Valium - instructions, reviews, indications

Pharmacological action of Valium

The active substance of Valium, diazepam, has a pronounced sedative, muscle relaxant, hypnotic and anticonvulsant effect. During therapy, blood vessels dilate, resulting in a decrease in blood pressure. The drug is effective for the treatment of convulsive paroxysms associated with epilepsy, obsessive and phobic disorders, and sleep disorders.

The medication is used orally, intravenously and intramuscularly, with a sedative effect developing most quickly after intravenous administration (within a few minutes). According to the instructions, Valium has a stable therapeutic effect after 2-7 days of use. When using the medication against the background of withdrawal syndrome that develops with chronic alcoholism, the medication helps get rid of hallucinations and reduce the severity of other symptoms - tremor, agitation and delirium.

Pharmaceutical properties of the drug

The drug has a pronounced sedative, hypnotic, muscle relaxant and anticonvulsant effect.
During the period of use of the medicine, vasodilation, a decrease in blood pressure and a decrease in paroxysms are noted. The effect of the medication usually appears on days 2-7 of taking it. In people suffering from arrhythmia and cardialgia, positive dynamics, as a rule, occur at the end of the first week of using the product.

When treating withdrawal symptoms that occur due to chronic alcoholism, the drug helps get rid of tremors of the limbs, hallucinations, agitation and mental disorders.

Valium is absorbed fairly quickly into the gastrointestinal tract. The highest concentration of the substance in the blood is achieved approximately 30-90 minutes after oral administration of the drug.

When the drug is administered intramuscularly, absorption is also complete, but not always faster than when the drug is taken orally.

Biotransformation of the active substance to metabolites occurs in the liver. The half-life in adults occurs after two days, in the elderly - after approximately five days, in children - after 30 hours.

Excretion from the body is carried out mainly by the kidneys and amounts to 92% (90% in the form of conjugates and 2% unchanged), the remaining 8% of the substance leaves the body with feces.

Indications for use of Valium

Valium solution, dragees and tablets are prescribed according to the instructions for the treatment of:

Anxiety disorders (usually as part of a combination treatment);
Dysphoria;
Insomnia;
Skeletal muscle spasm;
Tension headaches;
Spastic conditions that are associated with damage to the spinal cord or brain, for example, tetanus, athetosis, cerebral palsy;
Rheumatic pelvispondyloarthritis, myositis, arthritis, bursitis, progressive chronic polyarthritis;
Arthrosis, accompanied by tension in the skeletal muscles;
Vertebral syndrome;
Angina pectoris;
Alcohol withdrawal syndrome, including tension, anxiety, agitation, tremor and transient reactive states.

As part of complex therapy, Valium tablets are usually used to treat:

Arterial hypertension;
Meniere's disease;
Peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum;
Status epilepticus;
Psychosomatic disorders in gynecology and obstetrics, including gestosis and menopausal and menstrual disorders;
Eczema and other diseases that are accompanied by irritability and itching;
Drug poisoning.

The medication is also used for premedication before operations and endoscopic procedures, general anesthesia.

Injections with Valium solution are used:

When conducting medicinal preparation for general anesthesia;
As a component of combined general anesthesia;
As part of combination therapy in the treatment of myocardial infarction;
In psychiatry and neurology in the treatment of motor agitation of various etiologies;
In paranoid-hallucinatory states;
To relieve epileptic seizures;
To facilitate labor;
During premature birth at the end of the third trimester of pregnancy, as well as premature placental abruption.

Contraindications

Contraindications to the use of Valium are:

State of shock;
Coma;
Acute alcohol and drug poisoning;
Hypersensitivity to active (diazepam) or excipients;
Myasthenia;
Acute respiratory failure;
Severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Also, the medication is not prescribed to pregnant and lactating women. In pediatrics, the prescription of Valium according to the instructions is possible for children starting from six months.

How to use Valium

The treatment regimen for Valium tablets depends on the disease and the patient’s response to the therapy. As a rule, the medication is used in the treatment of:

Hypochondriacal and hysterical reactions, neurological degenerative diseases, neuroses, dysphoria and phobias - up to 3 times a day, 5-10 mg;
Alcohol withdrawal syndrome - during the first day, 10 mg 3-4 times a day. In subsequent days, the dose should be halved without reducing the frequency of use;
Menopausal, menstrual, psychosomatic disorders and gestosis - three times a day, 2-5 mg;
Angina pectoris and high blood pressure – 2-5 mg three times a day;
Vertebral syndrome - 10 mg four times a day with bed rest;
Arthrosis, chronic polyarthritis – 5 mg. The frequency of use can vary from 1 to 4 times a day.

