SamiT: health anxiety for years

[SamiT]

Hello all 

 

I am new here and need some help. I have suffered with severe anxiety (health) for 7 years, tried lots of different SSRI’s with some giving me suicidal thoughts. 

 

Anyway at the end of July my GP prescribed me 2mg Diazepam, I have taken them over the last few weeks (just less than 4 weeks) and I have 6 tablets left, she won’t prescribe me anymore due to dependency of these medications. 

 

Am am I going to have withdrawal from only using them for a short space of time? I am frightened to death because I suffer with health anxiety so any symptom I have I think I’m dying .

 

Thanks in advance 

[Gridley]

Welcome to SA, SamiT.  I've brought your post to the attention of Shep, our benzo moderator, and she will be getting back to you.

 

[SamiT]

Thanks. 

 

Ive gotten myself into a right state. I’ve spoken to someone who said because I’ve been taking them sporadically over the last 4 weeks I should be okay. 

[Gridley]

 

1 minute ago, SamiT said:

Thanks. 

 

Ive gotten myself into a right state. I’ve spoken to someone who said because I’ve been taking them sporadically over the last 4 weeks I should be okay. 

 

Please let me know how sporadically.

[SamiT]

So for example one day I took the full dosage aka 2mg 3 times a day so 6mg in total, other days I took just 2mg twice a day so 4mg. I haven’t had any now since Friday. 

 

2mg three times a day for 28 days = 84 tablets. 

Over 28 days I’ve had 45 2mg tablets in total. 

 

I attend the hospital all the time because of my health anxiety and I’m freaking myself out. Our BNF in the UK states they shouldn’t be taken for longer than 2-4 weeks which I haven’t done.

[Gridley]

1 hour ago, SamiT said:

I haven’t had any now since Friday. 

 

How are you feeling?

[SamiT]

I feel okay a little anxious maybe but that’s normal for me anyway I’m constantly anxious. 

 

To to be honest every time I had a 2mg diazepam the day after I always felt rubbish like depressed. 

[Gridley]

10 minutes ago, SamiT said:

I always felt rubbish like depressed. 

I'm glad you're feeling okay.

 

Depression is a common side effect of Diazepam.

[SamiT]

oh wow really I never knew. 

You know it’s the only thing that has worked for my anxiety ever, I’ve tried SSRI’s and I had suicidal thoughts but after reading some of the stories I am grateful I haven’t been on diazepam for years.

[Altostrata]

Welcome, SamiT.

 

Did you stop taking diazepam? When did you stop taking it?

 

How are you feeling?

[SamiT]

Yes I stopped on Friday, I still have about 6 tablets left but as it was coming up to me being on it for 4 weeks I was becoming concerned and read online that our BNF in the UK states it should only be used for 2-4 weeks 

[Altostrata]

How are you feeling? Please report every day. It will take a few weeks for the diazepam to completely leave your body.

[SamiT]

I will do. 

 

I just have have a really bad headache at the moment and anxiety. But in the last couple of weeks the reason I was given diazepam also was because my Doctor wanted to start me on Escitalopram (Lexapro) and because I was so scared of any side effects they gave me the diazepam alongside to try to help.

 

Anyway with the doctors advice I stopped taking the Lexapro after 12 days as I had bad suicidal thoughts which frightened me to death. 

[SamiT]

Okay 

So I’ve woken up today with a really bad sore throat and cold. Although my daughter has had a sore throat so I don’t know if I’ve caught it off her. 

I also woke up at 4am but I managed to get back to sleep. 

[Shep]

16 hours ago, SamiT said:

You know it’s the only thing that has worked for my anxiety ever, I’ve tried SSRI’s and I had suicidal thoughts but after reading some of the stories I am grateful I haven’t been on diazepam for years.

 

Please let us know more about your past drug history.

 

When were you on diazepam before?

 

When and what types of SSRIs were you on before?

 

Please add a signature.  Include drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements in the last 12-24 months. Also include supplements. This will help us give you the most accurate advice we can. 

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• Please use actual dates or approximate dates (mid-June, Late October) rather than relative time frames (last week, 3 months ago) 
• Spell out months, e.g. "October" or "Oct."; 9/1/2016 can be interpreted as Jan. 9, 2016 or Sept. 1, 2016. 
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[SamiT]

I have done the signature. 

I’ve been to see the doctor today and she doesn’t think I will have withdrawals however she has said that with the 6 I have the left I can cut them in half and taper but she doesn’t feel the need.

[SamiT]

Anybody????

[Shep]

3 hours ago, SamiT said:

Anybody????

 

Just a friendly FYI, this site is run by volunteers who are all going through our own withdrawal, so we aren't able to give immediate assistance. 

 

20 hours ago, SamiT said:

I’ve been to see the doctor today and she doesn’t think I will have withdrawals however she has said that with the 6 I have the left I can cut them in half and taper but she doesn’t feel the need.

 

 

What symptoms are you having? If you're having trouble sleeping, you may want to cut two in half and take those over the next two nights. Then cut two more into fourths and take those. And then the final two, cut into eight parts and take those to ease your way off.

 

However, if you're not having a lot of symptoms (and as you've mentioned, you'll need to gage whether your health anxiety is really the problem), you may want to simply stay off them. The longer you take them, the greater the chance you'll develop a dependency.

 

On 8/27/2019 at 1:57 PM, SamiT said:

I attend the hospital all the time because of my health anxiety and I’m freaking myself out.

 

Are you taking any medications for other health conditions? Are you currently taking any supplements? If so, please list them.

 

Health anxiety is beyond what Surviving Antidepressants can help you with, however, we do have a thread where this issue is discussed within the context of withdrawal. So this thread may be helpful for you to read: 

 

Health anxiety, hypochondria, and obsession with symptoms

 

You may want to work with a therapist specifically trained for health anxiety and / or look for answers in books or online sites such as Anxiety Centre.com.

 

 

 

[SamiT]

Sorry I didn’t realise.

 

No I’m not taking any other medications or supplements. 

 

I have tingling feeling in hands legs and like a burning feeling in my body like panic. 

Stomachache

Feeling sick (but not yet been sick) 

anxiety. 

[Shep]

That sounds like withdrawal symptoms, so I hope you're able to calm the health anxiety down with reminders that those are all very normal symptoms of withdrawal and nothing more. This kind of soothing self-talk can be very helpful.

 

I'm glad to read you aren't taking any other medications or supplements that could make things worse. 

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements, as many members report their nervous systems are simply too fragile to handle them. However, magnesium and fish oil tend to be calming to the nervous system and many people report they do help. Please only add in one supplement at a time and at a small dose. For more, please see:

 

 King of supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker

 

You may want to try adding in one of these supplements to see if it helps calm your nervous system down a bit. 

[SamiT]

Thanks for your help I will have a look at the supplements. 

 

Im a week off now. I will never take another one again unless I’m terminally poorly after learning how dangerous they are.