Which anti depressant drugs like temazepam and diazepam do you people advise using/not using ?
Is their anything new on the market ?

I'm trying to help someone out, he's visiting quacks today and he's unsure what drugs are best if offered any ?

Cheers in advance

.....P.S. It's not me, i aint depressed, honest

take none....they make u worse.....

refuse them all - the "zepams" are horrendously addictive (got the t-shirt) - worse than smack to get off - the more modern Seroxat types cause suicides..............
Go to a decent alternative practitioner, and get well - safely!

yeah, tell him to steer well clear mate.

Bad news....

well said that man.....!!!

Temazepam

How does it work?

This medicine contains the active ingredient temazepam, which is a type of medicine called a benzodiazepine. Benzodiazepines are used for their sedative and anxiety-relieving effects.

Temazepam works by acting on receptors in the brain called GABA receptors. This causes the release of a neurotransmitter called GABA in the brain.

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that are stored in nerve cells in the brain and nervous system. They are involved in transmitting messages between the nerve cells. GABA is a neurotransmitter that acts as a natural 'nerve-calming' agent. It helps keep the nerve activity in the brain in balance, and is involved in inducing sleepiness and reducing anxiety.

As temazepam increases the activity of GABA in the brain, it increases its calming effect and results in sleepiness, a decrease in anxiety and relaxation of muscles.

Temazepam is most commonly used to treat insomnia that is severe, disabling or causing extreme distress to a person. It decreases the time taken to fall asleep and waking during the night, as well as increasing the total amount of time spent sleeping. However, it is only suitable for short-term treatment of insomnia as it has a high potential for dependance and addiction.

As temazepam also relieves anxiety it is often used for this purpose as a pre-med prior to minor surgery or other minor medical procedures.

Benzodiazepines such as temazepam are also effective at quickly reducing the symptoms of anxiety and agitation that occur in a manic or hypomanic episode of the psychiatric illness, bipolar affective disorder. A benzodiazepine may be given as part of the initial treatment of a manic episode, though they are not licensed specifically for this purpose. Benzodiazepines help calm the individual while the main medicines for this condition (mood stabilisers) begin to take effect.

What is it used for?


Relieving anxiety and causing sedation prior to surgery or medical procedures (pre-med)


Sedative in manic episodes of bipolar affective disorder (unlicensed use)


Short-term treatment of severe insomnia


Warning!


This medicine is generally only suitable for short-term use. If it is used for long periods or in high doses, tolerance to and dependence upon the medicine may develop, and withdrawal symptoms may occur if treatment is stopped suddenly. For this reason, treatment with this medicine should usually be stopped gradually, following the instructions given by your doctor, in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms such as rebound insomnia or anxiety, confusion, sweating, tremor, loss of appetite, irritability or convulsions.


This medicine causes drowsiness, muscle weakness and impairs concentration and alertness. These effects may continue into the following day and are made worse by drinking alcohol. If you are affected you should avoid potentially hazardous tasks such as driving or operating machinary. Avoid alcohol.


Use with caution in


Chronic disease affecting the lungs and airways


Decreased kidney function


Decreased liver function


Depression


Elderly people


History of alcoholism or drug abuse


Personality disorders


Not to be used in


A sudden worsening of any underlying lung disease (acute pulmonary insufficiency)


Abnormal muscle weakness (myasthenia gravis)


Allergy to benzodiazepines


Breastfeeding


Severely decreased liver function


Slow, shallow breathing (respiratory depression)


Syndrome involving short spells when breathing stops during sleep (sleep apnoea syndrome)


This medicine should not be used if you are allergic to one or any of its ingredients. Please inform your doctor or pharmacist if you have previously experienced such an allergy.

If you feel you have experienced an allergic reaction, stop using this medicine and inform your doctor or pharmacist immediately.

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Certain medicines should not be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding. However, other medicines may be safely used in pregnancy or breastfeeding providing the benefits to the mother outweigh the risks to the unborn baby. Always inform your doctor if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, before using any medicine.


