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Fluoxetine and diazepam

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aga02916
aga02916

Hi everyone. I suffer with anxiety and currently Im taking 20mg of fluoxetine (Prozac) . Got some diazepam tablets as well to use in case I need it , cause I also suffer with withdrawl from mirtazapine 15mg (my doctor took me off it cold turkey 18 days ago)For the past 3 weeks I was taking Ativan ( lorazepam) but dont have any more tablets. I was wondering If diazepam can affect the way fluoxetine works. My anxiety is playing up and Im scared that diazepam can make me feel worse and stop working fluoxetine.....

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • catherine73799
    catherine73799 aga02916

    Posted

    I am on Fluoxetine 20 mg also and doc has given me diazepam for anxiety /panic attacks it seems to be working very well at the moment , I go to see Psychiatrist on Friday for a first ever assessment and I'm hoping I will still be able to remain on diazepam 2mg as required , maybe it's your system getting rid of the Mirtazapine that's leaving you anxious

    Regards Catherine

    • aga02916
      aga02916 catherine73799

      Posted

      Hi , are you living in uk ? I think I do still have withdrawl, Im feeling awful today, anxiety is off the charts and cant concentrate on anything. Heart is pounding and I stress about every little thing.I hope you are well xx
    • catherine73799
      catherine73799 aga02916

      Posted

      Yes I live in U.K. what mg is your diazepam ? can you not increase it so that it will take the edge off the stress x
    • aga02916
      aga02916 catherine73799

      Posted

      How did you get an appointment with psychiatrist ? Thru your gp ? Cause my gp isnt supportive and I would like to see specialist. Ive got 10mg tablets. Got them of my mum but cut them in half. Ive always had tolerance to benzos, dont know why. When asked my doctor about it he just said that everyone is diffirent. Wish 2mg worked with me. Im just scared of getting addicted to them and lately I need them nearly every day due to side effects and withdrawl..Might have to use them until fluoxetine takes full effect. No need to suffer.
    • catherine73799
      catherine73799 aga02916

      Posted

      I was refered to Psychiatrist by my Gp as I had been on venlafaxine and another couple of antidepressants before that , my GP feels that she is not the expert on mental health and instead of trying a number of antidepressants , leaving my anxiety and depression worse she said I would benefit from seeing a psychiatrist to see what the best medication would be for the panic / anxiety / depression .
    • aga02916
      aga02916 catherine73799

      Posted

      Im going to see my gp and demand to be reffered to specialist, I need to see someone who knows what they doing, not messing and throwing prescriptions.thank you xx
  • pamela16260
    pamela16260 aga02916

    Posted

    Lorazepam and Diazepam are

    very similar and both work very

    similarly. The side effects of both

    are the same. There's no reason

    not to take the Diazepam if you

    have it and you need it. It should not

    interact negatively with

    Floxetine. You can confirm this with

    your pharmacist or if you check it

    on Web MD.

  • UKSteve
    UKSteve aga02916

    Posted

    Diazepam will not interfere with the benefits and mechanism of fluoxetine.

    Benzodiazepines are commonly prescribed alongside and antidepressant in the first few weeks if the patient is suffering an increase in anxiety which is a normal side effects when starting off

    Diazepam should help you with any anxiety side effects for the interim period that should not be taken long term once the fluoxetine kicks in you probably won't need them

    The only interaction between the drugs is an increase in sedation from the diazepam depending on how have fluoxetine affect you if it makes you more active and nervous than the diazepam should

    Balance that out certainly won't increase your anxiety so I wouldn't worry about anything other than increased tiredness and possibly Sam increasing dizziness if that is a side effect

    You are experiencing from fluoxetine?

    Keep on the lowest dose of diazepam as possible and only take it as needed rather than regularly

    Otherwise you become dependent very quickly and have to increase the dose to get the same effect.

