Xanax versus Diazapam

[Solara Soul]

I'm an occasional Xanax user - I just take a 1mg tab when I feel particularly stressed or when I know I'm going into a stressful situation. I like it because it's both fast acting - kicks in within 15 minutes - and short-lasting, which rightly or wrongly makes me feel it can't be that hard to give up if I feel like it. In context, a normal week is a couple of tabs, and a heavy week is 4 tabs, so I certainly consider myself a light user.

Somtimes though I want something which will last all day. I presume Xanax XR will work, but because it's a slow release kick in slowly. Is that right.

Someone suggested that Diazepam is the best of boh worlds, kicking in quickly but lasting longer than normal Xanax.

Is that right or just wishful thinking.

 

[Guest]

Have you considered Clonazepam? It's half life is much longer than Xanax but less than Valium. So, the effects are much longer and sustained that Xanax, but not quite as fast acting, I find it to be a middle-ground drug between the two others. Be careful though, addiction rates are high (possibly not as high as Xanax though) as I think it was Stevie Nicks of of Fleetwood Mac who said that her battle with quitting Clonazepam was more difficult than giving up cocaine.

 

[HR100]

Solara - I personally find that Diazepam works wonders. If you're unsure if it is the right medication for you, I would start off at 5mg to feel it out. And as always refer to "First Times" and "Retrospective Summaries" trip reports in the 'Experience Vaults' section on Erowid. (At least I feel more comfortable entering into a new test phase in my life when I come prepared with some kind of data and knowledge.)

 

[Guest]

I know for drug tests that xanax is usually out in 72 hours, klonopin is out in 10 days, and valium can take up to 30 days.

This is all dependent on person.

 

[Solara Soul]

Solara - I personally find that Diazepam works wonders. If you're unsure if it is the right medication for you, I would start off at 5mg to feel it out. And as always refer to "First Times" and "Retrospective Summaries" trip reports in the 'Experience Vaults' section on Erowid. (At least I feel more comfortable entering into a new test phase in my life when I come prepared with some kind of data and knowledge.)

I've tried the 10mg tablets a couple of times, and genuinely can't remember what the efect was. I don't mean I was spaced out or anything, just that nothing stands out, which probably means that it worked just as I expected it to. Nothing unexpected means that nothing gets flagged if you know what I mean.

In the UK they are fairly well prescribed (not like Xanax which is amost impossible to get on prescription) so I suppose it's considered a less risky drug, which is comforting.

Having said that, the solution to my dilemma has just occured to me. I'm happy with Xanax, and only use it in low doses, so I will get 1mg for my 'normal' use, and 0.5 mg for the occasional top up should the need arise. The quick-acting part is what I really appreciate.

 

[Solara Soul]

Have you considered Clonazepam? It's half life is much longer than Xanax but less than Valium. So, the effects are much longer and sustained that Xanax, but not quite as fast acting, I find it to be a middle-ground drug between the two others. Be careful though, addiction rates are high (possibly not as high as Xanax though) as I think it was Stevie Nicks of of Fleetwood Mac who said that her battle with quitting Clonazepam was more difficult than giving up cocaine.

I genuinely appreciate the feedback, but I see (at least in the UK) it's not prescribed for anxiety but for epilepsy and convulsions, so it seems a bit too aggressive for my tastes. You will see from the dosages of Xanax I take that I'm only skirting around the edges of these drugs. In fact, if the NHS in the UK realised that we are not all addicts in waiting I should be able to get Xanax in the quantities I need without any trouble. When I lived in South Africa I had a repeat prescription for 2 0.5 mg tablets daily, and I had well over two hundred spare when I left to come to the UK a few years ago.

I really don't think general practioners realise how nasty anxiety attacks can be, and how drugs like Xanax can be used perfectly responsibly and have a profound beneficial effect. I don't use alcohol at all any more, but if I couldn't get Xanax I think vodka might be the second choice. That's what I used to use to take the edge off until I realised it was getting out of control. I imagine my GP would prefer me to use Xanax! (Booze is a bit awkward at work as well with the smell on the breath!)

 

[Guest]

I genuinely appreciate the feedback, but I see (at least in the UK) it's not prescribed for anxiety but for epilepsy and convulsions, so it seems a bit too aggressive for my tastes. You will see from the dosages of Xanax I take that I'm only skirting around the edges of these drugs. In fact, if the NHS in the UK realised that we are not all addicts in waiting I should be able to get Xanax in the quantities I need without any trouble. When I lived in South Africa I had a repeat prescription for 2 0.5 mg tablets daily, and I had well over two hundred spare when I left to come to the UK a few years ago.

