I Suffer From Severe Anxiety My Neurologist Has Me On

Posted on Tue, 7 May 2019

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

Tue, 7 May 2019 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : I suffer from severe anxiety my neurologist has me on 10 mg of diazepam daily he wants to change my medicine I feel comfortable with diazepam what are the dangers of staying on diazepam and possibly increasing it to 15 mg a day. It seems all anxiety medications are habit-forming so what%E2%80%99s the difference

Answered by Dr. Dr.Dorina Gurabardhi (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Diazepam is an addictive benzodiazepine with longer lasting side effects.

Detailed Answer:
Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.

I understand your concern.

In my opinion your doctor wants to avoid the addiction of Diazepam.

Diazepam is an addictive benzodiazepine with longer-lasting effects than other drugs in its class.

An addiction to Diazepam can progress quickly if the dose is not maintained under control.

There are safer options of benzodiazepine such as Ativan.

You may consult your doctor about this alternative treatment.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T