Switching From Xanax To Valium (Page 4)

PLEASE HELP! For the past 7yrs I've been on 1mg Xanax (3x) per day for anxiety and panic attacks. I take my dosage of Xanax as prescribed by my Dr unless I have a severe panic attack, then I may take an additional (1-2) 1mg xanax when I'm actually having a severe full blown panic attack to stop it. I've been on other Benzos before but Xanax seems to be the only thing that stops the panic attacks when I'm having them.
Recently my Dr decided to switch me from 1mg Xanax (3x) per day to 10mg of Valium (2x) per day because he says Valium is "stronger" and has a longer half life than Xanax. He says the Xanax isn't working for my anxiety anymore. From what I've read on the Internet about Xanax vs Valium is that Xanax works better than Valium for panic attacks. I like to mention I have a phobia of taking new medications. I stressed my concerns to my Dr that my anxiety isn't as much of issue for me as my Panic Attacks. He said not to worry cause the Valium is stronger. Then I asked him what if while I'm taking the Valium I suffer a sever panic attack? What do I do to stop the panic attack? His responce was that I could take a 1/2 of a 10mg Valium tablet to stop the panic attack. I wanted to tell him that from what I knew, Valium is slower acting and that I didn't agree 1/2 of a 10mg is going to stop my panic attacks but I didn't want to question his professional expertise over my Internet findings. I know he's the Dr and the Dr knows best right? So I guess to finally get to my point is I'm terrified to start the Valium because im afraid that when I have a panic attack and I say WHEN and not IF cause it's only a matter of when I will have a full blown sever panic attack what would I do to stop it? From reading up on Valium I know it wont help stop my panic attack like the Xanax will. I asked my Dr before I left his office that while I'm on the Valium and I have an attack could I take a Xanax to stop the attack? He said absolutely not! He said if I have a panic attack while on valium I can take a 1/2 of my 10mg Valium. I didnt say this to my Dr but I know from what I read about Valium is that it won't stop an attack as fast as Xanax will. I dont know what to do? Im so scared and I feel helpless cause I feel like my Dr isn't getting what im saying. My panic attacks can last as long as 2 hours or more. I know because my longest panic attack was while I was driving through the desert and realized I forgot to pack my Xanax. 2 hours in to my attack after trying breathing techniques and what not I had to taken to a hospital by ambulance cause my heart rate went up way to high and so did my blood pressure. My panic attacks can lead to an ambulance ride to the hospital. I feel like my Dr is focusing on treating my anxiety more than my panic attacks which are of greater concern to me at this time. I read on line that other people have been prescribed both Xanax and Valium to be taken as needed. Valium for anxiety and Xanax for panic attacked. I spoken to 3 pharmacists who tell me that I can take the Valium and if I should have a major panic attack I could take a Xanax no problem because they're both Benzos but only on the occassions when I'm having a bad panic attack. Why couldn't my Dr just say that? I know some of you may read this and say that I just have an addiction to Xanax. Honestly that would be further from the truth. If I knew that Valium would stop my sever panic attacks I would switch in a heart beat but from what I'm reading I know Valium won't help with an attack as fast as Xanax will. I'm not looking for the Xanax "kick" some people love to feel or to have a feeling of Ephoria. I just want a reliable medication to treat my disorder. I want to trust that my Dr knows what's best for me but only I know what my body and mind is going through and I somehow can't get him to understand! If anyone has had the same problem as me or can offer any support or advise I'd love to hear what you have to say. Has anyone ever taken both medications in the same manner im suggesting or together at the Sametime? How did it make you feel? We're you able to cope and how? Please anything will help. I know there has to be other people out there experiencing or have experienced the same thing. Thanks.

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I feel weird all the time, I have anxiety. I have not had a full on attack but have had some of the symptoms that lead up to it, but with me what works is one pill in the morning and one pill around two or three. By the time I go to bed I am okay. Unless I stay up late then I may our may not need another. If you can manage to go to bed at a decent hour you will likely be sleeping which means your won't know your symptoms are weird. I try to only take them as needed outside the two times a day. Don't know if that will help you but it's with a try.

