If you take too much diazepam by accident, you may experience symptoms including:. Get someone else to drive you or call for an ambulance. Take the diazepam packet, or the leaflet inside it, plus any remaining medicine with you.
Like all medicines, diazepam can cause side effects in some people, but many people have no side effects or only minor ones. If you get these side effects, keep taking the medicine and speak to your doctor:.
It happens rarely, but some people have serious side effects when taking diazepam. On very rare occasions, some people may experience unusual mood changes. These can become serious and are more likely to happen in children or if you're over In rare cases, diazepam may cause a serious allergic reaction anaphylaxis. You could be having a serious allergic reaction and may need immediate treatment in hospital. These are not all the side effects of diazepam. For a full list, see the leaflet inside your medicine packet.
You can report any suspected side effect to the UK safety scheme. If you feel sleepy or drowsy, do not drive or use tools or machinery until you feel better. Do not drink any alcohol. This side effect should get better as your body gets used to the medicine. If your symptoms do not improve after a week, speak to a doctor as you may need a lower dose. There's not enough information to know if diazepam is safe to use in pregnancy.
But it can give your newborn baby withdrawal symptoms. You may need to keep taking diazepam during pregnancy as it's important for you to remain well. Your doctor can explain the risks and the benefits of taking diazepam, and will help you choose the best treatment for you and your baby. If your doctor or health visitor says your baby is healthy, diazepam can be used during breastfeeding as long as you're only taking a low dose of diazepam occasionally or for a very short time.
Diazepam passes into breast milk. If you take diazepam for a long time or in high doses, it can build up in your milk. This can make your baby drowsy or tired and can make it difficult for them to feed. If you're breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed, talk to your doctor or pharmacist, as other medicines might be better while breastfeeding, although this will depend on what the diazepam is being used for. If you do take diazepam while you're breastfeeding and you notice that your baby's not feeding as well as usual, seems unusually sleepy, has unusual breathing, or you have any other concerns about them, talk to your health visitor or doctor as soon as possible.
Some medicines interfere with the way diazepam works and increase the chances of you having side effects. Before you start taking diazepam, tell your doctor if you're taking :. There's very little information about taking herbal remedies and supplements with diazepam.
Do not take herbal medicines for anxiety or insomnia, such as valerian or passionflower, with diazepam. They can increase the drowsy effects of diazepam and may also have other side effects. For safety, tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal medicines, vitamins or supplements. Depending on your health condition, this can make you feel drowsy, relieve anxiety, stop seizures or relax tense muscles.
Diazepam will work quite quickly or more slowly depending on what you're taking it for:. Diazepam is usually only recommended for a short period of time of up to 4 weeks. If you're prescribed diazepam for more than 4 weeks, your dose may be reduced gradually to prevent withdrawal symptoms. If you're prescribed diazepam for more than 4 weeks, your dose may be reduced gradually when coming off it to prevent withdrawal symptoms. Diazepam is not likely to be addictive if you take it at a low dose for a short time 2 to 4 weeks.
You're more likely to get addicted if you have, or previously had, problems with alcohol or drugs. You should take diazepam tablets for as short a period of time as possible. If you have been taking a high dose or have been taking it for a long time, your doctor will probably recommend reducing your dose gradually.
If you suddenly stop taking it, you may occasionally experience some side effects, such as:. The risk of these side effects can be reduced by gradually reducing your dose. For anxiety, depending on your symptoms, you may need a medicine to treat your physical symptoms, as well as your psychological ones.
Your doctor will usually start you on a type of antidepressant called a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor SSRI , such as sertraline , paroxetine or escitalopram. For fits, a medicine called midazolam can be used. It comes as a pre-filled syringe and is given inside the mouth between the cheek and the gum buccal cavity. This can be used instead of rectal diazepam, which is inserted into the anus.
You can discuss the different options with your doctor. They'll help you decide which medicine is best for you. Diazepam can be given as a pre-med to relax you before an operation or dental treatment that may be uncomfortable or make you feel anxious. It's important to tell your doctor or dentist if you're already taking diazepam. Tell your doctor that you take diazepam if you're going to be put to sleep using a general anaesthetic or having any kind of major operation.
