What Diazepam tablets are and what they are used for
Valium (Diazepam) belongs to a group of medicines called benzodiazepines. Diazepam helps in the treatment of anxiety, muscle spasms and convulsions (fits).
Diazepam tablets are used to treat a number of conditions, including:
- short term relief (2-4 weeks only) of severe anxiety, which is an emotional state where you may sweat, tremble, feel anxious and have a fast heart beat and may occur alone or with insomnia (trouble sleeping) or mental health problems
- helping muscles relax and for muscle spasm and cerebral palsy (a condition affecting the brain which causes movement problems and rigidity or stiffness)
- epilepsy (when taken with other medicines)
- patients with the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal
- helping to relax nervous dental patients.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist before you take diazepam if you have any of these conditions
You need to talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Diazepam if you:
- are allergic (hypersensitive) to diazepam or to other benzodiazepine medicines or to any of the other ingredients in your tablets
- are breathless or have difficulty breathing
- have depression (with or without anxiety) or hyperactivity
- have a phobia (a fear of a particular object or situation) or other mental illness
- have myasthenia gravis
- suffer from sleep apnoea ( a condition where you stop breathing whilst asleep)
- have severe liver disorders
- have porphyria (an inherited condition causing skin blisters, gut pain and brain or nervous system disorders)
- are planning a pregnancy or are pregnant
Diazepam has some serious side effects, and if you get them you will need a doctor’s help
Go to a doctor or hospital straight away if you get any of the following symptoms, as they might be part of an allergic reaction:
- itchy skin or rash
- swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat
- difficulty breathing or swallowing
Some other side-effects that do appear should get better after a few days. If they do not, you should go back to your doctor.
Some side-effects of Diazepam may – strangely - seem like other mental health symptoms. Some side-effects here are also the opposites of each other. The balance of chemicals in the brain is very fragile, and hard to control! If they do not get better after a few days on the tablets, go back to the doctor.
Do not stop taking the tablets until you talk to your doctor, or you may get withdrawal symptoms as well.