Benzodiazepines and CPPS

[lupus]

The only thing that works for me dealing with chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome are benzodiazepines,last week I had a very bad flare up and again benzodiazepines stopped the pain incredibly.
I commonly use quarter of a Valium (Diazepam) during a couple of days to halt the pain,but I have switched to Tetrazepam,gives me less residual narcolepsy and sedation during the day and work as well.
I'm doing my stretches dayly but as one traumathologist said I may need to take muscular relaxants for a while in order to stop the pain-muscular contraction cycle.
What about cycling benzodiazepines to avoid the drugs addiction?

[GS]

I take 10 mg of valium every other day. This works very well and prevents addiction. I also go for physical therapy twice a month. Hope this helps you.

[CppsDad]

Some of the addiction benzo's cause is psychological, not physical. Whether you cycle them or not, you may be building a psychological addiction with or without a physical one. A psychological addiction is probably not as serious as a physical one, but it can play havoc with you all the same, feigning symptoms, altering your decision making capabilities, and creating cravings out of thin air. So be smart, and watch your usage. The fact that you are already thinking about the effect some of this stuff has on you is a start.

Mike

[MastCells]

I take 10 mg of valium every other day.

Taking benzos every other day will likely lead to tolerance and cause cognitive impairment over the long-term.

[MastCells]

What about cycling benzodiazepines to avoid the drugs addiction?

The problem is that all benzos work in pretty much the same way. I doubt cycling them would make much of a difference as far as tolerance and/or habituation are concerned.

[GS]

I have no cognitive impairment. Tolerance does develop but at this point in my recovery, I do not think I need a higher dose. Originally I was on 4 mg daily. I am a doctor myself and need to have my brain working at a high level on a constant basis and I have not seen any problems with the valium at this dose. In fact the labeled dose is up to 40 mg daily so 10 mg every other day is a very small dose and doesn't interfere with my ability to practice medicine at a very high level. One should not be scared of drugs when used properly.

[MastCells]

I have no cognitive impairment.

Maybe not yet, but studies show that benzos usually cause cognitive impairment over time.

Tolerance does develop but at this point in my recovery, I do not think I need a higher dose. Originally I was on 4 mg daily. I am a doctor myself...

What type of MD are you?

and need to have my brain working at a high level on a constant basis and I have not seen any problems with the valium at this dose. In fact the labeled dose is up to 40 mg daily so 10 mg every other day is a very small dose and doesn't interfere with my ability to practice medicine at a very high level. One should not be scared of drugs when used properly.

Forty milligrams of Valium daily is a huge dose. According to all their package inserts, benzodiazepines are indicated for the short-term relief of anxiety and other conditions. Just be careful. I've talked to people who have become physically and psychologically dependent on Valium at 5 mg/day.

Also see: viewtopic.php?t=2893

[Ralph]

I take 10 mg of valium every other day. This works very well and prevents addiction.

Are you sure about that? Try stopping valium altogether for a few days and see if you have any problems.

[GS]

I stopped the valium altogether for a month in April and had no ill effects.

[CppsDad]

Here's a well-timed article release:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditio ... index.html

We all need to be careful about what we take and how often we take them. It's that simple. Note the statistic that says that 30% of emergency room deaths caused by drugs were caused by prescription drugs, with Vicodin and Xanax and Valium HIGH on the list of most abused prescription drugs. I woudn't take any of this stuff lightly, that's for sure.

Mike

[Ralph]

These meds can be very helpful, but they are controlled for a reason. Many doctors write for them because patients can be very manipulative. From the article:


"The substances most likely to be abused were opioids, or pain relievers like OxyContin or Vicodin; central nervous system depressants such as Valium or Xanax; stimulants including Ritalin or Adderall and anabolic-androgenic steroids like Anadrol or Equipoise."


I can't tell you how many ER visits occur because of people trying to get pain meds. ER patients fake kidney stones and all sorts of problems just to get a fix.



Ritalin is highly abused by college students as is Viagra.

[lupus]

I forgot to mention,but the other thing that helps greatly besides benzodiazepines is alcohol,the pain decreases dramatically,but I can't be drunk all day :icon_smile_lachuh:

[MastCells]

I forgot to mention,but the other thing that helps greatly besides benzodiazepines is alcohol,the pain decreases dramatically,but I can't be drunk all day :icon_smile_lachuh:

I don't think your employer or your liver would like that very much.

[GS]

I think the moral of the story is that we should all be under the care of a competent physician before using any drugs or supplements. This forum is great in helping us fellow sufferers with support and suggestions for potential treatments that may benefit us. But, without a good doctor to guide us, we are all just going on anecdotal evidence which can be much overblown on the internet. Find a good urologist and trust his judgement.

[MastCells]

I think the moral of the story is that we should all be under the care of a competent physician before using any drugs or supplements.

The problem is that so many physicians who are considered "competent" by the general public as well as the medical community prescribe medications irresponsibly. For example, one chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome sufferer was prescribed 6 months of Valium by a doctor and was directed to take it every day, which was a recipe for disaster. Of course, the patient became addicted, and it was extremely difficult for him to get himself off the Valium (a REAL mess, it was). Another example with which we chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome patients are all too familiar is antibiotic abuse. Physicians are prescribing course after course of antibiotics to those who suffer from pelvic myoneuropathy despite a complete lack of evidence suggesting they have infections. This long-term antibiotic abuse frequently causes harmful side effects for the patients.

This forum is great in helping us fellow sufferers with support and suggestions for potential treatments that may benefit us. But, without a good doctor to guide us, we are all just going on anecdotal evidence which can be much overblown on the internet.

Could you be more specific? What in particular has been much overblown in this forum?

Find a good urologist and trust his judgement.

What good are urologists to us? Aside from initially ruling out other potential maladies (e.g., cancer, strictures, OAB, neurogenic bladder, etc.), what makes them so important? Any GP can prescribe pain meds, anti-anxiety meds, antihistamines, alpha-blockers, and other medications for CPPS. Why waste our time and money bothering urologists? They don't want to be pestered by chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome patients. Internists, who are much more accessible, sympathetic, and caring toward their patients (in my experience and the experience of many other chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome sufferers) can be more helpful to us.
See: https://www.ucpps.men/urologists-profits-and-prostatitis-patients

BTW, are you a medical doctor, or by "doctor," do you mean you have a Ph.D.?