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Avatar universal

Valium?

I am 19 years old, i have been suffering with anxiety over the last couple of years, just recently over the last 2 weeks i feel like i have been having a constant panic attack, its a never ending feeling. feeling that i cant swallow, also that i cant breathe, the weird adrenalin rush, pain in my chest and lower back, dizziness the feeling that nothing is real and so on, my mother experienced anxiety and depression for 15 years (now does not effect her) so i do have the support from her although she lives in a different state, she tells me not to fear it and that it wont hurt me, and that fear will just feed it, but for some reason i can not grasp this, its like i have the mindset that i wont get better.
i just recently went to the doctors, he prescribed me with 2mg valium, i took it and it did nothing, i was awake all night and was still very anxious, feeling as if i still couldnt breathe. i suppose what i want to know is does valium work? is the dosage to low? will i get better?
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Avatar universal
I don't think my life story would be very helpful or interesting for most people.  Young people tend to do whatever they want, regardless of the consequences they might face later in life.  They think they will never get old.  lol.

Unfortunately when I was young, I had a doctor that either didn't know anything about benzodiazepine meds or didn't care.  That was 35 years ago.  At any rate, I went to see him because I was feeling very weak and fatigued.  After several visits and many tests, the doctor gave me a prescription for Valium.  At the time I didn't know anything about Valium.  Could have been aspirin for all I knew.  lol.  Anyway, it did make me feel better and I continued taking it.  A few years later I realized what kind of medicine it was and also that I was addicted to it.  I continued taking it since I was unable to quit, and my doctor kept renewing it.

About 15 years ago I started having other problems which included foggy thinking, abdominal pain, and other symptoms.  More tests showed nothing and now my doctor prescribed Paxil on top of the Valium  That made me feel more relaxed but did not help the abdominal pain.  About ten years later I fell and got hurt.  My orthopedic doctor prescribed Lortab.  Well, now I was taking Valium, Lortab and Paxil.  To add insult to injury, I wasn't able to work because of my fall so I started drinking a lot of beer.  Definitely a lethal dose of medications! lol.

About a year and a half ago everything came crashing down and I had major seizures and kidney failure.  I was in the hospital for almost a month.  I no longer take anything except the Valium.  It (Valium) was thought to have caused my seizures.  So that about sums up my story except I feel like **** now days.

About meds - I think 99% of all psych meds are unnecessary and cause more harm than good.  I would highly recommend not taking any psych medications which include all anti-depressants, all benzodiazepines, all opiate type (and some other) pain meds.  Drinking alcohol in excess is also a no-no as everyone should already know.

Oh yeah, smoking is also a very bad habit.  I was a pack-a-day smoker until about 15 years ago when I quit.
Helpful - 0
200828 tn?1209917975
Klonopin is "LESS ADDICTIVE".  My eyes were playing tricks on me.


I think you should post your life story and your feelings on meds with the people in this forum. A lot of them sound young and a lot of them sound like they are on some med or the other.  It would help.  Think about it.
Helpful - 0
200828 tn?1209917975
Thanks for the info.  I can't believe that doc told me it wasn't addictive!

Yeah, I am not into drugs legal or otherwise.  I don't even take Tylenol when I have a fever.  The anxiety I have been experiencing just got so bad, I needed some relief.  My doc gave me Xanax, I took it a few times and yeah it does make me feel better but I stopped taking it because my symptoms have improved and I don't wanna get addicted.  I wish there was some natural alternative.  Know of any?  Well, when my baby takes a nap, I will look up the links.  Thanks again!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I think I found the reply you were referring to:

"Xanax is a very useful and powerful medication but it's also something that can become addictive and is very hard to get off, so be very careful. Ask your doctor about klonopin which is longer lasting, less addictive and serves the same purpose."

If this is it, note that it says Klonopin is longer lasting and "less" addictive.  The reason Klonopin is "supposed" to be less addictive is because it has a longer "half life."  That means it stays in your system longer.  However, if you take it very long, it's still very addicting.  Some people get addicted easier than others, but staying away from these drugs are the best bet.

Here's some good reading about benzodiazepine addiction:
http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/
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Avatar universal
BTW, what doctor in the mental health forum told you klonopin isn't addictive?  Can you give me the link?
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Avatar universal
Klonopin is a benzodiazepine med.  This class of meds includes Alprazolam (Xanax), Bromazepam (Lexomil), Diazepam (Valium), Lorazepam (Ativan), Clonazepam (Klonopin), Temazepam (Restoril), Oxazepam (Serax), Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), Triazolam (Halcion), Chlordiazepoxide (Librium), Flurazepam (Dalmane), Nitrazepam (Mogadon), and some others.