This medicine should be avoided during pregnancy as it may be harmful to the developing baby. This is particularly important during the third trimester of pregnancy and prior to or during labour.


This medicine passes into breast milk. Women who are breastfeeding should not use this medicine. Seek medical advice from your doctor.


Label warnings


This medication causes drowsiness which may continue the next day. If affected do not drive or operate machinery. Avoid alcoholic drink.


Side effects

Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.


Headache


Blurred vision


Difficulty in passing urine (urinary retention)


Drowsiness


Confusion


Muscle weakness


Loss of memory (amnesia)


Skin rashes


Disturbances of the gut such as diarrhoea, constipation, nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain


Low blood pressure (hypotension)


Balance problems involving the inner ear (vertigo)


Drowsiness and lightheadedness the next day


Shaky movements and unsteady walk (ataxia)


Unexpected increase in aggression (paradoxical aggression)


Unexpected excitement (paradoxical excitement)


Changes in sex drive


The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the drug's manufacturer.

For more information about any other possible risks associated with this medicine, please read the information provided with the medicine or consult your doctor or pharmacist.

How can this medicine affect other medicines?

There may be an increased risk of drowsiness and sedation if temazepam is taken with any of the following (which can also cause drowsiness):
- alcohol
- tricyclic antidepressants, eg amitriptyline
- MAOI antidepressants, eg phenelzine
- antipsychotics, eg chlorpromazine, clozapine
- opioid painkillers, eg morphine, codeine, dihydrocodeine
- other benzodiazepines, eg diazepam
- barbiturates, eg phenobarbitone
- sedating antihistamines, eg chlorpheniramine
- other sleeping tablets.

Diazepam

How does it work?

Diazepam is a type of medicine called a benzodiazepine. Benzodiazepines are used for their sedative and anxiety-relieving effects.

Diazepam works by acting on receptors in the brain called GABA receptors. This causes the release of a neurotransmitter called GABA in the brain.

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that are stored in nerve cells in the brain and nervous system. They are involved in transmitting messages between the nerve cells. GABA is a neurotransmitter that acts as a natural 'nerve-calming' agent. It helps keep the nerve activity in the brain in balance, and is involved in inducing sleepiness, reducing anxiety and relaxing muscles.

As diazepam increases the activity of GABA in the brain, it increases its calming effect and results in sleepiness, a decrease in anxiety and relaxation of muscles.

Diazepam has several uses. Firstly, it can be used to calm severe anxiety and agitation. For example, benzodiazepines such as diazepam are effective at quickly reducing the symptoms of anxiety and agitation that occur in a manic episode of the psychiatric illness, bipolar affective disorder. A benzodiazepine may be given as part of the initial treatment of a manic episode, though they are not licensed specifically for this purpose. Benzodiazepines help calm the individual while the main medicines for this condition (mood stabilisers) begin to take effect.

Oral forms of diazepam are also used for short-term treatment of severe anxiety associated with insomnia, as well as for night terrors and sleep-walking in children. Diazepam decreases the time taken to fall asleep and nocturnal awakenings, as well as increasing the total amount of time spent sleeping. However, it is only suitable for short-term treatment of insomnia and anxiety as it has a high potential for dependence and addiction. As diazepam remains active in the body for many hours, drowsiness may also persist into the next day.

Diazepam is also given for its sedating and anxiety-relieving effects as a pre-med before surgery or medical investigations or procedures, and to alcoholics during acute alcohol withdrawal.

The second main use of diazepam is in controlling convulsions, for example epilepsy, or seizures associated with fever in children (febrile convulsions). It is particularly useful for controlling repeated epileptic fits when a patient does not recover conciousness between fits (status epilepticus). Diazepam helps control convulsions because the increased activity of GABA that it causes in the brain helps to calm excessive electrical nerve activity that is responsible for causing seizures.

A further use of diazepam is in controlling muscle spasms due to tetanus or poisoning.

Diazepam may be given as tablets, oral solution, injection or a rectal solution, depending on what condition is being treated.

What is it used for?


