Valium Abuse and Addiction Treatment Options
Valium abuse and addiction is a serious problem for many in the U.S. Because Valium is an effective treatment for many commonly experienced conditions and ailments, it has become one of the most frequently prescribed prescription medications in the world.
With more than 60 million people being prescribed Valium or other CNS depressants, it has also become widely abused.
Valium was generally considered one of the safest prescription medications. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1963, and has been studied for decades. At last count, there were at least 500 brands of Valium on the market.
The number of individuals with prescriptions is growing exponentially, not only because it’s so popular, but because it’s considered a “wonder drug” for its ability to calm and relax.
Although Valium is prescribed frequently, it can be abused. The psychological ramifications of the use and abuse of Valium make it a complicated mental health topic.
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What Is Valium?
Valium is the brand name for the drug diazepam. It’s most frequently prescribed to treat seizures, anxiety, and even alcohol withdrawal symptoms. The efficacy of this prescription drug is that it has a calming effect on the brain, which makes sense since it’s part of the benzodiazepines class of drugs. It’s one of the most “successful” drugs for treating a wide spectrum of disorders affecting the central nervous system (CNS).
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- Diazepam (Valium) – Florida State University
- Classics in Chemical Neuroscience: Diazepam (Valium)
How Does Valium Work?
Benzodiazepines stimulate the brain, so it creates gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, which regulates your CNS. In the case of anxiety or other related conditions, your brain is not producing enough GABA to mitigate the negative side effects of signals. You might experience anxiety, panic attacks, depression, or other symptoms.
Your doctor might prescribe Valium to give you a feel-good sensation of tranquility. If anxiety, severe stress, and/or panic disorders have disrupted your life, the Valium formulation prescribed by your doctor can feel like the right combination to make everything in your life seem better.
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What Is Valium Used for?
Valium is most often used by physicians to treat anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. It’s part of why you might imagine a “soccer mom” popping a Valium to keep from stressing out over the amount of work and chaos in life. In most cases, the Valium pill is taken by mouth, but it should only be taken as prescribed by a doctor or medical provider.
Valium is approved for use as an effective sleeping aid, so those calming effects are sometimes used before a dental visit or pre-operative appointment to prevent undue stress and over-agitation. While it is effective, it’s not always a positive experience, as Valium use can lead to abuse, dependency, and addiction.
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How Long Does It Take Before Valium Starts Working?
Valium is relatively fast-acting. It takes one to two hours to take effect. When it does, you will probably experience long-lasting benefits for anxiety, depression, and other stressors. Although it works relatively quickly, it can stay in your system for up to 10 days after your last dose of Valium.
Since it’s not listed as an illegal substance, the length of time this drug stays in your system is not usually a problem. But you should be aware of how long it could take. Always let your prescribing doctor or other medical professional know about possible medicines that may still be in your system.
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How Is Valium Abused?
People abuse Valium because it makes them feel good. It can make a person feel as though all the stresses of life are suddenly fixed and better, and that can be a very tempting proposition. It sure seems like it’s a magic bullet, and you might be tempted to find ways to get off-label Valium to help you achieve a longer-term and more consistent feel-good tranquility in your life.
Valium abuse happens rather quickly when a person seeks out additional dosages to achieve a dose that’s higher than the prescribed 2-10 milligrams, without a medical necessity. It probably seems harmless enough at first. After all, you may likely just be trying to achieve that consistency of relaxation and calm, but this abuse can quickly turn into an addiction that’s dangerous to your health and wellness.
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What Are the Symptoms If You Discontinue Valium?
Withdrawal symptoms from Valium can quickly include vomiting, sweating, muscle cramps, anxiety, and even seizures. To avoid these, consult with your doctor or medical provider to discuss ways to taper your use of Valium safely.
While Valium is generally considered safe and effective for its calming effect, you can still experience side effects and even addictive attraction to the drug.
If you think you may have become dependent on Valium as an addictive substance, you should discuss your situation with your doctor or medical provider.
Contact Zinnia Health at (855) 430-9439 for a safe and non-judgmental consultation about your daily reliance on Valium. Based on our discussion, we can discuss options for detox and recovery, with treatment options that will best meet your needs.
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What Are the Psychological Effects of Valium?
While addiction is often associated with the physical side effects that you experience, the psychological side effects can be just as powerful. With Valium in particular, its use may help you get through the day, cope with anxiety, and navigate the stresses of your everyday life.
With this prescription drug, you may not be as interested in getting that feeling of a high. Instead, you may be looking to achieve a sense of normalcy and feel as though you’re not going crazy. As part of that normalcy, you may just be looking for a way to achieve peace.
It’s important to remember that even though Valium is listed as a legal drug, it’s still addictive. It can adversely affect your health and wellness as you become more dependent on it for your daily life. In fact, its legal status can lead to misconceptions and make its use more problematic.
The widespread misunderstanding about Valium, its uses, and its abuse can easily lead to overdose, misuse, and other negative side effects that can have serious repercussions.
Here at Zinnia Health, we offer a range of treatment options to help you understand and address the psychological effects of Valium and abuse.
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What Are the Long-Term Side Effects of Valium?
The longer you take Valium, the worse your withdrawal symptoms are likely to be, particularly if you’re taking it at a high dosage. The other problem with Valium is that it may not be as effective if you use it for a longer period of time.
As you notice that Valium is not as effective as it once was, you may be tempted to increase your dose or frequency to get the same effects that you experienced from Valium in the past. Instead of giving in to that impulse, consult with a doctor to discuss the situation and the next steps for treatment.
Your doctor may wean you off Valium and prescribe a different drug to help with your anxiety and other symptoms. They may also adjust the dose and continue to monitor the situation. Or you may find that it’s time to explore other options for anxiety relief.