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Hell everybody. It seems as though people have improved or moved on since the last post was back in 2013, however I guess I`ll give this a go. My name is Ken, I was born and raised in Pennsylvania, then moved to Florida, and afterwards to Brazil. I have a son here, and now this place has become home. Okay, so in 2010, I was walking down the street with a friend, when suddenly I felt this strange feeling in upper abdomen, it seemed as though my heart was pumping blood in a strange way to several different directions, and it instantly caused me to curl over. I was convinced that I was having a heart attack. I went to the ER, and the doctor told me I was having a panic attack. At the time, I didn`t fully understand panic syndrome. So, I was prescribed Ativan. That didn`t work so well, even though the mg was low (.50). What I thought was really strange was the fact that I have this strange dizzy feeling whether I am on the medication or not, and it started within minutes after I had the first panic attack.

So, in 2011, I returned to the USA for about a year and three months, and was prescribed xanxa, .50mg twice a day as needed. Well, that was going well, but after a short amount of time, I became addicted, and reliant on this medication. I will admit that I did take a little more than prescribed at first because I enjoyed the feeling, but then...I ran out. BIG MISTAKE. It is a hell being on withdrawals from xanax. It is unexplainable actually. So, that "abuse" stage came and went quickly needless to say. Okay, so despite all of this, I still have a very strange dizziness, and it hasn`t let up, even a little. So, I returned to Brazil, and since xanax is so costly down here, and the government gives Diazepam for free (Valium) I switched to Valium. For me, it was the best thing possible. I only took it twice a day ( 10MG X 2) Sometimes I would forget to take it, and nothing happened. It was definatley the lesser of two evils. HOWEVER I must add, that as of recently, I ran out of medication, and making a doctors' appointment here in Brazil isn`t easy, especially with Psych docs. So, no doctor visit, no rX. I literally had to go to the ER every day for a week in order to function. So, moral of the story...Taper down your xanx to just .50 twice day before making the switch to valium. Try your best to not miss Dr appoinments. Dont be ashamed of who you are or your problems. It`s really not a big deal to be honest. More people have this problem than you think. DO NOT drink booze while on the medication. If you want to drink, skip a dose. I drank a bottle of wine once while on Valium...OH MY GOD not good. Trust me.

Xanax is very addicting and although it`s magical, it really can cause some scary side effects and withdrawal symptoms. Words cannot express the sensation. I must advise you to avoid xanax if possible.

PS) I am really happy to have read your stories. I hope that my experiences have helped you. I would like to know if anybody else has had a strange dizziness since their first panic attack. I hope to hear from you. If not, perhaps God has blessed you with peace and serenity. Take care-

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It's good to see a new entry. I rarely check this site anymore due to lack of new information about this topic. I want to
Know what is the advantage of switching from xanax to Valium? Taking 2 doses .50 xanax twice a day which totals
1mg. Or taking 20 mg of Valium? They are both in the same class of drugs.

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Hi Bob. Well, I have found that Valium is less addictive and has a much longer half life. To be honest...if you slowly damper down your xanax for a couple of months and switch to 10mg of Valium every 12 hours, the transition is pain-free. Also, you can go up to 3 weeks without taking it before actually feeling withdrawals. The hardest part is lowering the dosage of xanax to the point where you can switch over to Valium...that requires a little work on your stress levels.

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I hope i have the good experience you had with the switch. I was on 1mg Xanax x3 a day for 8 years. My dr weened me down to 1 and a half mg Xanax 1 time a day. I started having withdrawals i guess, just my emotions a wreck so he switched me to 10mg Valium x2 a day. only on my second day of the switch. my back started hurting don't know why. But i am gonna stick with it and hope it works, cause if i can live with out the Xanax for panic/anxiety i will be glad to!

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You do not get messed up from valium . I took zanex foe years , but I switched to valium . I feel so much better , I can actually sit down for hours now and be still. It is a much better drug for general anxiety .

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I guess different benzodiazepenes work differently on different people. I take Restoril 30 mg at bedtime and valium 10 mg twice a day. The only other tranquilizer that i can tolerate is Xanax, but here's the strange part: Xanax leaves me feeling like my brain has been numbed the next day, and i'm so hung over. Really weird valium never did this to me, but remains in your system so much longer. Klonepin really over sedated me with the smallest amounts, and ativan makes me sicker than a dog with nausea included. This is very interesting that valium does not work on you, as for me it's the one that i can tolerate the best. Like i said, i like xanax too, but i'm too hung over the next day to justify being prescribed that. The strange part is everyone else says just the opposite. And Restoril leaves people with a hell of a hangover. I wake up refreshed and feeling like i slept for 12 hours. I used to take Dalmane, and after going thru the hangovers with that, Restoril was a blessing. Restoril is generically called Temazepam. I can also use Halcion, but like xanax, the hangover is awful, and with halcion i find next day nausea to be a real problem. I had the most horrid sleepwalking with Ambien back in 1995, the doctor thought i was lying just to get benzos, as it was so new, people were not reporting this problem. So I don't dare to take any sleeping pill other than restoril or halcion or dalmane, however dalmane leaves you tired really bad the next day. I first was given valium in 1975 when i was a child. I had the worst anxiety and insomnia, they also gave me dalmane as a little boy. and this was after i was poked and prodded in every imaginable way.

My parents didn't just let me go on these drugs until it was absolutely certain nothing else would work. I am not low class at all, I am educated, but I am a very rare person who has needed to take benzodiazepenes since i was 6. I once forgot to take them with me on vacation, thought my vacation would be ruined with withdrawls, but to my amazement none whatsoever, and i was on vacation, so anxiety was not an issue, and i really didn't care if i slept or not. I say everyone is different. Your doctor should've known that what works for one may work the opposite for others. Klonepin at a very tiny dose made me so drunk i could not write my name. For others it works miracles, and i've seen people drunk on the tiniest amount of valium. I'd steer clear of that doctor if he cannot understand that what works for one will not necessarily work for the other. My mother took xanax most of her life when she was alive. They worked great for her, and she NEVER got addicted, just like me. During her last two months they (under my great disapproval) took her off all benzos in the hospital and she never once withdrew. I really believe if you take them for a legitimate reason you won't get addicted. It's those who abuse them that turn into the addicts. For me, Valium is a medicine that greatly improves my quality of life. It does not make me drowsy in the least bit, I could take ten (i've never done that) and i would not "feel" it like i would xanax. but for another person, it could just be the opposite. Remember, it was 1975 that i was put on valium, back then there was no xanax, and the addictive qualities were not well known. These drugs were presented as miracle drugs. Valium was wildly popular, in the 80s everyone had a bottle in their medicine cabinet, and towards the late 80s that bottle turned to xanax. I don't see the big deal in xanax, it makes me so tired. Your doctor was just trying to help you, but sometimes, you know, they try too hard. If my doctor ever tried to take me off valium, i'd fire him so fast it's not funny. Just because some abuse it and get addicted doesn't mean i will. I've told him i'd submit to an evaluation any time so they can check the level in my blood.

I NEVER abuse my medicines, they are too precious to me for that. Doctors need to realize that drugs work differently for different people. If you don't get what you want, do as i do and don't pay the bill. Why should you pay the bill if you don't get what you want? You can even request your insurance stop payment to him, i've done it before, they get the message, they need to eat too. My doctor wanted to stop my benzos and i told him if he thought that i'd pay for 4 dollar a gallon gas to see him and not get what i want and pay his bill he has another think coming. Too many times i've had the most horrible reactions off new medicines. I understand where you're coming from when you say valium was bad for you and xanax was great, my mom was exactly like that, only she did take valium before xanax because that's all there was at the time. Your physician should be more understanding to your situation. You have to pay for these prescriptions that don't work, subtract the money paid from his bill and give him that with an explanation as to why. If he doesn't understand, you need a new doctor. It's not true the new ones won't prescribe benzos, they will if they think you're addicted, they don't want you to sue them when you get withdrawl symptoms. And you may find a very understanding doctor too. I am diabetic type 1 by the way. Maybe that's why valium is so much better? I don't question it, i know from experience what works. Tell the doctor outside of phenobarbital, or secobarbital, xanax is the ONLY one that works. Be stubborn too. The lesser of the two evils is Xanax. Barbiturates are very dangerous, and seldom prescribed. Too many people killed themselves with them, and with benzos, you'd have to take well over one thousand to kill you, at best a bottle will just put you into a coma, with the exception of temazepam and triazolam (halcion), overdosing on these is very dangerous. If you need help sleeping ask for Restoril. They are a miracle for me

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Yes did help! Valium works faster

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Thank You Adam because no offense to Syrus but reading that post was a trigger whoa! I also have been told I have a rare extreme case of panic disorder. I have a minimum of 6 attacks a day, I even have them in my sleep. I have been on xanax for about 15 years xanax has damaged my liver and does a number on your brain as well. My choice is to get off xanax anyway it no longer works for me. My doctor has switched me from 1 MG of xanax 4 times a day to 5 MG of valium 4 times a day (at one time I was on 2 MG 4 x day) my dream is to get off all meds. I have heard stories from people that xanax withdrawal is awful, but like you say it depends on the person I have a friend who stopped cold turkey when she found out she was pregnant she slept it out for about 2 weeks. she also told me she still has attacks but they are not as bad as they were while she was on xanax (by the way she took xanax for almost 20 years and very high doses sometimes 4 MG at a time.

I also have noticed my attacks got worse through the years on xanax. With xanax causing me liver damage I want off of them, I hate the doctor who put me on xanax years ago but than again don't think doctors knew what a dangerous drug xanax is back then.

I see this is such a old post and I hope to hear from you. I would love to have someone help me with this. My plan is switching from xanax to valium then weaning off valium as soon as I can. I want to get off these pills and yes I am aware i will probably still have attacks but I will just have to deal with it if it is true like my friend told me that once she was off xanax her attacks were not as intense and not as frequent.

Thank You for you post.

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Great advice.. I believe that facing the issue will 9 times out of 10 solve the equation... :)

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I would say Valium is a much better medication to use for anxiety. If I ever become stressed due to lack of sleep, work, etc and I can imagine it turning into some type of panic attack situation then I will take valium for 3-4 days in small doses. It is a psychological virus more or less. Don't quote me or go looking for references.. If I think about a panic attack, or situation where I was inside of one then it can create the onset of one. If this continues because of the scenario then a small dose of valium helps through the thought process of facing the event. Xanax is bad for this because it's half life is too short, and will ensure you need to take more rather than less.

I've given this advice with positive results to a few other people already. I'd suggest discussing it with your doctors and definitely not quitting Xanax cold turkey as I did. However, I think Valium as a mechanism for working through an already existing panic attack until you are able to think about the memories without having one is not an issue whatsoever. I'd used this technique to overcome any lingering attacks I've had from whenever I did take Xanax, etc...

Good luck.

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Priv8guy
Did you take xanax and valium at the same time? or just switched over to valium, because that's what my psychiatrist wanted me to do makes me very nervous because of xanax withdrawals ..
Ugh hate this.
I still haven't switched over because I'm scared but I want off xanax so bad.

Now my panic attacks are getting worse after they found a lump in my breast and need surgery.. this is triggering me bad

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I'm so sorry what you are going through Xanax works better than Valium it did not help pain attacks for me ! So my doctor switched me to Xanax.

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You get a higher dose of Valium 10mg is like 1mg Xanax so 20mg is more than your 1mg zanax

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This post is from 2012. Are you reposting?
I'm just the opposite. The valium works better for my anxiety and panic attacks. Xanax I never felt anything....it seemed to take a long time for me to tell I took it. Valium is stronger.

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So I have been on xanax .5mg 3x a day for many years but just lately my anxiety has been extremely bad so my doctor switched me to clonazepam .5mg 2x a day and it's been awful. I don't feel it works well for my anxiety and it also makes me very drowsy. No way I would be able to work after taking one. My doctor had me see a psychologist today and she switched me to valium .5mg at night and then a half a pill 2x a day if needed and also put me on Zoloft which she said helps with anxiety disorders. Has anybody gone through the same thing? I'm wondering what to expect. From what I have read it sounds like the dose of valium she has me on is a lot less than what I have been taking with the clonazepam and xanax?

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Thank you so much for sharing your story. You have helped me immensely. My panic attacks felt like I was going to pass out. I know people who feel as if they are having a heart attack. That must be awful! I mean what if the person was having a heart attack and assumed it was panic. Thank you again, Dee

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I have perscribedvalium 5mg twice a day,for years I,v been on 1mg 3 times a day I,m afraid to change ,I suffer from anxitity and panic attacts plus vertigo,dr says valium is best,plz help

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Hi im FIona and i have suffered with anxiety since i was in my early teens im now 55 i have been on zanax since in my early 20s but only took them when i really needed them i tend to avoid a lot of places anyway i found they really helped me my doctor has told me zanax is not being discriped anymore so i have just been given paroxtine 20mg which i have to take every morning and also diazepam 5mg i must admit im a bit worried about taking both so i hope the diazepam works i see some of the posts i have read are quite old im from australia so is zanax also not being discriped where you live

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What state are you located in? I have generalized anxiety and panic disorder. My 1.5mg a day helps a little. The Zoloft has helped but I still have the attacks! And I only take them as prescribed.

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