Health Organization for Pudendal Education

Okay, I"m new to this whole thing....but does Valium seem to help some of you more than anything else? What do you think this means?

TIA,
cari

Cari, since valium is a muscle relaxer it could mean that it's helping to calm your pelvic floor muscles and there is less pressure on the nerves. Just a guess. I'm glad to hear it's helping.

Hi there;
I take a Valium suppository, via rectum, if I can't get rid of some of the pain any other way, and it does help me a lot.
Doreen

Valium is absolutely #1 on my list of helpful drugs. While it IS a muscle relaxer, soma is a more powerful muscle relaxer but helps me less. So muscle relaxation is only part of it; it is doing something in the CNS as well.

Valium is also used to reduce anxiety. Stress and anxiety increase pain, so maybe by decreasing these, the pain decreases too.

Emily B.

I have my doubts about the anxiety thing because it helped me really dramatically and I am just about the antithesis of an anxious person. Of course it helps with anxiety by affecting something in the chemistry of the autonomic nervous system, and the autonomic nervous system also has a role in some pain. I got an impar ganglion block which gave me some temporary relief, and my Doc told me this confirms that my autonomic nervous system is involved in my pain syndrome.
I'm not really so concerned though about how it works, only that it does work very well. My only side effect was slight drowsiness when I first started taking it. I was supposed to take 5mg twice a day but instead cut the pills in half and took 2.5mg 4 times a day, and the drowsiness subsided. Then once I was used to the drug, I was able to take 5mg all at once. I have heard benzodiazepine withdrawl is not pleasant (valium is a benzodiazepine), but if i am ever well enough to get off meds I intend to wean slowly. What makes it preferable to narcs as far as I am concerned, is I have not built a tolerance which requires me to keep taking more and more of the drug to maintain pain relief and prevent withdrawl. Soon after I started taking valium my dose was upped to 15mg (5mg 3 times daily), and I have done well on that ever since. So I feel like I can keep taking it indefinitely without problems while I have neuropathy, can still derive benefit even with long term use, and can wean slowly if I get well. My other meds (neurontin and nortriptyline) make me kind of ditzy but the valium really does not effect my mental state.
That's my valium experience, no I do not own stock in the manufacturer's company or anything, I promise. I'm giving it an unbiased thumbs-up.

Her Majesty,

Don't worry a thing about the benzo withdrawal. I had to take high amounts for insomnia related to postpartum depression 2 years ago and had no problem tapering off.

cari

carolynm wrote:Her Majesty,

Don't worry a thing about the benzo withdrawal. I had to take high amounts for insomnia related to postpartum depression 2 years ago and had no problem tapering off.

cari

Thanks, good to know.

Ya... I've known of other people who tapered really slowly off benzos and have done fine. As someone who is tapering off narcs right now... I was discouraged from using the benzo's and i would rather be in the position right now of tapering off benzos than the narcs.
There's just no perfect drug
Cora

I am seeing my PCP tomorrow and hope to discuss Valium with him. I just tried Morphine ( from my Pulmonologist in an effort to help my shortness of breath) but it had no effect on that and actually increased my pain. I simply do not respond to opiates and she suggested Valium type drugs as an alternative to them.
I have suffered Pubic/Vulvar pain since April 1989 and I'm still looking for some relief. Sitting - even with an IC cushion is very painful. I have tried Lyrica and Cymbalta but had to give them up because of vision problems ( I still have double vision which occurred with the Cymbalta). Neurontin increased my pain, My Rheumatologist said that was impossible and ordered me to continue, I didn't and very strangely, steroids increase it and I am on 10mg of Prednisone daily to treat severe Emphysema.
I am now 72 and have had this pain for 22 years.. To say I am depressed is putting it mildly. I'm hopeful about the Valium.