At the beginning of therapy for atherosclerosis, elderly people, as well as patients weakened by the disease, are prescribed Valium in a dosage not exceeding 2 mg twice a day.

For children 1-3 years old, Valium tablets are prescribed 1 mg, for children 3-7 years old - 2 mg, for older children - 3-5 mg. In some cases, for example, with severe epileptic seizures, motor agitation, spinal cord injuries, it may be necessary to administer the drug intravenously or intramuscularly.

The medication is administered intramuscularly for heart attack and preeclampsia at the beginning of treatment in an amount of 10 mg, after which Valium tablets are taken 5-10 mg one to three times a day.

To facilitate labor, after opening the cervix by 2-3 cm, 20 mg of the drug is administered intramuscularly. In case of premature birth, if placental abruption occurs prematurely, 20 mg of Valium is also administered. If necessary, the same dose is administered again after an hour. In addition, injections of Valium solution are used for anesthesia, in the treatment of spastic conditions of rheumatic origin and vertebral syndrome.

Overdose

The drug Valium is used orally.

The standard dose is 2.5-10 mg 2-3 times a day, maximum 60 mg per day.

Symptoms: confusion, drowsiness, paradoxical arousal, areflexia, decreased reflexes, stupor, deep sleep, decreased response to painful stimuli, dysarthria, nystagmus, ataxia, tremor, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, bradycardia, apnea, decreased blood pressure, severe weakness, collapse , coma, depression of respiratory and cardiac activity.

Treatment: gastric lavage, intake of enterosorbents, forced diuresis, symptomatic therapy, mechanical ventilation.

The list of symptoms of a Valium overdose is as follows:

drowsiness;
confusion;
decreased reflexes;
stunned;
paradoxical arousal;
areflexia;
reduced pain threshold;
dysarthria;
deep dream;
ataxia;
nystagmus;
bradycardia;
tremor;
shortness of breath and other respiratory problems;
pronounced weakness;
lowering blood pressure;
collapse;
depressed cardiac and respiratory activity;
coma.

As treatment, the stomach is washed, diuresis is forced, activated charcoal is taken, symptomatic therapy is carried out, in particular, breathing rates and blood pressure are maintained. Hemodialysis is ineffective.

For an adult, the oral dose of Valium Roche ranges from 5 to 20 mg per day and is determined depending on the clinical picture and severity of symptoms. The maximum permissible single dose is no more than 10 mg. The course of treatment in case of anxiety is up to 6 weeks, after which you should contact your doctor to select the minimum maintenance dose. The drug is withdrawn gradually.

Parenterally, in emergency cases, 2 to 20 mg can be administered intramuscularly or intravenously. In the latter case, it must be administered slowly - at a rate of no more than 0.5–1 ml per minute.

It is accompanied by symptoms such as central nervous system depression of varying severity - from drowsiness to coma, and possible confusion, hypotension and respiratory depression.

Treatment when the patient is conscious is induction of vomiting and the use of activated charcoal; if unconscious, gastric lavage with a tube, symptomatic therapy, screening of vital signs, and fluid administration to enhance diuresis.

Barbiturates can be used to relieve agitation. A specific antidote is a benzodiazepine receptor antagonist - Flumazenil.

Only an experienced specialist should prescribe the remedy in question. For an adult patient, the oral dose of the drug should be 5-20 mg per day. This amount of medication is determined depending on the severity of the symptoms of the disease, as well as the overall clinical picture.

The maximum possible single dose of the drug is no more than 10 mg. The course of therapy with this remedy in case of anxiety should last about 6 weeks. After this period, you should contact your doctor so that he can select the minimum maintenance dosage.

Side effects

At the beginning of therapy with Valium, according to reviews, the following may be observed:

Side effects

Like any medicine, taking the drug in question can cause negative reactions. These include the following:

bradycardia or hypotension;
decreased concentration and reaction speed;
addiction to the medication;
dizziness and headache;
development of paradoxical reactions in the form of anxiety, insomnia, hallucinations and seizures;
memory impairment (short-term);
adverse reactions at the injection site;
movement disorders in the form of dysarthria and ataxia;
kidney and liver damage, intestinal atony, decreased libido and potency (with long-term use of the drug);
allergic reactions;
withdrawal syndrome;
decreased performance and muscle weakness.

When prescribing this drug to a patient, it is very important to inform him about what this medication is. After all, the drug in question is a well-known psychotropic tranquilizer, which has a number of negative effects, among which addiction and withdrawal syndrome are especially prominent.

The doctor prescribing this medicine is obliged to inform the patient about the possible harmful effects of the drug on his body, as well as offer other treatment options.