Valium as needed

[[ja...]]

I am 73. I took Xanax for 20 years. Got off it April , 2023. Ashton method. Since then my anxiety level has gone through the roof. I can’t stand to be around people. It is so bad that my eyes feel as if they are exploding. I have seen a dozen opthalmologists who all say my eyes are fine. My irritation and anxiety are beyond high.i have explosive anger. I have suffered terribly. I have tried other meds to control this but nothing has worked. In desperation I took a Valium yesterday. Since then I feel better and calmer than I can remember. My eye pain disappeared. I am now convinced that for the last year I am suffering post-withdrawal symptoms which are intolerable.  I know a lot about the futility of taking benzos. 

i  know that if I start taking Valium I will become dependent, have initial relief, go to tolerance and then try to go through the hell of withdrawal. 
 

But I have intolerable suffering. Is there any alternative to a benzo for anxiety? 
 

Is it possible to take a small dose like 2 mg of Valium as needed? Would doing this necessarily result in dependence? 
 

I appreciate your thoughts!

 

[[kn...]]

I’m 72 and am currently tapering off 60 mgs of Valium, now on the microdose down side of 4. It was initially a cross over from high doses of both klonopin and Ativan. I hung at 2 for 5 months and couldn’t stabilize.  So, I had to up dose to 4 to get some measure of relief. You know what the symptoms are like so I won’t even go there. Trust me, Valium I just as bad as all the rest. As horrible as your symptoms are now. You don’t want to do it to yourself again. Venlefaxine takes very good care of my GAD. 

Edited May 1 by [kn...]

[[jo...]]

17 minutes ago, [[j...] said:

I am 73. I took Xanax for 20 years. Got off it April , 2023. Ashton method. Since then my anxiety level has gone through the roof. I can’t stand to be around people. It is so bad that my eyes feel as if they are exploding. I have seen a dozen opthalmologists who all say my eyes are fine. My irritation and anxiety are beyond high.i have explosive anger. I have suffered terribly. I have tried other meds to control this but nothing has worked. In desperation I took a Valium yesterday. Since then I feel better and calmer than I can remember. My eye pain disappeared. I am now convinced that for the last year I am suffering post-withdrawal symptoms which are intolerable.  I know a lot about the futility of taking benzos. 

i  know that if I start taking Valium I will become dependent, have initial relief, go to tolerance and then try to go through the hell of withdrawal. 
 

But I have intolerable suffering. Is there any alternative to a benzo for anxiety? 
 

Is it possible to take a small dose like 2 mg of Valium as needed? Would doing this necessarily result in dependence? 
 

I appreciate your thoughts!

it very much sounds like you have been going through withdrawl. Especially since the valium gave you so much relief. Ssri's are the go to medication for anxiety and I am considering taking them myself as thats my worst symptom. Some say they help, others say they dont, others say they make them worse. I have been told that if I do try an SSRI that I should ease myself on to this drug carefully as to lower the chance of adverse reaction.

I took an SSRI a few years ago before this mess and I did react badly when starting taking it. Insomnia/high anxiety. However it did work once the drug settled in my system, SSRI's also come with the risk of dependance and withdrawl so I would do your research before taking if you choose to. I wouldn't take benzos regular again personally or it will eventually undo the healing your body has done in the past year which would be a shame considering how much you've suffered. Although I understand the temptation.

[[ja...]]

Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I have no quality of life and am riddled with pain including excruciating eye pain. 

[[ja...]]

Have you tried Hydroxyzine? I tried it a year ago with no success. But I think I will try it again.

[[jo...]]

2 minutes ago, [[j...] said:

Have you tried Hydroxyzine? I tried it a year ago with no success. But I think I will try it again.

I haven't tried it as my pysical symtoms are pretty manageable. Most of my symptoms are mental which is why I'm considering an SSRI. I'm tentative as to wether or not to do it though as opinions vary. Everyone is different etc. I have heard people say that it saved them and I have heard others say it complicated things. My thinking is that if things become to much it is worth a try rather than reinstating a benzo which will put me back to square one and probably make things worse down the line when I try to come off again or reach TW. There are a lot of people on here wo suffer like you with nerve pain who will hopefully chime in.

[[Tw...]]

3 hours ago, [[j...] said:

I am 73. I took Xanax for 20 years. Got off it April , 2023. Ashton method. Since then my anxiety level has gone through the roof. I can’t stand to be around people. It is so bad that my eyes feel as if they are exploding. I have seen a dozen opthalmologists who all say my eyes are fine. My irritation and anxiety are beyond high.i have explosive anger. I have suffered terribly. I have tried other meds to control this but nothing has worked. In desperation I took a Valium yesterday. Since then I feel better and calmer than I can remember. My eye pain disappeared. I am now convinced that for the last year I am suffering post-withdrawal symptoms which are intolerable.  I know a lot about the futility of taking benzos. 

i  know that if I start taking Valium I will become dependent, have initial relief, go to tolerance and then try to go through the hell of withdrawal. 
 

But I have intolerable suffering. Is there any alternative to a benzo for anxiety? 
 

Is it possible to take a small dose like 2 mg of Valium as needed? Would doing this necessarily result in dependence? 
 

I appreciate your thoughts!

If you can, I would stay away from any benzodiazepines . It's just not worth it in the long run. The benzodiazepine withdrawal is a brutal nightmare. I take Seroquel, Prozac ( an SSRI), and Hydroxyzine for anxiety. I have been in benzodiazepine withdrawal for the past 7 weeks, and every day I feel better and better.