Lorazepam or diazepam?
 

For people who’ve been prescribed either or both of these drugs, which one do you prefer?

I’ve had my fair share of diazepam prescriptions over the years but ya. Even at 15 milligrams I only felt modest anti-anxiety effects and I know I would’ve been better-served with some other benzo. Things like lorazepam don’t interfere with other medications like that, you can safely drink alcohol without running the risk of blacking out or feeling woozy/scared for your life (unlike diazepam) and it just puts you in a better place mentally. You could be in the kitchen buttering your toast or making plantain porridge and just go with it from moment to moment after a bit of lorazepam. It slows down your perception of time but makes you very, very calm and non-hurried/hasty about it so. Just how it is for me.

I was once prescribed Diazepam for pain in my shoulder, I was only given 3 days worth and 5mg tabs as the GP said they were extremely addictive, I threw them in a drawer and never took them, would rather have the pain

All I can say is I know I’m better-served by lorazepam than diazepam. I asked a GP for oxazepam once and naturally she was a bit confused about why I asked for such a niche, rare one in particular (which I completely understood) but it’s because there’s supposed to be less chance of becoming disinhibited/hostile (which can be a problem for some people on other benzodiazepines) or addicted than with the others. Xanax (which isn’t even available in the U.K., not under the NHS anyway) and clonazepam are probably the worst for making people more aggressive and getting them hooked but with lorazepam, oxazepam and diazepam you’re just generally a little safer in that regard so it’s less dangerous long-term. Sometimes benzos just smooth out the day-to-day experience of life and help you feel the positive effects of your other drugs more but if I was going to go down that route again I wouldn’t want diazepam. Oxazepan’s just a straight metabolite of diazepam anyway so if it’s less dangerous in terms of getting addicted I’d probably want that one if not lorazepam. I used to swallow diazepam all the time for a few different reasons but not least my insomnia (which comes and goes) and it vaguely helped but it also had me sleeping through morning alarms so eventually I had to just stop taking it. I’d be late for sixth form left, right and centre (not just because I’m naturally a night owl) and ultimately it did make me look bad. Real-bad.

Not sure if this covers ambien, but that is my go to if I'm struggling with sleep due to ptsd.

ya junkies bastard yas

I have them for Sciatica and they are a muscle relaxant...can make you drowsy but they are a God send. As I have seen from work they are addictive to some but unless you are a certain kind of person then you will only take them when you need them..

I agree but unfortunately because of a certain few with addictive personalities it’s almost impossible to get benzos these days. You don’t want to beg for what you only somewhat need because that’ll just make these doctors (if they don’t really know you) suspicious of your intentions and why you’re always asking for certain drugs but things like lorazepam can be nice to take on a prn basis if you have a certain medical background. They’re not a straight-up fix for anything byt you hey can help you along the way.

Still can’t get over the uselessness of gabapentin (for me). Even at 2700 milligrams I don’t feel a thing unless I’m half-cut, and even then whatever benefits it does have at that point are minimal.

Diazepam’s hit and miss. One miss is the fact that it’s one of the most dangerous benzos to drink alcohol on beyond a snakebite or so (although I’ve chanced it on a bit more booze and obviously lived to tell the tale). Why doctors/GPs in the U.K. seem to prefer that one in particular and keep pushing it when they have to prescribe benzos knowing full-well we’re a nation of piss-heads is one of life’s mysteries. Lorazepam is definitely more compatible with alcohol.

Some people who have a scrip at any one time take Valium just to help them get through the Sunday scaries. I don’t blame them. I hate Sundays (after 2 p.m.).