Short-term treatment of severe anxiety or agitation


Short-term treatment of severe insomnia (oral forms of diazepam only)


Night terrors and sleepwalking in children (oral forms of diazepam only)


Acute alcohol withdrawal (used in combination with other treatment)


Convulsions, eg epilepsy


Repeated fitting with no recovery of conciousness between seizures (status epilepticus)


Fitting associated with fever (febrile convulsions)


Muscle spasms due to tetanus or poisoning


Relieving anxiety and causing sedation prior to surgery or medical procedures (pre-med)


Warning!


This medicine is generally only suitable for short-term use. If it is used for long periods or in high doses, tolerance to and dependence upon the medicine may develop, and withdrawal symptoms may occur if treatment is stopped suddenly. For this reason, treatment with this medicine should usually be stopped gradually, following the instructions given by your doctor, in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms such as rebound insomnia or anxiety, confusion, sweating, tremor, loss of appetite, irritability or convulsions.


This medicine causes drowsiness, muscle weakness and impairs concentration and alertness. These effects may continue into the following day and are made worse by drinking alcohol. If you are affected you should avoid potentially hazardous tasks such as driving or operating machinary. Avoid alcohol.


Use with caution in


Children


Elderly people


Weak or debilitated people


Decreased kidney function


Decreased liver function


Disease affecting the airways or lungs (respiratory disease)


Depression


History of alcoholism or drug abuse


Personality disorders


Life long inherited blood diseases which can cause a variety of symptoms, including mental health problems (porphyrias)


Abnormal muscle weakness (myasthenia gravis)


Not to be used in


A sudden worsening of any underlying lung disease (acute pulmonary insufficiency)


Slow, shallow breathing (respiratory depression)


Syndrome involving short spells when breathing stops during sleep (sleep apnoea syndrome)


Long-term psychotic illness


Phobias or obsessional states


Severely decreased liver function


Breastfeeding


This medicine should not be used if you are allergic to one or any of its ingredients. Please inform your doctor or pharmacist if you have previously experienced such an allergy.

If you feel you have experienced an allergic reaction, stop using this medicine and inform your doctor or pharmacist immediately.

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Certain medicines should not be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding. However, other medicines may be safely used in pregnancy or breastfeeding providing the benefits to the mother outweigh the risks to the unborn baby. Always inform your doctor if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, before using any medicine.


This medicine should be avoided during pregnancy unless considered essential by your doctor, for example for controlling seizures. This is because it may be harmful to the developing baby. Regular use should be avoided as it can cause withdrawal symptoms in the baby. This is particularly important during the third trimester of pregnancy and prior to or during labour.


Significant amounts of this medicine may pass into breast milk. It should not be used by breastfeeding mothers as it may be harmful to the nursing infant. Seek medical advice from your doctor.


Label warnings


This medication causes drowsiness which may continue the next day. If affected do not drive or operate machinery. Avoid alcoholic drink.


Side effects

Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.


Drowsiness


Drowsiness and lightheadedness the next day


Confusion


Shaky movements and unsteady walk (ataxia)


Dizziness


Muscle weakness


Headache


Loss of memory (amnesia)


Skin rashes


Disturbances of the gut such as diarrhoea, constipation, nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain


Difficulty in passing urine (urinary retention)


Visual disturbances


Low blood pressure (hypotension)


Unexpected increase in aggression (paradoxical aggression)


Changes in sex drive


Blood disorders


The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the drug's manufacturer.

For more information about any other possible risks associated with this medicine, please read the information provided with the medicine or consult your doctor or pharmacist.

How can this medicine affect other medicines?

It is important to tell your doctor or pharmacist what medicines you are already taking, including those bought without a prescription and herbal medicines, before you start treatment with this medicine. Similarly, check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any new medicines while taking this one, to ensure that the combination is safe.

There may be an increased risk of drowsiness and sedation if diazepam is taken with any of the following (which can also cause drowsiness):


alcohol


tricyclic antidepressants, eg amitriptyline


MAOI antidepressants, eg phenelzine


antipsychotics, eg chlorpromazine, clozapine


opioids, eg morphine, codeine, dihydrocodeine


other benzodiazepines, eg temazepam


barbiturates, eg phenobarbital


sedating antihistamines, eg chlorphenamine


sleeping tablets.


