Diazepam (better known by its trade name? Valium?) It is a drug belonging to the family of anxiolytics and hypnotics, today this type of psychiatric medication, derived from benzodiazepines, remains one of the most used for the treatment of anxiety, insomnia. , panic attacks and as sedatives before certain types of operations.
We’ve all heard of diazepam. We may have already received a prescription for the drug or someone close to us is used to having it on the bedside table. The World Health Organization (WHO) itself has included it in its list of ‘essential medicines’. reason: it is one of the most effective benzodiazepines used today.
- However.
- And it is important to keep this in mind.
- Its frequent and almost standardized use in many contexts does not mean that it is a harmless drug.
- Since diazepam.
- Like other benzodiazepines.
- Carries a high risk of dependence.
- Its administration should be punctual.
- Controlled and at defined intervals.
Below we will show more information about this type of psychopharmaceutical.
“We treat pain and fear with pills as if they were diseases, but right?-Guillermo Rendueles, psychiatrist-
Lucas goes through a stage with many ups and downs, feels that everything is out of reach and that the world is spinning very fast under his feet, two months ago he lost his father to a heart problem, the company he works for. is reducing its workforce and feels that its productivity is declining. He’s afraid of being fired. His level of anxiety, sleep problems and nervousness are so high that after talking to the doctor, he prescribed diazepam.
Treatment will last 8 weeks. Then progress will be evaluated and a gradual withdrawal of the drug will begin, if Lucas does not feel better, the doctor will refer him to a psychiatrist to try other treatments and initiate a type of therapy, our protagonist commits to the doctor and begins treatment. , not without first trying to find out a little more about this pill that will now accompany you for a few weeks.
Diazepam was the second benzodiazepine created by Leo Sternbach in the 1960s; until then, doctors prescribed their conventional barbiturate patients, highly addictive drugs, with very serious side effects.
Diazepam was considered a “miracle cure” for a few years until it became the best-selling drug, a position in which it appeared for a long time. Gradually, however, doctors realized that these wonderful pills were not as harmless as initially. In fact, in the 1990s, its marketing halved.
Diazepam, for its sedative and hypnotic effects, has several uses, which are:
Diazepam is essentially a drug that acts as a sedative for the nervous system. What does that mean? Like it or not, the famous Valium, like the rest of benzodiazepines, decreases brain activity, acting in various areas of the limbic system, thalamus and hypothalamus, inducing anxiolytic effects.
Neuroscientists deduce that their action begins when they bind to GABA receptors. Subsequently, the functioning of certain areas of the brain is slower to feel a state of drowsiness, decreased anxiety and relaxation of muscles.
We have already pointed this out at the beginning of this article: the duration of treatment should be short, supervised by the doctor, not exceeding 8 to 12 weeks and never higher than the prescribed dose, beyond this period and if we exceed the recommended dose (or if we combine it with others by ourselves), the consequences can be serious.
Now let’s see what the side effects of diazepam are. It can even be deduced that these effects are common to most benzodiazepines.
Effects of diazepam with a slight onset of dependence
Severe symptoms of diazepam dependence
Compléter. Il it should be thought that many people receiving anti-anxiety treatment often take diazepam for long periods of time, which can often lead to drug dependence and tolerance, which means that we will gradually need higher doses to achieve the same effect and it will be our health that will lose.
Psychopharmaceuticals, although valid in many cases, are not always a complete solution or solution for our black holes, chemistry falls asleep, relaxes and calms concerns, but as soon as it solves problems, it is like suggesting crutches for a bullet in the leg. walk, but if there is no other type of intervention, you will not yet be able to walk.
In this sense we will use crutches, but we cannot give up the operation (which in this case would be psychological treatment), give space to psychological approach and give our body and our health the opportunity not to assume a live addiction.
References
-Andrés-Trelles, F. (1993) Drugs used in anxiety: benzodiazepines and other anxiolytics. Madrid: MacGraw Hill Interamericana.
-Hardman J. G. , Goodman L. S. , Gilman A. (1996) The pharmacological basis of therapeutics. Flight I. Pgs. 385-398. Madrid: Inter-American MacGraw-Hill.
-Robert Whitaker, (2015) Anatomy of an Epidemic, Madrid: Capitun Swing
-Sophie Billioti, Yola Moride, Thierry Ducruet (9-09-2014) Use of benzodiazepines and risk of Alzheimer’s disease: case study and controls, British Medical Journal, 349 pages 205-206