Patient/caregiver was educated on the side effects of using valium as follows:
Abuse potential
- Valium intake can be habit-forming and carries an abuse potential. The risk for addiction and abuse can be even higher, especially in individuals with history of substance abuse.
Tolerance
- Individuals develop tolerance to the dose of valium with diminished therapeutic response over time. Report to your physician regarding any blunting of therapeutic response, with diminishing control or reverting of anxiety episodes, seizures, muscle cramps, nervousness, irritability, restlessness, and insomnia. Your physician could consider a change in the plan of care to provide the desired therapeutic relief.
- Increasing the dose of valium to derive the same therapeutic benefit can increase the risk for addiction.
- The risk for addiction is even more in individuals with history of substance/drug abuse, as the craving for the desired effect in these individuals will be high.
Respiratory depression
- Valium, especially when taken in high doses, can lead to depression of respiratory center in the brain and difficulty breathing. Severe cases might also lead to emergency situations, such as, respiratory arrest and can result in serious debility and death.
- Avoid taking valium along with any other drugs carrying the potential for causing central nervous system and respiratory depression, such as, OTC cough syrups or narcotic pain medications, as the individual influence of these medications on respirations can get added up, thus leading to severe respiratory depression and can even be fatal.
- Individuals with history of breathing issues, such as, asthma and COPD, must exercise extra precaution in watching out for any compromised breathing function.
- Report any episode of exacerbation of SOB and breathing difficulty to your physician appropriately, for any change in plan of care to be considered.