They are ALL very addictive.  If any doctor has told you otherwise, you should find another doctor and also report this to your state's medical association.

You can find a lot of info by googling ""benzodiazepine addiction".  There are many doctors that don't realize benzodiazepines are addicting and that's one reason so many people are addicted to them.  Doctors push what drug companies sell - drugs.  If you don't do the research yourself, you'll find yourself in the mess I'm in.  If the internet would have been around when I was young, I wouldn't be in the mess I'm in.

BTW, you can read a little about benzodiazepines at the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine
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200828 tn?1209917975
a doctor in the mental health forum told me that klonopin is not addictive.  where did you hear that it was addictive?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
don't take pills.  valium, xanax, klonopin, and many other meds are a class of meds called benzodiazepines and are very addictive.  i know because i've been taking valium for 35 years and i'm a mess now.  your anxiety will pass without drugs.  i wish i would have known that 35 years ago.  that goes for antidepressants too like cipramil.  it's all a bunch of junk medicine and you will pay for using any of them in the long run.  if you don't believe me, just read some in the addition forum.  pain pills are very addictive and bad too.  good luck.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
i take 2 mg valiums but if i have a bad panic attack i take 2.5. even though it may seem like a little more then 2 it makes a big difference. so try 2.5 and see how u feel.

does anybody think xanex works better then valiums?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am not sure what the ciprimil is.  Did I mention you may want to get a swallow evaluation?  It may be a good idea just to rule anything out.  I know I can't swallow well if I am anxious though.  Try to write down any questions for your doc, don't be afraid to ask questions:)  It's your health.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
thankyou both for commenting it really helps to know people out there may be feeling somewhat the same as me. Although My swallowing problem has gotten really bad, to the point that i cant eat not even soup!!! i dont know how to control this at all. my doctor has recently prescribed me with ciprimil 20mg which i have started to take, he said its ok to take valuim to, i am unsure of this......
Helpful - 0
200828 tn?1209917975
I don't know anything about drugs.  When I had difficulty swallowing, everyone told me that it was anxiety but I wasn't convinced.  I had to go to a gastro intestinal doctor to have an endoscopy done to convince me there wasn't anything medically wrong with me.  After I got the endoscopy done, I finally became convinced that it was anxiety causing my difficulty swallowing.  That's when I started to get better.  I saw a therapist during this episode and she said that she has other patients who suffer from difficulty swallowing.  Some get over it in a week, others a few months and one patient had this problem for a year.  You have to get over whatever it is that's making you anxious or stressed.  The drugs help you relax but you got to deal with the mental aspect of it.  For me, it was this extreme fear of getting a terminal disease, leaving my children.  I still struggle with it obviously but I feel a little better knowing what I am going through.  My therapist recommended this book "Full Catastrophe Living"  by Jon Kabat-Zinn.  The author  started these stress reduction clinics where people deal with thier stress through meditation.  It the drugs don't work you might wanna try something like this.  Good luck!      
Helpful - 0
200828 tn?1209917975
I am suffering from anxiety.  I had difficulty swallowing last October.  It lasted for a couple of months.  I had chest pain, tightness, fullness, a warm feeling. Now I have breathing difficulties.  I feel like I'm suffocating sometimes, I almost always feel like I need to take a deep breath.  When I do, it does make me feel better but sometimes I feel like I can't even take a deep breath. My doctor gave me Xanax and it seems to help.  I just hate the fact that I need a pill to feel better.  

Try to think about positive things.  Anytime you get a negative thought get it out of your head ASAP.  That's the mistake I made, I dwelled on the negative too much.  Talk to friends and work out or take walks.  Good luck!
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Avatar universal
Yes I know those symptoms well.  I have taken Valium as needed for a long time, but I think mine is 5mg.  It works for me pretty well for the anxiety symptoms (they don't go away completely but feel much better) but it doesn't make me sleep.  It seems as though it is fast acting, but also wears off in a few hrs quickly.  I hate taking meds, but to be honest, the main mistake I made when having bad panic attacks 5 yrs ago was not taking the right mg of what I need.  A well-meaning psychiatrist prescribed me the smallest dose of ativan you can get, and it didn't even touch my symptoms.  When I ended up in the psych ward, they doped me up on Valium (I was extremely bad though, couldn't even walk due to malnutrition) and honestly that's what it took to break the anxiety cycle at that point.  Then, I could think straight (besides being dopey) and I finally relaxed.  As for sleep, I had to have a separate med for that.  Remeron, Ativan 2mg and Ambien makes me sleep.  Ambien was a bit weird though.  Hope you feel better, I feel about the same as you right now....I am not taking the full 5mg of Valium I have, might have to resort to that.  I try not to tap into, but if you need it, then you need it!  Take care
Helpful - 0
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