One of the more commonly recognised benzodiazepines: an anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant. Names you may have heard: Valium, Ducene, Apo-Diazepam, Diazemuls, E Pam, Meval, Novo-Dipam,Vivol.

Dental Use:
Orally, as a preoperative medication for dental anxiety. And as a skeletal muscle relaxant. The latter as part of the management in TMD (temporomandibular joint dysfunction). Also, as a sedative component in I.V. conscious sedation in oral surgery patients.

Medical use:
In the management of general anxiety disorders, panic disorders, and provide preoperative sedation, light anaesthesia, and amnesia; treatment of status epilepticus, alcohol withdrawal symptoms; used as a skeletal muscle relaxant.

Mechanism of action:
Depresses all levels of the CNS (central nervous system) through the release of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). GABA is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain.

Drug Interactions:
CNS depressants, alcohol, disulfiram, cimetidine, anticonvulsants, anticholinergics.

Contraindications:
Hypersensitivity to diazepam or any component, pre-existing CNS depression, repiratory depression, narrow angle glaucoma, pregnant women. Precaution with concurrent CNS depressants, hepatic dysfunction, renal impairment, prolonged use and abrupt withdrawal.

With help from: Drug Information Handbook for Dentistry. Lexi-Comp's Clinical Reference Library.MIMS.

It stops you from thinking. By doing this it improves mood, as your thoughts do not interfere with your natural emotions and drag them down. You also tend to have no will when you are on diazepam, and if you take a very small amount of it, you find that you are able to have much greater muscle control as you attain stillness without interference from the tiny tremors that are caused by nervous tension. Great if you are a rifle shot, superb if you are preparing for a martial arts kata, really really bad if you are a surgeon or you are driving.

There seems to be an inverse correlation between intelligence and happiness implied here. But I doubt that is the fault of the chemical. Like all drugs its use must be carefully controlled because of medical side effects, in this case addiction being the primary risk.

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.