Can Librium Be Taken Aftera A Heart Catherization?

Posted on Mon, 19 May 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 19 May 2014 Answered on

Sat, 7 Jun 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : My husband is an alcoholic and is now trying to quit again. He had heart catherization 2 years with 2 stents placed. At that time he was prescribed 25 mg of Librium to help with alcohol withdrawal. My question is" Can he take one of the 25 mg Librium capsules that he has left to relieve some of the tremor since he drank alcohol about 3 hours ago? Would that be dangerous?

Answered by Dr. Manisha Gopal (47 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
if liver is ok, you can give librium

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Librium is commonly used for alchol withdrawal managemnt to relieve anxiety in an otherwise healthy patient. Provided his liver is in normal condition ( which is not mentioned in the question) there is no harm in taking 25mg librium for treatung alcohol withdrawal tremors. Not giving anything in withdrawal becomes more problematic in case of chronic alcoholics. Without any drug support, seizure may occur.
So, you may give him librium for now and get liver function and kidney test done in meanwhile and proceed further.

Also, give him Vit. B1 100mg daily ( thiamine supplement) and lots of fluid, his appetite might not be good for solid food for some time, so, give him semi solid or liquid food. An antacid like pantoperazole on empty stomach helps in handling acidity.

hope the reply is useful for you.
Please ask more questions for clarification.

Dr. Manisha Gopal
MD Psychiatry

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar