The active substance of Valium is diazepam, which has a pronounced sedative, muscle relaxant, hypnotic and anticonvulsant effect. During therapy, blood vessels expand, as a result of which blood pressure decreases. The drug is effective for the treatment of convulsive paroxysms against the background of epilepsy, obsessive and phobic disorders, sleep disorders.
Drug Name | Package | Per Item | Go Pharmacy |
Generic Valium | 10 mg | $2.90 | ![]() |
Diazepam is used orally, intravenously, and intramuscularly, while the sedative effect develops most quickly after intravenous administration (after a few minutes). According to the instructions, Valium has a stable therapeutic effect after 2-7 days of use. When using the drug against the background of a withdrawal syndrome that develops with chronic alcoholism, it helps to get rid of hallucinations and weaken the severity of other symptoms such as tremor, agitation, and delirium.
Valium is quickly absorbed into the gastrointestinal tract. The highest concentration of the substance in the blood is reached approximately 30-90 minutes after oral administration of the drug.
Diazepam pills: method of application and dosage regimen
The duration of treatment and the dosage of Valium is always determined by the doctor, depending on the type of disease and the severity of its clinical signs. But, as a rule, the average doses are as follows:
- With neuroses, phobias, hysterical or hypochondriac reactions, degenerative neurological diseases, angina, blood pressure, it is prescribed to take 5-10 mg two or three times a day;
- For arthritis, polyarthritis, arthrosis, and other joint diseases, the recommended dosage is 5 mg of diazepam from one to four times a day (at the discretion of the doctor);
- With alcohol withdrawal syndrome, take 5 mg three or four times a day;
- With vertebral syndrome – the dosage of 10 mg four times a day in compliance with bed rest is recommended;
- With gestosis, menstrual, menopausal, and psychosomatic disorders, one should take 2-5 mg three times a day.
For weakened patients, the elderly, and people with atherosclerosis, the initial dosage of Diazepam should be 2 mg twice a day, which is gradually increased until the necessary therapeutic effect is obtained.
Indications for the use of Diazepam
The solution, dragees, and Valium pills are prescribed according to the instructions for the treatment of:
- Anxiety disorders (usually as part of a combined treatment);
- Dysphoria;
- Insomnia;
- Skeletal muscle spasm;
- Tension headaches;
- Spastic conditions that are associated with damage to the spinal cord or brain, for example, tetanus, athetosis, cerebral palsy;
- Rheumatic pelvispondyloarthritis, myositis, arthritis, bursitis, progressive chronic polyarthritis;
- Osteoarthritis accompanied by skeletal muscle tension;
- Vertebral syndrome;
- Angina pectoris;
- Alcohol withdrawal syndrome, including tension, anxiety, agitation, tremor, and transient reactive states.
Interaction with other drugs
If you take Valium simultaneously with other types of psychotropic drugs, including drugs for administration under anesthesia, some of the barbiturates, phenothiazines, ethanol, a list of antidepressants, then its effect will increase. If you take it simultaneously with different types of muscle relaxants, the risk of apnea will significantly increase.
How addiction appears, signs and consequences of using diazepam
Diazepam, which is easy to buy even in an ordinary pharmacy, after several doses causes persistent addiction — mainly psychoemotional. Its destructive effect is less obvious than the harm from opiates, so the patient may not be aware of the dependence. Taking diazepam pills, the price of which is incomparably less than spending on cocaine or synthetic drugs, a person becomes addicted without noticing it.
The harm that the drug causes to the body is large-scale. It disrupts the proper functioning of internal organs and, if abused and taken for a long time, causes:
- disorder of concentration, coordination, and disorientation in space;
- depressed mood, apathy, constant drowsiness, and lethargy;
- confusion of consciousness, dulling of emotions;
- dizziness, anterograde amnesia.
Diazepam is especially dangerous in case of overdose. It can provoke apnea, impaired and stopped breathing, deep sleep, and even coma. With uncontrolled intake, the vision and appetite of addicts are impaired up to anorexia or bulimia.
There are also rarer manifestations of dependence caused by diazepam. The reviews of patients and doctors note the appearance of tremors, severe headache, outbursts of aggression, insomnia, and hallucinations. With prolonged use, the drug affects the hematopoietic and genitourinary systems, the gastrointestinal tract. Patients have anemia, leukopenia, urination disorders, sexual dysfunction and dysmenorrhea, constipation, and vomiting.