The following medicines may increase the blood level of diazepam and may therefore increase its sedative effects:


cimetidine


disulfiram


isoniazid


fluvoxamine


omeprazole


ritonavir.


Your doctor may need to prescribe a lower than normal dose of diazepam if you are taking any of these medicines.

The following medicines may decrease the blood level of diazepam, making it less effective:


phenytoin


rifampicin.


Your doctor may need to prescribe a larger than normal dose of diazepam if you are taking any of these medicines.

Caffeine and theophylline may reduce the sedative and anxiety-reducing effects of diazepam.

Diazepam may reduce the effectiveness of levodopa in treating Parkinson's disease.

Diazepam may increase or decrease blood phenytoin levels

What kind mate ?
He only knows the national health GP route.

Danzig i get the idea, did u have to turn this thread into biblical proportions....

diazipan...triazipan....they are all worth shit....mates ive seen have lost there mind more......

tell ur mate to go gym and do some push ups or sumink.....!

I like loooooooooooooong threads

please dont rule out antidepressants as horrible and nasty as they are, i wouldnt be alive today without them.

as for the benzodiazepines you refer to in the first post, they are not antidepressants, but anxilytics which is a different class of drug, and a vile one and that.

antidepressants arent fun or even a cure, but they do enable people to "cope" and they save millions more lives than they adversely affect.

i wouldnt be alive today without them.

I have to agree with MU on this.

Modern SSRI type anti-depressants can be very useful for some. Diazepam is not prescribed for depression as a rule.

I am currently taking anti depressants and they certainly haven't made me feel worse, in fact after the first week or so I no longer notice any side effects.

EO

a good gp who is genuinely interested in the causes of your friends depression and a short course of a/d's to lift the mood whilst you attack the causes isnt such a bad thing ....unfortunately it doesnt work out like this a lot of the time .

i would recommend something other than chemical intervention (cor i even sound like a doctor) counselling ,cognitive behaviour therapy..its all out there but the pressure is on the surgery to put a plaster on you and get the next patient in.

if ur mate really thinks that things are so bad he needs a 'chemical break' straight away get him/her to ask for all the other stuff as well .

i went through a bad time and had some counselling before getting 'pilled up' ,it only took a little while of articulating my problems to a third party to realise that under the set of circumstances i was in i'd have to me completely mad NOT to feel depressed ...just that started me on the road to recovery

.....and stealth, having a mate (you) that cares makes a big difference even though you might feel completely powerless you're doing a lot

cf

As for your question stealth, it's not really a case of which are best, the doctor will prescribe whichever he thinks appropriate to the symptoms your friend presents with.



Having said that I do feel that there may be some types which might best be avoided. Best discussed with a doc really tho.

I have taken seroxat and found the side effects to be horrible..... Although it may work well for some.

EO

its the long long term affect.....mind you a bit like puff really....im partial to a "skitz"every now and again....but id personally never go down the road.....me mates like a zombie......hes def changed since on em...takes that extra split second to answer ya...and it notices...!!

sometimes we c matey on street and hes like a shrivelled wreck.....and we know him better than any1.....boy,hes not the same.

I have to agree with Cf here too, anti-depressants are little more than a helpful aid to minimise the symptoms of depression while you seek out the underlying cause and deal with that. They really should be used hand in hand with therapy or counselling.

EO

They all most killed me. A number of times. All of them and i mean all of them. Best of with a smoke of the weed IMHO.

Hi Stealth,

Depression is a complex emotion and is best sorted out with a decent shrink or Doc. Sorry but asking for treatment on this forum is a little reckless in my opinion. Your friend as like a lot of depressed people they usually have fairly unique reasons why they are depressed and as such he really needs to be treated as an individual case and not by consensus on a forum. To be honest it wouldn't make me feel any better either if I learnt my case was being discussed by an unqualified group of people on the Internet. During a 1 year course of taking drugs to clear Hep C I also went through a depressed period, he should talk to someone who has the time and experience to deal with his problems.

