diazepam alternative.
Posted , 2 users are following.
Hi there,
New to forum. I have had to start taking Citalopram again after being off it for 6 months. I am taking around 2 to 3 5mg diazepam a week for anxiety while waiting for it to kick in.
I have been taking Citalopram for 18 days. Are there any natural or less addictive meds I can take instead of diazepam? Read some wwhere people say there are alternatives but not sure what they are.
Thanks for your help
Sophie
1 like, 3 replies
Lizzie46881 sophiethecat200
Posted
I have experience of both citalopram and diazepam so may be able to help. I'm bipolar II and used to get really bad spells of depression, for which I take the citalopram and it has totally eliminated my depression. It took a few weeks to start to work but when it did it was/is great. I would recomend staying on it for life, for me it does no harm and keeps me well.
Regards your question about the diazepam I was taking max 15mg a day for anxiety having been transfered from a rather nasty anti-psychotic called chlorproamzine which gave me restless leg syndrome (I also take risperidone, a much more neign anti-psychotic of the newer type), now I'm down to 2.5mg diazepam and slowly decreasing. What has really helped is a sedating anti-histamine called hydroxyzine. I came across this almost by accident as I had a bad rash and itching on my skin and my gp gave me this for it. Turns out it has anti-anxiety properties too and is great for helping me sleep. I don't think you can get it OTC but might be worth a talk to your gp. Great thing is that its not addictive like the diazepam. I take between 25mg and 100mg a day depending how my anxiety and allergies are and I've had no side effects at all.
Hope this helps
Lizzie
sophiethecat200 Lizzie46881
Posted
Thanks for your reply. Does Hydoroxine make you drowsy during the day? Did you get lots of side effects with Citalopram? The worst for me is sweating, disturbed sleep, and weight loss. I have lost over a stone in a few weeks but that couldbe the anxiety. Do you mind me asking what dose of Citalopram you take? I have been on it before and am on the same 20mg dose. Can't remember how long it took to kick in. Need it to soon, my Body Dismorphia is out of control! Been for CBT this morning but finding it difficult to engage at the moment as i am so anxious and am worrying all the time. What does Resperidone do? My doctor is on about changing my Citalopram for another med, don't know wether to stick with it though. Can't face the idea of weaning myself off to go on someting else. She is suggesting Sertraline or Paroxetine, someone I know suggested Trasadone. Have you come across any of those?
Thanks for your help
Sophie (:
Lizzie46881 sophiethecat200
Posted
The hydroxyzine would make you sleepy whenever you took it and the effect doesn't seem to wear off with continued use. I take two doses a day (2 x 25mg) normally, the first at tea time and the second when I go to bed, so ensuring I can function during the day but still get the benefits of the drug.
I had no significant side effects to the citalopram, guess I was lucky, I take 40mg a day in one dose in the morning.
Risperidone is an anti-psychotic which I take to stop the hypomania element of my bipolar and to stop the intrusive thoughts I used to get, it wouldn't help depression and I don't know if it would help anxiety, it was never prescribed for that for me.
I have never taken sertraline or paroxetine but I'm sure there are many people on this forum who can help you with these.
Is trasadone another benzodiazepine? I'd try to avoid the benzos if possible as as I'm discovering they are hard to get off. I'm going to try cut out my diazepam dose today, baby steps as I'll still take a small amount tomorrow and cut down abit more next week
With my very best wishes
Lizzie