    • aga02916
      aga02916 UKSteve

      Posted

      Hi Steve , thank you for your reply. Diazepam doesnt do anything for me. My gp changed me back to mirtazapine today as side effects of fluoxetine were too much for me and I couldnt cope. My anxiety wasnt even this bad before taking ADs and I was on fluoxetine before for 7 years for ocd. I know it always gets worse before better but I couldnt cope. Anxiety was burning my whole body and I felt like I was going crazy. Was a nightmare.😯

    • UKSteve
      UKSteve aga02916

      Posted

      Yes that probably makes sense because fluoxetine is one of the more activating antidepressants and so can be a bit troublesome for those with severe anxiety.

      Mirtazapine, Paxil tend to work better for those with extreme anxiety and tend to be more sedating.

    • aga02916
      aga02916 UKSteve

      Posted

      Ive been suffering with anxiety since february due to extreme stress. Before that I was okay and didnt take any antidepressants for a whole year. And then bam. Somehow I started getting intrusive thoughts, felt down. Thought my intrusive thoughts were part of ocd but then sick knot im my stomach didnt want to go away, and felt panicky about little small things, overthinking, like I couldnt get my thoughts together. So I went on mirtazapine. Problems at work were a reason for my stress but now everything been resolved and tbh I start thinking if I really need ADs. Im just scared that Im going to always be on them and that they going to change me and make me worse. After my adventure with fluoxetine I just question everything. Hate this feeling. Just want to be myself again. And it feels like I wasnt even myself on mirtazapine. Dont know what to do😔

  • UKSteve
    UKSteve aga02916

    Posted

    Your whole mindset of getting worked up over the meds for your anxiety and what to do is really the generalised anxiety still controlling you.

    I would suggest that that means you still need some help rather than thinking you've conquered it.

    No they wont change you, or damage you. Whilst you're on meds you may not feel yourself, but do you feel better thats the question.

    The target for you now that youve resolved specific issues should be to get to a place where it doesn't matter rather than fretting over the smallest thing you should be able to just say "whatever."!

    If you can try and get into that mindset and just minimalise everything that feels cluttered in your life and just focus on the now and the present then you will find that starts to make you a lot more relaxed. Its brain training, takes a bit of time, but it's a mechanism for gaining control of your thoughts instead of your thoughts controlling you.

    The worst thing to do is start fretting about how long you're going to be on meds.

    At the end of the day what does it matter if you're on something for the rest of your life as long as it's working and it's giving you a better quality of life there's no stigma. Drop the guilt, you dont jeed that piled up on you as well.

    Whenever you find yourself overwhelmed, stressed , agitated just breathe, clear your head, say No! Then adopt the mantra where you can keep telling yourself over and over again

    "at the end of the day does it really matter"? Because nine out of ten times it really doesn't.We're all entitled to feel good in life, nobody should have to put up with pain in any form. Anxiety is just another form of pain, dis-comfort.

    With regards to medication, just treat it as a tool in your toolbox of dealing with life, find a medication that helps you to become more carefree and "pain" free and comfortable in your own skin, so that you can tackle things wth a more carefree aproach. There are plenty of other meds you can try if you've not got there yet I just have to keep experimenting with your doc until you find the one that works.

    • aga02916
      aga02916 UKSteve

      Posted

      Thank you Steve. I just dont feel like myself on them and I feel like im getting brain washed. When I was on fluoxetine before I wasnt myself. Really. And when I look back at pictures of me I can see this empty look in my eyes. I was on sertaline as well. On highest dose. It was for ocd. Few months ago I was anxiety free. Mirtazapine made me feel depressed and numb. I felt like I was in a dream. But I agree with you. Better to feel like this than have this constant worry and intrusive thoughts. Im just so scared. When Im on meds I get this idea that they going to make me even worse and that im going to get crazy and end up at the hospital. Then I break down and cry cause Im scared that Im not going to grow old with my husband and that I will never enjoy my life again x
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