valium

[vonnhelsing]

So ive been on this forum for a few years now and ive read tons and tons of posts about medications. I can read lots of you guys talking about certain meds like prozac or celexa or sertraline etc im not familiar with any of them. The thing is ive been considering starting to take medication as ive been avoiding them with all my might since ive got a bit of a phobia of meds. The only medication I ever took for my anxiety was diazepam or valium for a few weeks and atenolol for a month or something.
The valium just made me suuuuper sleepy to the point where I couldnt even get up from my bed felt like I was being pinned down.
The thing I was wondering about is I never see anyone mentioning that they are on valium on here.. is it not really good for treating anxiety? And which medication should I ask for to start me off?

[em1]

Hello there I'm on 50mgs of setraline and it's the only one I've been on,it's working for me really well I would recommend it :)

[trinidiva]

Hello there I'm on 50mgs of setraline and it's the only one I've been on,it's working for me really well I would recommend it :)

Me too.......

[vonnhelsing]

Sertraline is an anti depressant though isnt it? Is it okay to take it even when im not depressed?

[jessed03]

It's not really an 'antidepressant'. That's just an old fashioned name for a type of mental health drug that sort of stuck over time.

Sertraline is an SSRI. It affects Serotonin levels, which are believed to be a big contributor towards anxiety, as well as other conditions.

The name antidepressant is kind of obsolete these days, as these drugs are used to treat so many conditions now, that weren't even recognised or understood when the first types of these drugs came out and that phrase was coined :)

[acetone]

We don't see much of Valium because it is hated by ignorant shrinks everywhere. They call it- "highly addictive".

[vonnhelsing]

Yeah it became a problem with me as I started trying to make myself anxious on purpose just to have an excuse to take a valium. So I just stopped taking it.
Will try the sertraline. Hope theyve got it in this country. Maybe they call it something else here..

[jessed03]

If anything else, probably Zoloft, but your doc will know!

[jessed03]

WorriedMummy seems to like it too, so there are a fair few here taking it

[Enduronman]

Wow!

This is also another hur turning point for you, I'm glad to see this!

Yes, valium is usually only used here to "sedate" people. That's what it does. It "is" a benzo that was made in the 60's but the newer ones are way more effective and generally don't zzzzzzzzzzzzz a patient.

Yes, the sertraline is proving really effective for both depression/anxiety as well. Along with an occasional klonipin or xanax, if you can get them....

Hoping to watch you get better soon VH! :)

[jessed03]

Valium is virtually all we get over here in the UK. We're sooo 1960s!

I doubt many of my docs would even know what Xanax was if I asked them (ok, I exaggerate slightly)

[Enduronman]

Our Dentist over here use it quite frequently because it so quickly sedating..I can take a bunch of xanax and still be fine holding my own head up!...Wonder why so much valium is prescribed over there, hell they don't prescribe it all here or even mention it...Just xanax or klonopin..

[jessed03]

I think they believe every single person who wants a Benzo is an addict or can't be trusted. None of the UKs seem to get benzos unless they have a really close relationship with their doc.

If they ever do have to provide one, they like Valium because it's quite long lasting compared to some others.

I guess patents and stuff still have something to do with it. They probably get Valium generics dirt cheap.

[Enduronman]

Ah yes,...there you go. Cost of a 50 yr old medicational development is probabaly pretty damn cheap...

[acetone]

The half life of Valium is very long (20-100 hrs). Docs may be overly concerned that unhealthy amounts of the drug can accumulate in the body. So this may one of the reasons that it is not prescribed much.