So tell me a little bit about VALIUM (1 Viewer)

[JonZ]

I would agree to definitely do a test at home to see how you react. I also agree with those who would have a driving concern after taking it. Relaxers can make some people feel loopy afterwards.


I used to love to fly and now I cant stand it.

I was also in a Almost Famous situation. I was in a small plane 50 person plane that almost fell out of the sky about 8 years ago. It was the worst flight Id ever had, 2 hours of bumpy flying and the plane felt like it dropped a few hundered feet multiple times. My brother was so scared he actually was swearing out loud (hes hates flying,always has). There was a girl whos first time flying and she was crying so badly and so frightened she dug her nails into the guy next to hers leg. He had shorts on and got off the plane with blood running down his leg.

That situation didnt ruin flying for me, because theres nothing you can do to control the weather. I find flying unbearable now becuase of the wait involved, as well as the closed quaters/being uncomfortable for way too long.

But to quote Superman, flying is way safer than driving, which Ive commented on in some recent threads, is something I really dislike doing in my old age.


I cant see a problem with taking a small dose, but again be careful if youre going to be driving when you arrive at your destination.

 

[Alex S]

Ron,

What about taking Xanax instead of Valium ?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Basically, I thought it was the same thing.

I asked for Valium and that is what the doctor prescribed.

 

[Mark Hayenga]

Xanax and Klonopin are the most potent benzodiazepines. Xanax is very fast acting and leaves your system quickly, klonopin takes a few hours to kick in and has a half life of 36hrs IIRC. Valium is weaker than Xanax or Klonopin.

If you really want to sleep, ask your doc for a small dose (a few 25mg pills) of Seroquel, or an equivalent dose of Zyprexa. They're atypical (read: new) antipsychotics (talk about a stigmatizing name for a class of drugs). They'll knock you out with the most restful sleep you'll ever get. They prescribe them primarily for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but they use them off-label for everything for severe insomnia to anorexia. They're basically dopamine regulators. I'd personally stick with Seroquel, as it's got the advantage of most rapidly dissociating from D2 receptors among any drug in the group. This improves its side effect profile a lot.

If you really want to sleep, an atypical will knock you on your ass. And non-addictive. NOT for long term use though. Big emphasis on that.

Valium sounds like what you want. Once you start using the heavy-hitters, you'll start to like them too much.

(I'm a former pre-med with lots of now-in-pharm-school friends )

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Mark,

Thanks for the explanation.

All I am looking for is "calm" not sleep.

 

[Mark Hayenga]

Valium should do good then.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Just wanted to update this thread with my valium experience...

Took 5mg about 45 minutes prior to taking off.

Really, I felt this drug did very little for me. When it kicked
in, it gave me a mild numb feeling but did not put me in the
sort of "happily sedated" state I was hoping for. It wore off
rather quickly. 4 hours later I was no longer feeling whatever
effect it was giving me.

I would kick it to 10mg next time but I am concerned that might
just knock me out completely. I still have a few pills left for my
next trip in 4 weeks so I may experiment.

 

[Mort Corey]

Uh oh.....back to the sixties.

 

[JohnRice]

Ron, I used to fly a great deal, as in probably 200,000 miles/year. Like you, it never made me nervous and I also hate rollercoasters. I went through a spree of incidents which really shook me. I was on a flight from Denver to Chicago, we had hydraulic failure, and had make a hazard landing in Chicago. What that means is, they dump the fuel and land dead stick. No engines, no brakes, nothing but flaps and in crash positions. That's quite an ordeal on a DC-10. A month later, the same flight (maybe the same plane, I don't know) didn't make it to Chicago and crashed in Iowa. Everyone probably remembers the footage of a DC-10 cartwheeling down a runway. Then, in Denver again, a flight to Boise crashed directly in front of me as I sat in the airport waiting to board my flight. That was followed by a takeoff that hit such incredible turbulence that went on for the better part of an hour, I seriously wondered if the plane would hold together.

My employer was good enough to see to it that I had to fly as little as possible for a while, even before I requested they do so. For the next 6 months or so, when I did fly, I was pretty tense, but it passed not long after that. My point is, it only really becomes a problem if you let it. Maybe the valium is a decent idea thhe next time you fly, but try not to make it a requirement. You'll return to normal if you let yourself.

 

[JohnRice]

You might also try taking 750-1,500 mg of GABA, which you can get at GNC and a lot of health food type stores. It probably is nowhere strong enough, but it has no side effects. You take it on an empty stomach some time before you take off, like when you wake up that morning. Probably not enough, but worth a try.