I really don't think general practioners realise how nasty anxiety attacks can be, and how drugs like Xanax can be used perfectly responsibly and have a profound beneficial effect. I don't use alcohol at all any more, but if I couldn't get Xanax I think vodka might be the second choice. That's what I used to use to take the edge off until I realised it was getting out of control. I imagine my GP would prefer me to use Xanax! (Booze is a bit awkward at work as well with the smell on the breath!)

My GP NEVER prescribed me any Anti-Anxiety meds...straight onto the rollarcoaster of Anti Depressents. 'Oh these will sort you out with you phobias and anxiety'...bullsh**t.

I find that Valium at 5mg twice a day usually after breakfast then before dinner will help me out...also good fo sleeping. I've tried Xanax and it's way too strong and addictive because of it's short half life.

I was diagnosed Bi-Polar II about 4 years ago and spent at least 3 months whacked out on Clonazepam (Klonopin) amongst other things (Mertazapine/Depokote/Zolpidemand the dreaded Rispiridone(SHAKES AND SHAKES) etc...they were hard to get off and of course the so called 'mental health' professionals said just stop taking them...I was on 12mg of clon a day for goodness sake - equivalent of maybe 240 Diazapam!!!

Crazy. 5mg 2x a day of Diazapam will sort you out.

I deal with my disorder with food, exercise, reading and believe it or not WATER lots of it.

UK has a terrible phobia of mental illness

Best and god luck

MVT...X.

 

[Guest]

My GP NEVER prescribed me any Anti-Anxiety meds...straight onto the rollarcoaster of Anti Depressents. 'Oh these will sort you out with you phobias and anxiety'...bullsh**t.

UK has a terrible phobia of mental illness

The US is the same way. When I told my doctor I had social anxiety (didn't know it was called that at the time, but that's what it is) he told me the medical term and started to write it in my medical record, then tore the page out and filled out a new one not filling that part out. He said he had a patient one time who applied for college after being diagnosed with panic attacks (not sure what the proper terminology is) and he wrote it in his chart only to find out five years later when the patient applied and was accepted into a university he had to go through a psych eval in order to be able to reside in the college dorms. /default_ohmy.png Then you add employment hassles, being ostracized by your community if/when people find out, etc., etc. and the list goes on.

As for the anti-depressants and what I really hated and made me more fucked up for a while, anti-psychotics. I was subjected to the same thing for a year with a different doctor, the one I saw before the previously mentioned. Mertazapine, Rispiridone, Seroquel, Paxil, and one other I can't remember. That was genuinely the worst year of my life. /default_sad.png If I had to choose telling somebody of even remotely average/normal/whatever health to refuse anti-depressants and/or anti-psychotics or to refuse heroin and couldn't do both no matter what, I would tell them to avoid the anti-depressants and anti-psychotics. That's how bad it was. If I don't have two red cents to my name to rub together when I wake up, I'm just thankful to be alive every day. That's how bad it was.

Well, not I'm thankful I found this forum as well. /default_wub.png Penny penching elsewhere in my life so I can afford to subscribe to the internet and not have to use the library is turning out to be one of the best decisions I ever made I think.

 

[Guest]

The US is the same way. When I told my doctor I had social anxiety (didn't know it was called that at the time, but that's what it is) he told me the medical term and started to write it in my medical record, then tore the page out and filled out a new one not filling that part out. He said he had a patient one time who applied for college after being diagnosed with panic attacks (not sure what the proper terminology is) and he wrote it in his chart only to find out five years later when the patient applied and was accepted into a university he had to go through a psych eval in order to be able to reside in the college dorms. /default_ohmy.png Then you add employment hassles, being ostracized by your community if/when people find out, etc., etc. and the list goes on.

As for the anti-depressants and what I really hated and made me more fucked up for a while, anti-psychotics. I was subjected to the same thing for a year with a different doctor, the one I saw before the previously mentioned. Mertazapine, Rispiridone, Seroquel, Paxil, and one other I can't remember. That was genuinely the worst year of my life. /default_sad.png If I had to choose telling somebody of even remotely average/normal/whatever health to refuse anti-depressants and/or anti-psychotics or to refuse heroin and couldn't do both no matter what, I would tell them to avoid the anti-depressants and anti-psychotics. That's how bad it was. If I don't have two red cents to my name to rub together when I wake up, I'm just thankful to be alive every day. That's how bad it was.

Well, not I'm thankful I found this forum as well. /default_wub.png Penny penching elsewhere in my life so I can afford to subscribe to the internet and not have to use the library is turning out to be one of the best decisions I ever made I think. /default_smile.png

Rispiridone was the worst. I'm a Film cameraman and the shakes that that drug gave me was madness. I couldn't work...I was dropping 100000 camera equipment. Anyway the famous english broadcaster that I work for gave me time off to sort stuff out. As you can imagine in Film and TV there are alot of easy routes into

dangerous circles. Oh I could name several people who are so well known and are so fuc£ked up.

