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Valium
Last reviewed: 03.07.2025
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Valium is an anxiolytic drug, a tranquilizer.
Indications Valium.
It is used to eliminate the following violations:
- anxiety disorders;
- insomnia;
- spasm in the skeletal muscles caused by local trauma;
- spastic disorders due to spinal or cerebral damage. Among these are cerebral palsy, as well as athetosis and tetanus;
- arthritis with myositis and bursitis, as well as rheumatic spondyloarthritis and progressive polyarthritis (chronic form);
- vertebral syndrome, tension, headaches and angina, as well as arthrosis, in which tension of the skeletal muscles is observed;
- withdrawal state, which manifests itself in the form of a feeling of tension, anxiety and excitement, as well as in the form of tremors and transient reactive states.
As an adjuvant in combination treatment, it is used for the following problems:
- dystrophy;
- increased blood pressure;
- psychosomatic disorders in the field of obstetrics and gynecology (including menopause, menstrual disorders, and gestosis);
- ulcers inside the duodenum or stomach;
- epistatus;
- eczema and other dermatological diseases characterized by irritability and itching;
- Meniere's syndrome;
- drug intoxication.
In addition, Valium is used before endoscopic procedures, general anesthesia and surgical operations (as a premedication).
Pharmacodynamics
Diazepam is the active component of Valium. It has a powerful sedative, hypnotic and anticonvulsant effect, as well as a central muscle relaxant effect. The anxiolytic properties of the drug are manifested in the form of relief from the feeling of internal fear, anxiety, as well as anxiety and tension.
The degree of the drug's effect on the central nervous system depends on the daily dosage of diazepam: when taken in small quantities (within 2-15 mg), it has a stimulating effect, but at high doses (more than 15 mg), it causes a sedative effect.
The central muscle relaxant effect occurs due to the fact that diazepam is able to slow down spinal reflexes of the polysynaptic type. In addition, the drug also has weak sympatholytic properties - it helps to slightly reduce the level of blood pressure. The drug increases the pain threshold, helps to increase the resistance of the brain to hypoxia, and also dilates coronary vessels.
The drug has powerful anticonvulsant and anticonvulsant properties, manifested in the form of suppression of paroxysms (sympathoadrenal and parasympathetic types).
Pharmacokinetics
After oral administration of the tablet, the substance is quickly absorbed and begins to act on the body. The duration of peak drug levels is 15-60 minutes. The level of bioavailability when taken orally is 100%. In plasma, peak values of the component are noted 0.5-1.5 hours after oral administration of the tablet. Diazepam has a high degree of synthesis with protein - 96-99%.
The half-life of the substance is 2-13 minutes. Diazepam is a fat-soluble component, it is quickly distributed within the body, passes through the placental barrier and the BBB, and is excreted with breast milk. After absorption, the drug is redistributed within fat and muscle tissue. In the case of constant daily intake of the drug, it quickly accumulates within the body (mainly within fat tissue), reaching an indicator that significantly exceeds the size of the actual dosage. The accumulation of the substance occurs mainly within individual organs, including the heart.
The drug undergoes oxidative metabolic processes - hydroxylation with demethylation, as well as glucuronidation in the liver (as part of the enzyme system of hemoprotein P450). Diazepam has several pharmacoactive decay products, the main one of which is desmethyldiazepam (also called nordiazepam or nordazepam). Other active decay products of the drug include weak elements oxazepam with temazepam. These decay products undergo conjugation with glucuronide, and are excreted mainly with urine.
Diazepam has a two-stage elimination half-life of 1-3 days, while desmethyldiazepam has a half-life of 2-7 days. Most of the drug is metabolized, with only a small amount excreted unchanged.
The half-life of diazepam and desmethyldiazepam increases significantly in elderly patients, which may result in an increase in the drug's effect, as well as its accumulation in the case of repeated administration.
Dosing and administration
The dosage and duration of Valium use can only be prescribed by a specialist, taking into account the type of pathology and the severity of its clinical manifestations. Standard recommended doses are often as follows:
- during the treatment of phobias with neuroses, as well as angina pectoris, hypochondriacal or hysterical disorders, neurological pathologies of a degenerative type and abnormal blood pressure indicators, it is necessary to take the medicine 2-3 times a day in the amount of 5-10 mg;
- when treating polyarthritis, arthritis or arthrosis, as well as other joint diseases, you should take 5 mg of the medicine 1-4 times a day (the exact number of doses is determined by the doctor);
- for alcohol withdrawal syndrome, it is necessary to take 5 mg of Valium 3-4 times a day;
- to treat vertebral syndrome, take the medicine in a dose of 10 mg 4 times a day (while you need to stay in bed);
- To eliminate climacteric, menstrual or psychosomatic disorders, as well as gestosis, tablets are taken in the amount of 2-5 mg, 3 times a day.
Elderly or weakened people, as well as those with atherosclerosis, should take the drug twice a day at an initial dose of 2 mg. Then it is gradually increased until the desired medicinal effect is achieved.
