Drug Content

Diazepam- Half Life: 20-100 hours; Schedule IV Drug

Valium (Diazepam) is a prescription medication used in the treatment of anxiety disorders and for short-term relief of the symptoms of anxiety.  Diazepam is in a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines.  It works by slowing down the central nervous system.  Diazepam affects the chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced and cause anxiety, seizures, and muscle spasms.  Diazepam is also used to relieve the symptoms of acute alcohol withdrawal, as well as act as a muscle relaxant.

Diazepam was the second benzodiazepine to be invented by Sternbach of Hoffman-La Roche, and was approved for use in 1963.  Diazepam is two and a half times more potent than its predecessor “chlordiazepoxide”, which it also surpassed in sales.  Diazepam is classified as a “classical” benzodiazepine similar to; clonazepam, lorazepam, oxazepam, nitrazepam, flurazepam, bromazepam and clorazepate.

Diazepam can be administered orally, intravenously, intramuscularly, or via suppository.  When Diazepam is taken orally, it has a fast onset of action– which is around 30 minutes, but can range up to 2 hours.  When Diazepam is administered via IV (intravenously), the onset of action is 1-5 minutes, and IM (intramuscularly) is at 15-30 minutes.  The duration of Diazepam’s peak pharmacological effects is in between 15 minutes and 1 hour for both IV and IM.  As a matter of fact– when Diazepam is administered as an intramuscular injection, the absorbtion is slow, erratic and imcomplete, so Diazepam is mainly used via IV or orally.

Like all drugs, Diazepam is potentially habit-forming and is listed as a Schedule IV drug of the United States’ Controlled Substances Act.  Do not stop taking Diazepam without consulting your doctor first as the potential for withdrawal symptoms can occur if too much of the drug is taken, or if the drug is taken for too long.

Side effects of Diazepam cannot be anticipated, but if any develop or change in intensity, be sure to inform your doctor as soon as possible.  Only your doctor can determine whether or not it is safe to continue taking Diazepam.  Side effects are as followed:

Drowsiness; tiredness; blurred vision; insomnia; muscle weakness; lack of balance or coordination; slurred speech; nausea; vomiting; constipation; headache; drooling; skin rash; loss interest in sex

If any of these more serious side effects are experienced, be sure to contact your doctor as soon as possible:

Confusion; unusual thoughts or behavior; unusual risk-taking behavior; decreased inhibitions; no fear of danger; depression; thoughts of suicide or harming yourself; agitation; hyperactivity; hostility; hallucinations; lightheadesness; fainting; tremor; muscle twitching; fever; chills; body aches; flu symptoms; jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes); urinary retention

Since Diazepam depresses the Central Nervous System much like alcohol does, your body can develop a tolerance to the drug based on how much of the drug you take and\or how long it has been taken.  Diazepam is both physically and psychologically addicting and is considered one of the toughest addictions to break, as with most benzodiazepines.  With chronic use, abuse potential is high and withdrawal symptoms can develop after only 2 or 3 days of repeated use.  Be sure to talk to your doctor when stopping Diazepam, as you’ll need to be slowly tapered off of the drug.  Abruptly discontinuing Diazepam after an extended period of use is extremely dangerous and can cause seizures and possible death.

If one begins to experience withdrawal symptoms, contact a doctor immediately.  Symptoms of withdrawal are as followed:

Severe anxiety; rapid heartbeat; tremor; insomnia; irritability; sweating; anxiety; blurred vision; decreased concentration; decreased mental clarity; severe diarrhea; heightened awareness of noise or bright lights; impaired sense of smell; loss of appetite; weight loss; muscle cramps; seizures; tingling sensation; agitation; convulsions

The severity of withdrawal from Diazepam depends on how much of the drug was taken and for how long it was taken for.  Diazepam withdrawal can last between one week up to six weeks, depending on how much in is your system.  It has been proven that for every year a person is on Diazepam, they will experience one week of acute withdrawal symptoms.  Of course this depends on the person’s health, their state of mind, etc.  Even though acute withdrawal might be over with, there have been people who have still felt minor discomfort at random times months, and even years later.  The symptoms won’t be nearly as bad as the acute symptoms, but it can take a while before one has control of their entire life again.

Overall, Diazepam is an excellent drug to take for the symptoms of anxiety– it’s just important that the dosage is monitored by a doctor, and that it isn’t abused.

Heya folks.  Last night was pretty rough as my family and I had to go up to the Emergency Room with my father who was having trouble swallowing.  We were up there for 7 or 8 hours about, and while I had my computer the whole time, I was concerned about my father.  He has thyroid problems and needs to see an Endocrinologist.  I am looking on the bright side, but my father isn’t so much, which is to be expected.

I believe I only got in one post yesterday, and I apologize for that, but seeing that I was up at the ER, I suppose that’s a good enough reason.  I will be adding a couple of posts later today (a drug description, and possbly “pill identification time”?)  I just have to get some energy as I slept fairly late today since I was up late last night.  I also am on my Roxis that are making me a bit loopy, but they help the pain 50 x better than the Percocets did.  I need to wait until tomorrow morning for my Oramorph (Morphine Pills), because they had to be ordered seeing that the strength that was written for me is a rare strength (30 mg).

Last night, I was with my sister’s boyfriend, and we watched Rambo until 4:00 am, which is part of the reason why I was up late.  I had never seen the new Rambo movie, but I must say that it was pretty gruesome and gorey.  I would have to say that, even though it could have been a bit longer, it was the best Rambo out of the series in my opinion.  It set a record for the most kills, and for being the goriest movie as well, and there was really no deadspots in the movie.  I was happy I watched it last night (although my eyes were severely heavy).

I am sitting on my couch right now, nice and relaxed, and getting ready to type up my drug description(s), I just have to figure out which one(s) I will be writing about.  This website is coming along really well, and over the last four days, we have had about 300 unique visitors, so that’s definitely not bad at all!  Let’s keep it up. 

The computer I have been doing my work on is a “HP Pavilion dv6675us Entertainment Notebook PC” which I received from the company I work for, but it has been a rough time, but that’s life I suppose.  Pictures of the notebook PC are shown below, as well as my Roxicodone (Oxycodone) pills.

I had my doctor’s appointment earlier today at 10:30 am.  I was there for about 30 minutes, and I was talking to my doctor about my previous medication Percocet (oxycodone w/ APAP) 10 mg tablets, and how it wasn’t helping as much as it used to.  I knew I was going to be receiving medication that lasts longer, but I wasn’t sure what he was going to do about increasing my dosage of oxycodone.

I received 120 Roxicodone tablets.  Roxicodone is basically Percocet, but without the APAP in it– it’s also a stronger dosage.  So to make a long story short, it’s oxycodone 30 mg.  I take 1 or 2 of them every 4 hours.  I also received Oramorph 30 mg for long-term pain relief, which is Morphine– plain and simple.  I take the Oramorph twice a day, and the Roxicodone as needed for breakthrough pain.

Besides that– I have just been relaxing my foot, but I will be adding more content to Drug Content as the day progresses.  I also have some other work that needs to be done, but that’s an everyday thing for most of us, isn’t it?  Until next time.