Depression is a lonely path with no way out and often spirals into oblivion for those who can’t get help. It is essential your friend gets qualified help. It does help however to have a friend like you who obviously cares at least he won’t feel totally alone.

Om

Used correctly (and precribed correctly), I agree with EO & CF - they definitely do have their place, but the problem is if used incorrectly, or prescribed for the wrong thing, they can be counterproductive (to say the least). Under all circmstances stay away frm seroxat, and in my experience fluoxetine (prozac) as well. All the older ones are also a no-no (MAOIs like dothiapen). If I had to, I'd go for citalopram or venlafaxine (and in fact I do have to, I take 150mg of venlafaxine daily, among other things).

I've got to agree with MU, AD's helped me no end. It took me 4 tries with different types before I found one that suited me, some of them we're horrible and really messed me up but once I found one that worked for me, the difference it made was amazing. The thing with AD's is that certain ones work for certain people so you can't really write the whole lot off especially if it's a chemical inbalance that's causing the problem in the first place. Counselling did jack shit for me because it wasn't an external thing that was causing me to be depressed/anxious.

If they have a negative effect on you, then you can go back to the docs and change to another until you find one that works well for you. I don't notice any nasty side effects from mine and I would have been truely fucked without them.

p.s. You'll be hard pushed to find any doctor that will prescribe Temazepam and Diazepam anymore and they've never used these for depression as far as I know, they're for anxiety and sleep problems.



Dothiapin was the first AD I tried and it knocked me sideways, turned me into a zombie and I had a lot of memory loss with it, I didn't know what I was doing half the time.



I take citalopram now and I can only say it's been a total success for me.

Horses for courses innit.

I'll stick to my earlier advice - eschew the lot! - they are nasty chemicals which will only further upset an unbalanced body - my suggestion would be Traditional Chinese Acupuncture, where they will get to the root cause of the imbalance, and put it right, safely and permanently - far better now, rather than when the poor sod is further troubled by the chemicals, or possibly pushing up daisies..................
I have a very uncompromising view on drugs in mental health - unless there is physical brain damage, the problem lies with "faulty chemistry" - and as such the introduction of crude chemicals can only make matters worse - it MAY help for the short term, but they are no cure. Probably a course of acupuncture, and some nutritional supplementation will achieve all that's needed - certainly counselling etc may be of some use too.

I'm with Vlad 100% on this one.

Chemicals, to treat the mind? No thanks.

I have mates knocking prozac back like its going out of fashion. The dose only ever goes up.

not wishing to appear disagreeable or 'owt vrg, but do you have a consistent approach to "taking no chemicals to affect the mind" or do you make exceptions for things like painkillers, rec drugs, anti-inflamatories, and other mind-altering chemicals, or is your aversion just to ADs?

genuinely interested.


also, after 5 years i have just had to drop half my antidepressant dose because it has become too strong and was making me ill. so, in the last couple of weeks i have dropped my venlafaxine and now only take luvox/fluvoxamine.

dont take ritalin or provigil now either.

and to those people who dont like Dothiepin, i fucking loved it!!!

in fact, dothiepin was my downfall, because i started with mild anxiety and depression which dothiepin really sorted out and made me feel fucking brilliant so i carried on abusing rec drugs even whilst on dothiepin and managed to convert my anxiety/depression to severe status which dothiepin is useless for.

my point is, because i liked dothiepin and it worked for me very well with no side effects, i had very little respect for the ramifications of a more serious depression because i thought you could just "pop a pill" and be alright.

stupid prat that i was, but we live and learn..



oh, and i hated Citalopram because it castrated me. couldnt even have a fucking wank on it. try 60mg of the damn stuff and see what it does to you.

my favourite AD by miles is venlafaxine, effexor. the strongest AD ive taken and it didnt affect me willy, which is a big plus!

i fucking hate these chemicals though tbh, and long for the day i am totally off them, if that ever happens.

stelazine is a major tranquiliser, not an AD and its certainly a nasty fucking chemical.

i was prescribed stelazine myself for a short while and decided it wasnt a good thing when i started to develop parkinsons disease symptoms, which is common with stelazine and non-reversible if not stopped in time!

i hated stelazine.

edit: to remove a few too many expletives...