In adults, therapy is usually carried out according to the following scheme: taking 0.5 tablet of 5 mg (i.e. 2.5 mg of the drug) 1-2 times a day or taking 1 whole tablet (5 mg) in the evening.
The sizes of children's doses are calculated taking into account the age of the patient:
- for 1-3 years – dose 1 mg;
- for ages 3-7 years – 2 mg;
- for children over 7 years old – dose 3-5 mg.
Use Valium. during pregnancy
Taking Valium during pregnancy is prohibited.
Contraindications
Main contraindications:
- myasthenia;
- severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease;
- closed-angle glaucoma;
- state of coma or shock;
- acute respiratory failure;
- acute poisoning with drugs that have a depressing effect on the central nervous system;
- alcohol poisoning in acute form, with a weakening of vital body functions;
- hypersensitivity to diazepam or other additional components of the drug;
- lactation period;
- infants under 6 months of age.
Caution is required when prescribing in the following cases:
- people with epilepsy or a history of epileptic seizures;
- in case of liver or kidney failure;
- history of drug dependence;
- people who have a tendency to abuse psychotropic substances;
- organic cerebral pathologies;
- hyperkinesis;
- cerebral or spinal ataxia;
- hypoproteinemia;
- sleep apnea;
- elderly people.
Side effects Valium.
Taking the drug may be accompanied by the development of many different side effects:
- increased fatigue, feeling of lethargy, disorientation, drowsiness;
- decreased attention;
- dizziness and slowing of psychomotor reactions;
- amnesia of retrograde type;
- motor coordination disorder.
In addition, there is information that Valium can cause tremors, muscle spasms, feelings of depression, irritability, euphoria and confusion, as well as the development of depression, tachycardia, dyspeptic symptoms, insomnia and thrombosis, as well as catalepsy and other disorders of the nervous system and psyche.
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Overdose
Manifestations of overdose include: a feeling of confusion, drowsiness, stupor, or severe weakness. In addition, areflexia or decreased reflexes, paradoxical agitation, decreased response to pain, dysarthria, tremor, nystagmus, and ataxia, as well as deep sleep, may occur. Difficulty breathing, dyspnea, bradycardia, and apnea may develop, as well as collapse, decreased blood pressure, coma, and respiratory and cardiac depression.
To eliminate the disorders, it is necessary to wash the stomach, perform a forced diuresis procedure, and take activated carbon. Also, artificial ventilation and support of blood pressure and respiratory function are carried out. The antidote is flumazenil (used in hospital). The effectiveness of hemodialysis is very low.
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Interactions with other drugs
The drug potentiates the depressant effect on the central nervous system of such substances as antipsychotics (neuroleptics), ethyl alcohol, opioid analgesics, antidepressants, muscle relaxants and drugs used for general anesthesia.
Medicines that inhibit oxidative microsomal processes (including oral contraceptives, cimetidine with fluoxetine, as well as disulfiram, erythromycin with ketoconazole and propranolol, isoniazid with propoxyphene, and metoprolol with valproic acid) prolong the half-life of Valium and also potentiate its properties.
Inducers of microsomal liver enzymes weaken the effect of drugs.
Opiates potentiate the euphoric feeling caused by Valium, which increases the psychological dependence on the drug.
Antacids reduce the rate of absorption of drugs from the gastrointestinal tract without affecting its degree.
Antihypertensive drugs can potentiate the severity of the decrease in blood pressure.
In case of combination with clozapine, potentiation of respiratory function suppression is possible.
The combination of Valium and low-polarity CG may increase their serum levels and also cause CG toxicity (due to competition for synthesis with plasma protein).
The drug weakens the effects of levodopa in people with Parkinson's disease.
The excretion time of Valium is prolonged when combined with omeprazole.
Restorative drugs, MAOIs, and psychostimulants reduce the activity of the drug.
Premedication with Valium makes it possible to reduce the dosage of fentanyl required for induction of general anesthesia and to shorten the time required to "switch off" consciousness using induction doses.
The drug is capable of potentiating the toxic properties of zidovudine.
Potentiation of Valium excretion along with a decrease in its plasma level occurs when combined with rifampin.
Small doses of theophylline can reduce or even reverse the sedative effect of the drug.
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Special instructions
Reviews
Valium is considered a very unsafe drug, and reviews about it are very mixed. Although it is quite effective for alcohol addiction, as well as psychosomatic and post-traumatic disorders, it cannot be abused, as it can cause addiction, and also has a large number of negative effects. Therefore, it can only be taken with a doctor's prescription.
Attention!
To simplify the perception of information, this instruction for use of the drug "Valium" translated and presented in a special form on the basis of the official instructions for medical use of the drug. Before use read the annotation that came directly to medicines.
Description provided for informational purposes and is not a guide to self-healing. The need for this drug, the purpose of the treatment regimen, methods and dose of the drug is determined solely by the attending physician. Self-medication is dangerous for your health.