Do not drink alcohol while you're on diazepam. Alcohol can increase the effects of diazepam. It can make you go into a very deep sleep. There's a risk you will not be able to breathe properly, and may have difficulty waking up. Using cannabis, heroin or methadone with diazepam will increase the drowsy effects of diazepam. They have a similar chemical structure and are often used to treat similar conditions. Diazepam increases the activity of gamma-aminobutyric acid GABA , a special chemical that can send signals throughout your nervous system.
This will help decrease your anxiety, muscle spasms, and seizures. There are additional effects that you should also be aware of. The following list contains some of the key side effects that may occur while taking diazepam. This list does not include all possible side effects. For more information on the possible side effects of diazepam, or for tips on how to deal with a troubling side effect, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
If these effects are mild, they may go away within a few days or a couple of weeks. Call your doctor right away if you have serious side effects. Serious side effects and their symptoms can include the following:. The following information describes dosages that are commonly used or recommended. But be sure to take the dosage your doctor prescribes for you. The standard dosage is 10 mg taken by mouth three to four times during the first 24 hours.
This will be reduced to 5 mg taken three to four times per day as needed, based on withdrawal symptoms. Diazepam oral tablet is used for short-term treatment. Never try to catch up by taking two doses at once. This could cause toxic side effects. If you take too much: Taking too much of this drug can cause depression of your central nervous system CNS. Symptoms include:. This may even be fatal. You may be given the drug flumazenil to reverse a benzodiazepine overdose.
This drug may increase your risk for seizures. Your doctor will regularly reassess your condition to see if diazepam is still appropriate for you to take. This drug may cause more frequent and more severe seizures. If you suddenly stop taking diazepam, you may temporarily have more seizures. Taking it a second time after an allergic reaction could be fatal. It may stop your liver from processing this drug correctly, causing more of it to stay in your body for longer.
This may increase your risk for side effects. 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. Also, your body processes alcohol and this drug in similar ways.
That means that if you drink alcohol, this drug might take longer to leave your body. This may cause worse side effects. For people with kidney disease: Diazepam is removed from your body by your kidneys. If you have kidney problems, more of the drug may stay in your body for longer, putting you at risk for side effects.
Your doctor may adjust your dosage and monitor you more closely. For people with acute narrow-angle glaucoma : Talk to your doctor if you have glaucoma. You may have a higher risk for becoming addicted, dependent, or tolerant to diazepam. For people with liver disease: Diazepam is processed by your liver. If you have liver problems, more of this drug may stay in your body, putting you at risk for side effects.
Your doctor may adjust your dosage of diazepam and monitor you more closely. Diazepam may make these problems worse. Your doctor will monitor you more closely. Benzodiazepines have been used for insomnia, anxiety, reducing muscle tension and other situations where there is a need to calm the central nervous system.
There is little controversy about using benzodiazepines in acute psychiatric emergencies, anaesthesia, intensive care, palliative care at the end of life, and in the treatment of seizures and alcohol withdrawal. But its use in long-term situations has been increasingly questioned. Benzodiazepines can cause confusion, cognitive impairment and falls, resulting in considerable disruption and socioeconomic costs.
This is particularly problematic given that use is more common among older age groups. Benzodiazepines are also sold as street drugs, can impair driving and are associated with overdose. Continued use even at low dose for a few weeks can lead to physiological dependence tolerance and withdrawal.
Tolerance means that, over time, the effect of the drug wears off and a higher dose is needed for the same effect. When the drug is stopped , users can experience severe withdrawal symptoms such as insomnia, irritability, tension, panic attacks, tremor, sweating, poor concentration, nausea, palpitations, headache, muscle aches and sometimes even seizures and psychotic reactions.
Long-term use is generally not recommended because of the known side effects. But withdrawal can be difficult since the initial symptoms for which the drug was prescribed might return, made worse by the symptoms from the withdrawal itself. Some people are therefore reluctant to stop the drug. For these reasons, withdrawal should be gradual and guided by clinicians, who can help patients cope with any symptoms. Up to the mids, barbiturates were widely used to treat insomnia and anxiety.
But the incidence of dependence, severe withdrawal reactions, overdose and death had become a great concern. In the quest for a safer alternative , American chemist Leo Sternbach created the first compound in the benzodiazepines class of drugs, methaminodiazepoxide.
This led to the release of diazepam Valium in , considered to be safer than barbiturates. Over the next decade, it became the most prescribed drug in the United States.
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