Valium Addiction Symptoms

Valium is the trade name for the generic drug diazepam.

It belongs to the class of drugs known as benzodiazepines. Typically, Valium is used treat anxiety disorders or episodic anxiety (such as after a traumatic event), among other health conditions. Valium is shorting-acting, whereas some other benzodiazepines are long-acting. When a person takes Valium, its sedative effects usually set in within 30-60 minutes.

An individual may develop an addiction to Valium along different pathways. Two are especially of note. In one scenario, a person has a legitimate prescription for Valium, for a medically diagnosed reason. A person who takes Valium in accordance with a doctor’s orders faces little risk of developing of addiction. However, if the person takes too much Valium then addiction can set in. Valium has a strong addiction profile. In the other scenario, a person has no therapeutic need for Valium but begins to abuse this drug for any host of reasons, such as it being available (e.g., maybe a significant other has a legitimate prescription).

Valium may or may not occur as part of polydrug abuse. Valium abuse alone does not typically cause a fatal overdose. However, when Valium is used in combination with alcohol or other drugs, that combination can prove fatal.

Symptoms of Valium Addiction

It is helpful to make a distinction between the terms symptoms and signs. A person who abuses Valium will experience symptoms, while an outside person who observes the resulting effects is seeing the signs. There are at least two main ways of learning about the symptoms of Valium addiction: to look at findings from clinical trials and to examine literature on noted side effects. From the standpoint of a mental health professional, a diagnosis of a Valium addiction will require reference to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5^th edition (DSM-5). The DSM-5 no longer uses the term addiction; instead, they have implemented the term substance use disorder.

In order to be diagnosed with a substance use disorder, a person must present at least two of 11 delineated symptoms. These symptoms must emerge within the same 12-month period. In other words, to even come into the realm of having a substance use disorder, a person must be experiencing more than episodic drug abuse.

Depending on the number of symptoms, the person will receive a grade of mild, moderate, or severe substance use disorder. The higher the number of symptoms, the more acute the grade. The term substance use disorder covers all disorders related to drugs within the DSM-5. However, the DSM-5 does have subcategories, including sedative use disorder. What we may call Valium addiction would fall under the sedative use disorder section.

One of the most universal symptoms of Valium abuse is addiction itself; however, this term needs to be unpacked. As discussed, addiction is now termed substance use disorder. What the lay public often understands to be addiction is really physical dependence on a drug plus a psychological preoccupation with it. When a person consumes too much Valium, over time, the body will habituate to the amount taken. The body naturally builds tolerance and demands more of the drug for the person to be able to get the desired psychoactive effects. When the person then stops using Valium, or significantly reduces the amount taken, the body goes into Valium withdrawal. While taking too much Valium will often not prove fatal, it is exceptionally dangerous to mix this sedative drug with alcohol or other drugs. A fatal overdose is possible in this scenario. If Valium alone is abused, the following are some symptoms of a Valium overdose:

• Confusion (mild response)
• Fatigue (mild)
• Drowsiness (mild)
• Confusion (mild)
• Reduced reflex power (severe)
• Hypotension (severe)
• Respiratory depression (severe)
• Ataxia, or inability to control the body (severe)
• Hypotonia, or floppy quality of the body (severe)
• Coma (severe, rare)
• Death (rare)

Some of the more common withdrawal symptoms associated with Valium (diazepam) include but are not limited to:

• Heightened anxiety
• Confusion
• Irritability
• Tremors
• Tension
• Restlessness
• Sweating
• Headaches
• Muscle pain
• Muscle cramps

The following is a partial list of the more severe withdrawal symptoms that can arise during Valium withdrawal:

• Increased sensitivity to light, sound, or touch
• Tingling or numbness in limbs
• Hallucinations
• Depersonalization
• Derealization
• Epileptic seizures

Even though people may be aware that they are experiencing symptoms of addiction, they often do not want to respond because they want to keep using the drugs. This is one of the great complexities of drug use: In short, drugs lie to the brain and can make the person using the drug believe that everything is fine (as noted above, instill a delusion of wellbeing). But in many cases, drugs do not maintain a permanent grip on a person. Understanding the symptoms of Valium addiction can help a person with the crucial first step of identifying that there is a problem, which paves the way to getting help.

Behavioral Symptoms of Valium Addiction

There is some overlap between the foregoing physical and psychological symptoms of Valium addiction and the behavioral symptoms that are likely to concomitantly emerge. Since Valium is a prescription drug, “doctor shopping” and “pharmacy hopping” may be some of the most readily perceptible behavioral symptoms. At present, the US is steeped in a prescription pill abuse epidemic. This epidemic has revealed holes in the prescription system. Doctor shopping, as the name suggests, occurs when a person visits more than one doctor in order to get a higher-than-needed amount of prescription medication. Before the prescription pill epidemic arose, few states had implemented a prescription monitoring system, which unexpectedly facilitated doctor shopping. Individuals would doctor shop and continue to avoid detection by filling their prescriptions at different pharmacies. Doctor shopping and pharmacy hopping are still going on, but states are working on, or have already implemented, a prescription monitoring system.

According to anecdotal evidence online, Valium (like benzodiazepines in general) does not appear to be to injectable. Individuals who discuss this method of administration in drug forums advise one another that Valium is not water-soluble, it is too difficult to prep for injection, or the high is not worth the potential damage to the limb. For this reason, there will not typically be symptoms that include having paraphernalia to shoot up this drug (e.g., syringes, spoons, belts/ropes, lighters, etc.). However, according to WebMD, injectable Valium does exist, but it’s likely to only be found in emergency centers (e.g., if a person is having a seizure and cannot take Valium orally).