Benzodiazepines

Does anyone who has a pacemaker and takes benzodiazepines (xanax, ativan or valium) get complications? Thanks a lot for your experience and comments.

12 Comments

Al

by cans624 - 2013-12-08 06:12:32

I have been on Valium for a while now and it really helps me with my anxiety but I am on a low dose I am on other meds to blood pressure anti depressants beta blocker and doesn't effect it at all

benzodiazepines

by judyblue - 2013-12-08 06:12:35

This is definitely a doctor question, because it would have more to do with the other meds you are taking than your pacemaker. I am not taking any meds that interfere with it so I don't have a problem. But sadly, my xanax script ran out.
judy

Benzodiazepines

by Roys - 2013-12-08 07:12:14

Yes I have been on Diazepam for 50 years. It is ok to take Benzodizepines for 2 weeks. but if you take it for a long period the the symptoms of withdrawal are severe. No Doctor has ever has ever told me about this. And I only found out about this problem when I tried to reduce by half, some years ago, and got severe Depression and Rapid mood changes. Look up Professor C Heather Ashton DM, FRCP. So now I have been on this drug to long to withdraw!
Roy

Xanax

by Marie12 - 2013-12-08 07:12:23

I have an ICD/Pacemaker but am not pacemaker dependent. It just came with the ICD. I take a very low dose of Xanax at night for sleep only (1mg). I am on six other medications and it doesn't seem to affect me. Might want to check with Dr. or pharmacist.

benzodiazepines

by Al - 2013-12-08 09:12:57

Thank you so much for your replies.
According to Professor Ashton diazepam is the easiest one to taper off. Roy, it is never too late! Good luck!
Xanax is very addictive. Even at a daily dose of 1 mg the withdrawal symptoms can be painful. Please read Ashton's manual to find out how to taper off xanax when you need to.
I was on ativan for anxiety after my pacemaker. Even at low dosage for 3 weeks the withdrawal symptoms were very painful. I still have anxiety. Therefore, I am concerned about taking more benzodiazepines.



Good advice above...

by donr - 2013-12-08 10:12:38

...but let me add a piece of advice.

All the Benzo family is unreal as far as its ability to make you feel good.

But they are addictive as &^%$%^!

No one else can tell you how long you can survive w/ them w/o addiction, so YOU have to control their use yourself. You did not say which one you plan on taking, but this bit of guidance applies to all of them.

The Dr. will give you a script -= say for 5 Mg Valium per day (or PRN - as needed). Take ONE QUARTER of that the first time to see what it does for/to you. You just may not like the euphoria it can create. If that doesn't work, increase by 1/4 tablet. Take just enough that you feel close to normal or perhaps a bit on the bad side of normal. Enough that it HELPS you, not does the job for you. You need to learn how to cope w/ stress/anxiety yourself & being buzzed by a Benzo gets you nowhere.

Don

you got that right

by jessie - 2013-12-08 10:12:50

all of the benzos are hard to withdraw from. thank god i never got prescribed but a lot did. ativan is deadly to withdraw from as well. 50 years is a long time to be on valium. i will be married 50 years next april. i cant imagine.if i cant sleep i take melatonin or another herbal sleep aid. they are natural and not so deadly. good luck roys. as al says you can do it with help from your dr. take care everyone. jessie

Good but bad

by gil - 2013-12-08 11:12:44

I am on 1mg Lorazepam/day. Have been for years. It helps me deal with the stress and pressures in regards to my medical heart conditions. I've heard the stories about benzos being addictive and I do not like to think that I am; so every so often I skip a day or two, just to delude myself into thinking I am in control. But then I feel awful, moody, tense and all the rest, and I just go back to including them in my daily medicinal regimen. It is part of the price to pay, I suppose, for playing the hand I've been dealt.

Diazepam

by Roys - 2013-12-09 02:12:34

Just a bit more info on Diazepam, I take 5mg at night, 13 years ago I was put on Nexium by my Cardio and there is a drug interaction with Diazepam, results in a 45% decrease in the clearance of Diazepam. So now if I stop my Nexium I get withdrawal symptoms of Diazepam the same as if I had cut my dose of Diazepam. I told my local Dr about the interaction
when I was put on Nexium, and he said the therapeutic interval was ok. So now I am stuck on both of these drugs, and he knows he was wrong.
Roy

Valium

by brucenj - 2013-12-09 06:12:59

In 2012, after receiving the PM, my primary care Dr prescribed a low dose of Valium.

I experienced no problems. At a different point in 2012, a low dose of Clorazepate, another benzo, was prescribed. I avoided using these everyday, choosing to skip a day, when not needed.

I don't recall using these meds more than once a day as my doctor advised taking it before bedtime. He did caution me about the risk of addiction when he chose not to renew the prescriptions . No noticeable withdrawal symptoms.

I regard these meds as having been of some temporary assistance in a difficult period of my life.

benzodiazepines

by Al - 2013-12-09 12:12:11

DonR is right. Stay away from benzodiazepines if possible. It seems there is no choice for some. For those must develop an exist plan as soon as possible. I hope to see a psychiatrist about my anxiety. Most likely I will be on a benzodiazepine. I think I am prepared.
Thanks for all your inputs.

Further comment on Valium

by donr - 2013-12-13 07:12:27

My intro to Valium was in April, 1977. I suffered an attack of PAT (Paroxymal Atrial Tachycardia) at 5 AM & it awoke me & was the second act of my intro to PTSD. Scared out of my tree, Wife called 911 & had me hauled off to the closest hosp. Since it left no tracks in the sand, the ER Doc diagnosed me based solely on my description of the events.

I was obviously very agitated, so he gave me a shot of Diazapam (liquid Valium) & sent me home, really happy.

I asked him what it was he gave me & he told me - BUT - not by its common name (Valium) so I did not recognize it. About 4 hrs later, I awoke & still felt really great. So great that I commented to Wife that anything that makes you feel that good cannot be good for you. I told her "Never again."

Two Yrs later, I heard about the book written by a woman named Barbara Gordon called "I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can," about her Valium addiction. It created quite a stir & rec'd a lot of publicity & made the general public aware of the dangers & easy addictiveness of Valium. No, I never read it, but the publicity alone was enough to curl the hair on Yul Brenner's head (Or Bruce Willis if you are too young to recognize Brenner). That book created the awareness in the general public for the dangers of the Benzo family.

In the intervening two yrs I'd been given two Rx's for Valium & used it as I described in my first comment above - using a quarter tablet only when anxiety got out of control & fortunately never getting hooked on it. I carried a bottle of it in my briefcase when traveling, & watched as most of the pills slowly turned into dust.

I recommend that anyone who is given a prescription for any member of the Benzo family Google on the book title & read the descriptions of the Barbara Gordon story & her horrors getting unhooked.

The comments above will verify Gordon's story & make us wary.

Don

You know you're wired when...

You have a maintenance schedule just like your car.

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