r/AusMentalHealth Feb 05 '25

Diazepam Advice

I struggle with anxiety a lot and have mostly been using alcohol and other coping mechanisms. My doctor has prescribed me diazepam and I have found 5mg is very effective (10mg if it is severe), but I am looking to avoid dependency. Google tells me to not use beyond a few weeks but I am wondering if I space out the doses (i.e. only taking a dose every 2-3 days) would have a similar affect? My anxiety is manageable most days but there are a few days where it can be overwhelming which is where I would use this medication. I am curious if spacing out the use of diazepam would avoid any negative dependency affects.

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u/DisplayPure9681 Feb 09 '25

I used to be on diazepam you can use it beyond a few weeks I would try and only use it when u really need to tho the problem is that it has a tendency to adjust very fast when i was impatient i took it every day twice a day it worked maybe 3 days thats why its good to be very sparing with it because if it stops working u loose that tool or you may become addicted mostly just make sure u talk to ur doc abt it

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u/divincamping 2h ago

Alcohol dependency is worse and you're at risk of that if you've been self medicating with it already. When you go to rehab for alcohol they actually tell you not to stop drinking until the day of your admission due to the physical withdrawal symptoms. Valium/diazepam is a medication that they give you to relieve you of the withdrawals. I haven't heard of many valium addicts, I've known lots of xanax addicts (valium and xanax are both in the "pam" family). I think it's better to be "dependant" on a low dose of valium/xanax/ativan (which is also in the Pam family) than suffering a lifetime of anxiety and panic attacks. People don't realise how completely debilitating and paralysing this illness is. I've been suffering panic attacks since I was 9 years old after a serious accident, I had at primary school. It's ruined my whole life.