Its ok buddy. I say what I think and I expect others to do the same.

I have taken my fair share of recreational chemicals in the past. But they no longer appeal to me. They were having a negative inpact on both my physical, and mental health. I could see it then, and can see it now.

I dont knowingly take any drugs. Wether that be cough medicine, asprin, sleepers, paracetamol... nothing. But that is beside the point.

I just cant comprehend how someone can consider themselves (my friends, not anyone on here) to be "getting better" when their chemical intake is going up? surely, even if they feel better in themselves, and appear better to friends and loved ones, its not "really" them? surely the chemicals are just masking the underlying issue's? and when the chemicals stop, the issue's dont, and the depression comes back.

Thats if they're prescribed the "right" AD's to begin with, "side effects" asside!

I dunno enough about it to be honest, but I firmly believe a healthy lifestyle is an essential building block for a sound mind.

Just my thoughts, from what i've seen in real life, and read on here.

VRG

........it is not worth getting on the "chemical stepladder" for something like depression - one drug has side-effects, so they'll give you another to counter them..........etc etc
An holistic practitioner looks at YOU, and tries to work out WHY you're depressed - if you have every reason to be depressed, they'll treat you one way, if its for no apparent reason, they'll go a different route - the whole idea being to regain balance of mind, body and spirit - they are indivisible, complicatedly interrelated, and just tinkering with poisons for the body is just plain bloody stupid - (a bit like ph balancing compost - totally unnecessary, usually does more harm than good - far better to leave nature to it........ )
Back in the dark ages I experienced the horrors of Valium, Librium, Ativan, Mandrax,Heminevrin, and at one point, Largactil - at no point did ANY of them do a jot of good, several nearly killed me, particularly a hefty (120mg a day) Valium addiction.......................take my tip based on bitter experience- if needs be, exhaust EVERY alternative possibility before taking ANY pharmaceuticals...........

all sounds very reasonable to me, vrg... cheers.

I got put i mild AD's (Amitriptyline) about 6 months ago, not for depression tho! They allegedly act as a preventative medcine for me cluster headaches....

Do not take the drug alcohol as it is a depressent, is good advice for a start,
I personally take cannabis, as I have had depression, from mothers overdose of barbituates, and the drug alcohol, from when I was 10 year old.(bad reactions for me if i take that drug, in pathos mood)..

also talking through depression, is also good therapy, and watching diet, in case of alergic reactions, pills are not the answer for myself......


and o diazapam and other strong anti-depressents, create more probs, than they solve......

winstone

and there is always light at the end of any dark tunnel

I was on Prozac first off (F**kin horrible, was like having concrete poured into my skull), then Seroxat for couple of years (too whizzy) and then when I started feeling myself a bit more I went onto Amitriptyline which was the naturalist of the lot.

I think the best preventative action for depression though is not splitting up with long term girlfriends.

Just a brief addition from moi. Though I still stand by what I said before, think of them as the same as a plaster cast - a very short term measure to provide a but of support while you deal with the underlying problem (or just give it a bit of time to heal by itself). But don't think of them in any was as a permanent, or even long term solution. I've stopped taking all my meds (lithium, venlafaxine and carbamazepine) and now I've come down (bloody tough week, i can tell thee)I feel more "me" than I have for well over a year. OK so I'm far less stable, but better an unstable human being than a stable zombie. Tread with care, they do have their uses, but they are in no way, shape or form a "cure".

Hurrah

Dutonin (nefazadone hydrochloride) worked for me. Enabled me to get out of bed, wash etc. Helped me go to Day services for group therapy. Problems only really adressed by psychodynamic counselling through NHS. I'm a lucky man, i got a second chance. Was a joy to finally come off the tablets, painless too despite my fears.