No matter where you are in your process, contact our team of licensed care professionals and treatment specialists. We’ll discuss how we can help you.
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What Are the Potential Interactions of Valium with Other Drugs?
You might experience interaction issues when you take Valium with other drugs like clozapine, orlistat, sodium oxybate, and fluvoxamine. It’s one of the issues that could be associated with use and abuse, particularly if you neglect to inform your doctor or medical professional that you are taking Valium or if you do not divulge the dosage.
The most common interaction may be something seemingly benign like breathing problems and drowsiness. The combination of several drugs with interactions can lead to more severe and even life-threatening side effects, so if you experience these side effects, inform your doctor and pharmacist about them.
You should also take care when using Valium in combination with over-the-counter drugs like cough medicine, muscle relaxants, alcohol, and antihistamines, or even when mixing it with marijuana. The possible interactions could be fine and easily manageable, but it’s better to seek medical advice and intervention before you get into a situation that you can’t get out of.
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What About a Valium Overdose?
Even though Valium is a prescription drug that’s generally safe and effective, an overdose is still possible. An overdose could be the result of taking a dose that’s higher or at a different frequency than prescribed. Your age may matter, too, since the rate of your metabolism can affect your ability to process a higher dose safely.
A Valium overdose may result from negative interactions with other prescriptions or over-the-counter drugs. Symptoms could include agitation, anxiety, dizziness, drowsiness, excitability, gastrointestinal distress, hiccups, itching, labored breathing, low blood pressure, slurred speech, and vision problems.
With symptoms like tremors, hallucinations, a low pulse, confusion, bluing lips, and severely depressed breathing, it’s possible that you could also fall into a stupor or become unconscious. This level of severity can also lead to a coma or even death. Even if you’ve used a combination of drugs in the past without issue, you could still experience an overdose.
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- Overdose. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia
- Health: Overdose Prevention: Signs and Symptoms of Drug Misuse
- Food and Drug Administration
How to Avoid a Valium Overdose
You can take steps to avoid and prevent an overdose of Valium.
- Only use Valium that has been prescribed for you.
- Use Valium at the prescribed dosage and frequency.
- Don’t take other over-the-counter or prescription medications while taking Valium without first discussing them with a doctor or medical professional.
- Avoid taking Valium without a prescription.
- Avoid taking Valium in combination with alcohol.
If you find yourself inclined to take Valium at higher doses or increased frequency, know that your abuse and misuse could lead to serious side effects.
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- Overdose. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia
- Health: Overdose Prevention: Signs and Symptoms of Drug Misuse
When Should You Seek Medical Help from Valium Use and Abuse?
If you (or someone you know) display overdose symptoms or experience worsening symptoms, seek medical help right away. If you’re able, let the medical professionals know when you took your last dose of Valium.
Let them know the amount and frequency of the last doses and what other substances (including alcohol, over-the-counter drugs, and other prescription and off-script or illegal meds) you took at the time or since.
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What Kind of Help Can You Expect (or Request) After an Overdose
Depending on the severity of the overdose, medical professionals may need to conduct extreme life-saving measures, including but not limited to CPR, giving you charcoal to absorb the drug(s), pumping your stomach, taking a chest X-ray, and giving you oxygen. You may also need to be on intravenous (IV) fluids to administer fluids and meds and to help stabilize your condition.
The first goal is to stabilize you and make sure you’re not in immediate danger of further system damage or death. But an overdose is also a wake-up call. It might mean that you’ve either intentionally or unintentionally taken Valium in amounts, frequencies, or in combination with other substances to cause serious potential damage to yourself.
If the overdose was intentional, your overdose could mean that you should talk to a medical professional and pursue psychiatric help to help you understand and address the crisis. If you’ve experienced Valium misuse and abuse issues in the past, a medical professional can offer recommendations for dual diagnosis services, which means that you’ll address the intentional overdose combined with substance abuse treatment.
You can also ask for additional help and services. We offer a range of treatment options to help you understand and address the psychological effects of Valium and abuse. We’re also standing by to answer your questions and support you in any way that we can during this difficult transition.
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What Does Valium Treatment Look Like?
Effective treatments can help you address the immediate Valium dependency and detox from the negative side effects of withdrawal and overdose, if applicable. Valium can appear like a “magic bullet” to improve your stress levels and make coping easier. Treatment can help you learn to understand and develop alternative coping strategies. With the help of education, psychotherapy, and support medication, our team can help you recover.
Some of the most common forms of treatment might include:
- Psychiatric care: Our psychiatrist is experienced, accredited, and can help you on your path toward personal recovery and treat underlying anxiety that may have contributed to Valium addiction.
- Medication management monitoring: We review your current meds, prescribe medications as necessary, and help you move toward more functional independence from Valium.
- On-site nursing 24/7: Our nursing team is standing by if anything comes up that requires medical intervention or care.
- Individual/group counseling: We offer a range of options for counseling so that you can find an outlet and garner support on your path to recovery.
- Case management: We take a close look at your case to determine recommendations for your short- and long-term treatment.
- Daily activities: As you work through your coping and recovery strategies, keeping busy can help to keep your mind off your dependence on Valium, as well as reduce your anxiety and stress levels.
We offer a range of treatment options because we want your journey to recovery to be a successful one. Our experienced team of licensed and accredited health care professionals is available anytime to support you and your needs.
We also offer hands-on, one-on-one counseling with one-on-one treatment options to support your recovery and return to health and wellness. It’s never easy to let go of something that has been such a big part of your life, and Valium has probably felt like such a wonderful solution until now.
Contact Zinnia Health at (855) 430-9439 to learn more about how our licensed therapists and care professionals can help you with your Valium abuse and addiction to achieve a state of health and wellness.
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