give him some. I don't know how it works where he is, he lives in the U.K.

Anyways, he was taking 90mg a day, and then because he knew that was not smart, he went down to 30mg a day, that is where he currently is (other than he ran out today). He was wanting to know if a person can get seizures from the withdrawals even though he dropped it down to 30mg from 90mg. Actually, he would like to know what he is in for. Also, is there any health advice for him? I know just about nothing regarding this except what I have read here.

I decided to post this first, then do some searching for him. He posts via cellphone so he can't surf for answers like I can.

Thank you.

[vicki595]

Hey...I was just about to leave but here is my best answer:

Benzos should NEVER be stopped abruptly. Valium has a longer half life than Xanax for example but by tomorrow he'll feel badly.  First,it's anxiety,sometimes mania, and insomnia.
Seizures can occur,of course. Best health advice is to get with a doctor and explain his situation...he'll get the proper advice,too.  I really don't like saying anything through another person but I know you and I know you want to help your friend...please tell him that he takes waaaay too much,okay?

[trdofbeingtrd]

Right on, thank you Vicki. You are too cool, I don't care what Santa told me about you :0)

[sudie58]

i dont know what appointments hes on about, i am from uk and your dr. is the one who decides if you need them, and of course vicki is right ,that is a very high dose.you usually need to taper right down to approx 1-2 mgs, before stopping, very slowly due to risks of seizures. hope he sees a dr. best wishes.

[vicki595]

Hey...Believe EVERYTHING you hear!  

[dominosarah]

He needs to talk with his doctor about how much he is taking.  Maybe some sort of therapy would help also.......sara

[tingtongtom]

tapering is always  est with benzos, safer and more effective if you have the right help. I tried to taper too quickly from valium because I was so eager to stop, and I kept relapsing. The longer your friend has been taking valium, the harder it will be to stop. I was up to 400mg a day at one point for about 8-9 months of abuse, after my variety of failed taper attempts I just straight up went cod turkey with my last dose being 100mg.

I would not advise anyone to cold turkey valium as I had some pretty insane withdraws and still am after 2 weeks. Loss of feeling in parts of my body such as feet, hands and lips, extreme anxiety, muscle spasms, a slight electric shock feeling in my brain at times and insomnia to name a few.

Therapy or a change in doctor may help because I can guess what he is going through. It can be dangerous dropping down doses like that, but IMO it depends on a lot of variables such as doses, time abusing, biological make-up, mental determination and help received etc. It can take up to 4-5 weeks until valium leaves your blood stream totally, hence why I am still experiencing withdraws after 15 days.
Anyway, good luck to your friend and you. All the best, Tom