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Atarax (hydroxyzine) 25mg to help on Valium tapering

Posted , 5 users are following.

lukep78
lukep78

Hi.

iv been given Atarax 25mg tablets to help me while tapering off diazepam ( i have been taking valium a little over 10 years and got from 130mg a day down to 8mg a day and now it is starting to feel like hell and doc said this will help take the edge off things)...

Iv been told to take 1 tablet 3 times a day but i tryed my 1st one this morning and oh my god it knocked me for six. How i am ment to function on these daily is well beyound me.

what i would like to know is has anyone else tryed these to help with the withdrawal off valium and does the feeling sleepy effect wear off after a few days???

Any info will be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance for your time and any responses.

0 likes, 19 replies

19 Replies

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  • jason_39066
    jason_39066 lukep78

    Posted

    Luke, I am new to this site. I have had a pretty terrible month. I was addicted to 50 mgs of hydrocodone a day mixed with a 6 pack of beer every night, and a Xanax to sleep for almost 4 years. I finally decided I wanted my life back. I haven't had a pain pill in 30 days or a drink. My last obstacle is the xanax. I have switched to valium and was also prescribed the Atarax 25 mg to try to help with the taper. I am only on day 1 of valium and am at 15 mgs. Did this medication get you over the hump as I desperately want my life back free of drugs and alcohol. Any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated. And God bless all of us who are dealing with this nightmare. Thanks in advance.
    • Lizzie46881
      Lizzie46881 jason_39066

      Posted

      You are doing so well Jason, I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart.  I was once addicted to 30/500 co-codamol and managed to go cold turkey from them, awful four weeks but so worth it.  You have done much better than me with the booze though, which I still struggle with. I take small doses (5mg) of diazepam as required for anxiety which I may be dependent on but don't seem to be developing tollerance to as I have days off without them, only using them sparingly.  Never been on Xanax but have been on Atarax (hydroxyzine).  It was brilliant for me as it enabled me to stop the diazepam completely for about two months and really helped my sleep, but then they discoovered that it was interacting with my SSRI anti-depressant (citalopram) and was casuing me heart problems, something called an extended QT interval, one of the symptoms of which is sudden death!  I came off them pdq!  

      So now I take citalopram and risperidone for my bipolar, diazepam occasionally for anxiety and as a consequence my bipolar is pretty much under control.  For me the big battle is the alchohol, I don't think I'm an alchoholic, more a problem drinker, but it's not doing me any harm at the  moement as far as I can tell from the many tests they've done on me receently, so I'm just leaving everything as it is.

      Once again BIG CONGRATULATIONS for what you have achieved so far and yes, if you aren't taking an SSRI anti-dep, the Atarax will help you get of the diazepam.

      Best Wishes

      Lizzie

    • jason_39066
      jason_39066 Lizzie46881

      Posted

      Lizzie, thank you for responding. Funny thing is I don't have any cravings for alcohol or opiates. The benzo is the problem for me. When I waz abusing all this stuff, the xanax was the last thing on my mind. Once I sobered up not taking the benzo almost killed me twice. I used to look forward to taking the pain meds and drinking. I was only on 1mg of xanax. The Atarax did help me with sleep. I just can't believe I allowed a dr to put me in this situation. Good to hear you are doing well. Sounds like you have been through hell. Just keep fighting the fight. Thank you so much for responding. I am new to all this as I never had any addiction problems until the doc put me on pain meds.
    • lukep78
      lukep78 jason_39066

      Posted

      hi jason.

      i wish i could say it worked for me but unfortunately it didnt. i managed to stay at 6mg a day for about a month and then i was getting bad withdrawl symptoms and as i work full time i had to get my dose of valium put back up to 10mg a day which seems to be working alot better for me.

      my doctor has tryed several diffrent things now and i think the only way i could come off the benzos would be to quit my job and be able to go through the withdrawl symptoms (which i would not be able to do).

      i hate the fact my doctor put me on these horrible meds but in truth i cant ever see me coming off them, so for now my plan is to stay on the 10mg a day as this is what seems to work best for me although i would desperately love to be benzo free :-(

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