Best

MVT...X

 

[Guest]

Diazepam is an excellent drug in that it has a long half life 10 mgs takes a few hundred hours to hget out of your system. So you can stop by simply reducing your dose depending how many you are taking. An your goal being zero

Drugs like Ambien hav absolutely NO half life so each day you come off it you instantly need more the next night to sleep since it is completely eliminated out of yoursystem by then.

Xanax is similar whe it has a short half life thats why you have to increase your dose really way too fast to get the same results. literally what once took 1mg to reacg you will need 3 mgs in 3 weeks to feel the same

Thats because yourbody eliminates it so quickly.

One of the main reasons Halcion (triazalom) was taken off the market people were driving around without inn ather words sleep walking!! There is no half life of halcion.

You are getting rid of it as you sleep.

Here you go:

http://benzo.org.uk/.../bzsched.htm#s1

And here is what the half life is equal to. The longer the half life the easier it is to control read on:

http://benzo.org.uk/.../bzcha01.htm#24

If this is the case with Valium/Diazapam surely it should be the best sleeping pill in the world...BAR NONE.

None of the crazy Ambien lunacy, None of that Zopiclone dirty metal mouth taste buds. None of the short acting Bemzo nonsense.

Diazapam is numero uno

Best

MVT...X

 

[HYPNOTIC.]

I really like Valium as well in the begining. A 2.5mg would work in about 10 minutes. Then over the months of occasional use you move up to 10mg's and it no longer keeps you asleep the who night. Damn tolerance!

A pain doc after my car accident put me on Zanaflex which is a muscle relaxant. I swear you swallow one with a glass of water and sit watching TV a bit and then you wake up and it's 6:00am. Or if you catch yourself in time, you can barely get undressed in time to get into bed. It is great for those nights when you are stressed and know that getting to sleep will be laborious.

 

[doesit]

I really like Valium as well in the begining. A 2.5mg would work in about 10 minutes. Then over the months of occasional use you move up to 10mg's and it no longer keeps you asleep the who night. Damn tolerance!

A pain doc after my car accident put me on Zanaflex which is a muscle relaxant. I swear you swallow one with a glass of water and sit watching TV a bit and then you wake up and it's 6:00am. Or if you catch yourself in time, you can barely get undressed in time to get into bed. It is great for those nights when you are stressed and know that getting to sleep will be laborious.

Sounds like a scene from a movie /default_smile.png Xanax gives me simmilar episodes where you forget stuff,and question yourself did you do something or no,nothing major but it has its tool on memory :/

 

[dirtybronco]

I have done a lot of research on xanax and valium (never tried either myself), and many people say that valium's effects don't last much longer than xanax, even though the valium has a much long half life. Can someone who has tried both give me some insight? Thanks.

 

[Guest]

I personally found xanax to be a real destruction in my life. I don't think I was all that nice while on it. Mean and 6itchy. It took me about 3 months to stop it completely. If I touch it again I'll never stop. I find Valium for me will reduce a headache, make pain more bearable and without killing sex drive and I don't feel the urge to slam em like Xanax. My doc prescribes me Ativan which I switch to only when the tolerance builds.

 

[Guest]

Oh and getting off the xanax was pure hell. Didn't say I don't still crave one or two or 3,5.

 

[strangef8]

I have to agree with most people on this, the Xanax, I keep on me and I don't use it until I feel a panic attack coming on. I received some free Diazapam with an order in the past and found it was best for me with sleep issues.

I usually take a half or sometimes a whole one if I get off work really late and my body is just saying, "I'm ready! Let's go! Let's go!"

Down side with the Diazapam, for me anyway, it's hard to get going the next day at first (half life explainations, there you go).

Before I had the Diazapams, If I encountered sleep issues, once again, if I got off late from work and was to amp'ed up to sleep, I would take over the counter Diphenhydramine (50 mg), standard sleeping pills.

For me, the "next day" effects were a little less with the Diazapam. Body chemistry from person to person could have alot to do with it you know.

Strangef8

 

[doesit]

I read few stories that diazepam is good for sleeping and such,but next day is pure hell and many describe it as a bad hangover.How much of a truth it is?

 

[doesit]

The other day i popped fex 3x2mg bars and 2x10mg diazepam over 10hour period first 2mg xanax was in the morning,then around 11 i took 20mg diazepam,and at 1oclock took another one and at around 3 last one of xannie,overall i was still anxious between 12-3 o clock,but later in the day i didnt feel any anxiety or tiredness as i do from xanax alone.So i dont know what to think.Am i to used to xanax that it blanks all the effects and should start reducing the dose,as i started on 1mg 9months ago now i barely go thorugh my working day on 6mgs :/

 

[doesit]

Also i should state that i am on meds only on my work days,so its 2-4 days a week and other days i can be fine with out them in most situations.Any oppinions welcome.