You should not normally be prescribed diazepam for more than four weeks. If you are taking diazepam to help you sleep, you should take it just before bedtime. Diazepam can be taken before or after food. Swallow tablets whole with a drink of water – if chewed, they taste bitter.
If you take more than your prescribed dose of diazepam you may get symptoms including: poor co-ordination or trouble speaking. feeling sleepy. a slow or irregular heartbeat.
Adults—2 to 10 milligrams (mg) 2 to 4 times a day. Older adults—At first, 2 to 2.5 mg 1 or 2 times a day. Your doctor may increase your dose if needed. Children 6 months of age and older—At first, 1 to 2.5 mg 3 or 4 times per day.
Diazepam may be taken every day at regular times or on an as-needed (“PRN”) basis. Typically, your health care provider will limit the number of doses you should take in one day. Your health care provider will determine the dose and method of taking the medication that is right for you based upon your response.
Dosage and Frequency
Because diazepam has a 48-hour half-life, and it takes five half-lives for the body to completely eliminate a drug, diazepam is usually cleared within 10 days. However, since diazepam can accumulate in fat tissue, taking repeated doses can cause the drug to accumulate and increase its half-life.
People are not normally prescribed diazepam for more than four weeks as people can become dependent on it if they take it for longer. They may also get withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking it. You and your doctor should talk about how long you might need to take diazepam.
If you take this medicine after the expiry date has passed, it may not work as well.
“You shouldn't drink alcohol while taking diazepam,” warns Medical News Today. “This drug can interfere with your judgment, thinking, and motor skills. It can also make you drowsy and cause your breathing to slow down or stop.
Drowsiness, dizziness, tiredness, blurred vision, or unsteadiness may occur. If any of these effects last or get worse, tell your doctor or pharmacist promptly. Remember that this medication has been prescribed because your doctor has judged that the benefit to you is greater than the risk of side effects.
It's used to treat anxiety, muscle spasms and seizures or fits. It's also used in hospital to reduce alcohol withdrawal symptoms, such as sweating or difficulty sleeping. It can also be taken to help you relax before an operation or other medical or dental treatments.
Risk of dependence: Using diazepam, even as prescribed, can lead to physical dependence and withdrawal if you stop taking the drug suddenly. Withdrawal can be life threatening. Misuse or addiction: Taking this drug can also lead to misuse and addiction.
Diazepam is used to treat anxiety that is more serious than that caused by the normal stress of everyday life. Diazepam is also used to relax muscles and treat muscle spasms that occur due to injury and conditions like cerebral palsy and paraplegia.
Diazepam has an average rating of 8.5 out of 10 from a total of 805 reviews on Drugs.com. 82% of reviewers reported a positive experience, while 9% reported a negative experience.
For its high-potency and long-lasting effects, the most potent benzodiazepine is Clonazepam, also known as Klonopin. Other high-potency but short-acting benzos are alprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (Ativan), and triazolam (Halcion).
Long-term use of the drug can cause irreversible damage to a person's cardiovascular system, liver, and even brain. Additionally, as levels of the drug increase over time, Valium abuse can have serious effects on a person's cognition, judgment, and memory.
Diazepam may increase the risk of serious or life-threatening breathing problems, sedation, or coma if used along with certain medications.
Conclusions: In healthy subjects, diazepam taken as a hypnotic agent induces a significant HR increase, possibly mediated by a decrease in vagal tone. This effect might be of clinical relevance due to the role that HR plays as an independent cardiovascular risk factor.
The most common symptom of a diazepam overdose is falling into a deep sleep or "coma" while still being able to breathe well enough. Other symptoms may include: Bluish-colored lips and fingernails. Blurred vision, double vision.
Caffeine is a stimulant and may reduce the calming effects of diazepam. It's best not to have drinks like coffee, tea, cola and energy drinks because they contain caffeine. Do not drink alcohol while you're taking diazepam.
For this reason, it's important to know how long Valium stays in your system and whether you need to avoid drinking while taking it. Additionally, if you want to go out for a few drinks with friends, you should wait at least three days to drink after taking Valium.
In some individuals, there may be an additional period of rebound anxiety between 10 and 14 days. Following the withdraw period, individuals will slowly stabilize but may still experience issues with anxiety and depression, and general feelings of being “out of sync.”
One tablet to be taken up to three times as required in a 24 hour period (minimum dose interval = 8 hours). For patients previously treated with a benzodiazepine - 5 mg up to three times daily (max.