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Diazepam, sold under the brand name Valium among others, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. [15] It is used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety , seizures , alcohol withdrawal syndrome , muscle spasms , insomnia , and restless legs syndrome . [ 15 ]
Although anxiety can temporarily increase as a withdrawal symptom, there is evidence that a reduction or withdrawal from benzodiazepines can lead to a reduction of anxiety symptoms in the long run. [4] [5] Due to these increasing physical and mental symptoms from long-term use of benzodiazepines, slow withdrawal is recommended for long-term users.
Long-acting benzodiazepines with long-acting active metabolites, such as diazepam and chlordiazepoxide, are often prescribed for benzodiazepine or alcohol withdrawal as well as for anxiety if constant dose levels are required throughout the day.
The consensus is to reduce dosage gradually over several weeks, e.g. 4 or more weeks for diazepam doses over 30 mg/day, [1] with the rate determined by the person's ability to tolerate symptoms. [120] The recommended reduction rates range from 50% of the initial dose every week or so, [121] to 10–25% of the daily dose every 2 weeks. [120]
Like diazepam it has a long elimination half-life and long-acting active metabolites. Discontinuation of benzodiazepines or abrupt reduction of the dose, even after a relatively short course of treatment (two to four weeks), may result in two groups of symptoms, rebound and withdrawal. Rebound symptoms are the return of the symptoms for which ...
It is a type of monoamine reuptake inhibitor (MRI); other types of MRIs include dopamine reuptake inhibitors and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. SRIs are not synonymous with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), as the latter term is usually used to describe the class of antidepressants of the same name, and because SRIs, unlike ...
Another case report noted a similar phenomenon in a female patient who abruptly reduced her diazepam dosage from 30 mg to 5 mg per day. She developed electric shock sensations, depersonalization, anxiety, dizziness, left temporal lobe EEG spiking activity, hallucinations, visual perceptual and sensory distortions which persisted for years. [20]
Benzodiazepine overdose (BZD OD) describes the ingestion of one of the drugs in the benzodiazepine class in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced. . The most common symptoms of overdose include central nervous system (CNS) depression, impaired balance, ataxia, and slurred spee