I have suffered from severe panic and anxiety attacks for 20yrs been on xanax 2mg 4×daily without much success my dr just added 3 2mg Valium a day to the mix. im not feeling any relief... do I need a stronger dose... is there stronger than 2mg Valium?
Is 2mg of valium stronger than 10mg?
Question posted by disabledbyanxiety on 6 Oct 2011
Last updated on 23 March 2017 by Anonymous
This question has also been asked and answered here: Valium vs Xanax: Which is better?
7 Answers
Inactive
23 March 2017
Xanax is a short acting benzodiazepine which makes it ideal for panic attacks amongst other uses for its quick action. Diazepam has a much longer half life but takes longer to work. I am hypothesising your doctor has given you the diazepam to keep you on a constant level and the xanax for when you need the extra sedation quickly. The maximum dose of Valium is 10 mg 4 times daily so you are not on a high dose at all, the xanax is a moderate dose which comes in 0.5, 1 and 2 mg and some people find it very strong whereas others do not. Diazepam comes in 2, 5 and 10 mg doses. I think he would need to take you off xanax before prescribing a higher dose of Valium and you should discuss this. It's ok for other people to say other treatments should be given but you have probably been through all these already and despite the stigma benzodiazepines have improved many people's lives and remains an essential basic drug on the World Health Organisation list.
The dangers come with mixing with opiates and alcohol as it's very hard to overdose on benzodiazepines alone, the drawbacks are new studies implicating links to cancer(what is not linked to cancer nowadays... it's a case of are the benefits outweighing the drawbacks, yes there is abuse and it's dangerous to stop completely but let's not forget the people's who now enjoy a better quality of life because of them, many suicidal people are alive today because of them. Withdrawal is awful and must be tapered and there are rebound effects. But it is designed as short term and are only proscribed long term in serious cases. You should be frank with your doctor but one suspicion of abuse and you will be tapered from them very quickly. It's what you find works best. There is also rotation so tolerance is less of an issue, there are many types of benzodiazepines and as we are all different some work better than others. Valium was the most successful and made Roche billions. I am injured, was on morphine, then physeptone then OxyContin and now Dihydrocodeine and I have tried so hard to reduce and been successful but anxiety, pain and lack of sleep is stopping me from completely stopping, I have discovered with cutting down opiates, I can take diazepam on its own, no pain, I am now motivated and wake up fresh and since for long enough glad to be alive, strangely,,, not one single opiate withdrawal symptom. But it's a double edged sword, can I lower my benzodiazepine intake so low I would only need zopiclone or zolpidem to sleep. I consider this as I can always go back to opiates which mainly negates benzo withdrawal. I do not wish to be an opiate addict all my life, pain or not. I may experiment but I am experienced in drug interactions so I advise others to consult the doctor. I say this as I know how you feel, more than you may think. I wish you well
granny50
3 March 2012
I would say you do. Xanax is strong. Did you get this resolved yet?
terrimason
29 Jan 2012
So, he prescribed you one bar scored into four, as a bar qid ( per day). And thenis adding 1/2 a 5mg valium tid(3 a day). You have been on it for this long, as your doc. did perscribe, there is no harm, try it, the valium will actually work well if you alternate and do a dose of the diazepam then a alprazoplam in the aternoon and the diazepam before bed with asnack to keep u sleep & not hugry so u get a good sleep. Thats what I do, and I fiddles with it a lot until i found this 'cocktail" worked the best... hope i wasnt o wordy, i work @ ahospital, tech (a vet clinic) ttyl good luck, best wishes
_trulykilla
17 Jan 2012
Yes, I was given 10mg of Valium to take at night to help sleep. I know there's 2mgs, 5mgs, and a 10mg of Valium that's taken oral. The hospital gives 30mgs eaither through IV or a shot. Im unsure if they have a table form of 30mgs, They use it that way in cases of really bad muscle spams or tension headaches as a muscle relaxer.
puckiemull
7 Oct 2011
Correct me if i'm wrong,but am i right in saying you are on 8mg xanax plus now 6mg of valium?? If that is right you are on a very strong dose of benzo's. Did your doc not recommend an anti anxiety like zoloft,lexapro,citraprolam,that works over time,they do take 4-6weeks before you notice a difference,but maybe suggest this to him/her,it may well work along side the xanax,instead of taking 2benzo's together,which can be dangerous.
Hope you get relief soon,hopefully someone else will be along to help answer your q better.
Take care
disabledbyanxiety
8 Oct 2011
thank you that was very helpful. I was worried about being on two benzos is what im taking a lot? im 5in ft 100lbs
puckiemull
8 Oct 2011
Sorry i'm late with answering,my signal is up and down. It doess seem to me that you are on a very strong dose-especially the xanax and i dunno why your doc did'nt recommend something like i suggested. Where i'm from,they are very strict prescribing any benzo,i am on 2mg xanax daily and that is my max,they wont up me even half a pill and i am going through alot of anxiety at the mo,but every place is different along with every doc/pycshiatrist.
Mine would'nt give me a benzo unless i took something like prozac and a long list of other meds i've tried with no sucess,i'm still looking for the right combo.I will admit the xanax helps more than anything else i have tried,but i feel i need to take more as the longer i am on them,i build a tolerance quick to these,maybe thats why you are on such a high dose,you obviously built tolerance to them over the years,but i would suggest either yo ger second opnion or else ask you prescriber about something long acting like an anti depressant that also helps with anxiety.Have yo ever been on anything like that or just the benzo's?
Sorry again been so late answering you,,I'm from Ireland,dont know where you are,but time difference might be a few hours,so if i dont reply straight away you'll know why and i will as soon as i get your post.
disabledbyanxiety
8 Oct 2011
my dr has me on lamictal I have never been able to tolerate the antidepressant meds make me worse for some reason.
puckiemull
8 Oct 2011
Thats amazing,i have tried all the anti anxiety and anti d's and none of them worked,i was back with my pysc the other day and he prescribed that exact med,but i looked it up and read all the effects and decided not to start it.
How are you on it?Or am i guessing that you are on high doses of benzo's that it is no good???
Ryankyle
21 Aug 2013
Pickiemull is correct. They need to put you on an antidepressant and possibly a mood stabilizer. This will allow you to take less xanax. The dose of benzos you are on is very dangerous. The withdraws will be terrible. I would also ask my dr if inderal is right for me. It is a beta blocker that keeps your heart rate from jumping to high. Inderal helps me a lot with anxiety, especially a high dose of extended release inderal. Good luck to you.
Inactive
7 Oct 2011
oh and the answer to your question, sorry, 10 mg is the stronger dose
Inactive
7 Oct 2011
i also suffer from panic and anxiety attacks, the past some 20 yrs ago, and recently i lost my nana and am going full blown into this, and not liking it, my dr gave me xanax, never took it yet, kinda not wanting to add anything else into what im already tapering off of, percocet 10/325. i also go to therapy, which helps a great deal, maybe you could try that, i hope it gets better for you, hang in there, i know how it feels, like its controlling your life, today is day two that ive just cried like a baby, but it feels good and im able to release some of the feelings that i dont need.
disabledbyanxiety
7 Oct 2011
thank you for your reply thinking about all this just seems to make me feel an even stronger since of dread over coming me. I hate living this way and even with the xanax and Valium im still having extreme panic anxiety attacks
disabledbyanxiety
7 Oct 2011
I should add I also suffer with ptsd
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valium, xanax, anxiety, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder
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