Can i use valium to cause a drug induced coma?

Question

i use the term coma lightly. my partner has krohns and we have no isurance and cannot afford any kind of medical treatment.
what they have given him doesnt help the pain.
i read somewhere that you can highly sedate someone with valium or drugs of the same kind.
he is 5'10 and 203lbs (muscualr). what would the safe amount be to give him so he is completely sedated and easily made concious.
we have discussed all the possibilites and side effects and he is still adimant about this. whether or not you condone our choice, please help with information so we can do this safely.
if u know krohns you know how degenerative and painful it is.

Answer 1

the simple answer is that in high enough doses, you can sedate anyone with valium. but the "easily made conscious" part will be a little trickier. there is an antidote to benzodiazepines called flumazenil, but it must be administered through an IV. assuming you have access to the above, i'd start by giving 10 mg of valium (assuming oral dosing) at a time. but wait for at least 15 minutes before giving another dose because valium takes a while for peak effect. if using IV dosing, i'd start with 5mg at a time.

Answer 2

Valium (and any other benzodiazepine) is a sedative that possesses anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, sedative, skeletal muscle relaxant and amnestic properties,but it is not an analgesic! It will not, by itself, take the pain away and it mayl also antagonist any pain medication he receives.

You will, very likely, not be able to dose this drug appropriately and you will run the risk of killing him (and very possibly find yourself being charged with manslaughter or murder). When patients are placed into a "coma" it is done in an ICU, PACU, ER or OR with a highly trained nurse and/or physician in attendance at all times. These patients are also on a mechanical ventilator so the do not die of hypoxia.

They also do not wakeup rapidly unless very expensive medications are used (valium is a very long acting drug that will leave him in a pain filled stupor at best, in the doses you are contemplating).

So do not attempt this. Yes I know Crohn's disease is horrible, but you need to seek proper treatment. If he's never had a colonoscopy, that needs to be done to confirm the diagnosis! If it hasn't been done, he may be receiving the wrong treatment.

Look into clinics in your area where you can get lower cost health care (many medical schools have clinics that are staffed y students and residents that are overseen by an attending) and possibly reduced cost or free sample medications.

Also, if you get a bill from a hospital, call them and tell them your situation, they will in most cases reduce your bill by a significant amount.

There are also alternative treatments out there that may offer your partner some relief. See link.

Answer 3

A drug induced coma is general anesthesia. I don't recommend that you try that at home. It is likely to result in death or permanent neurologic problems.

Valium is a benzodiazepine, which is not a good pain reliever.

If you can find a drug that will make someone "completely sedated and easily made conscious", please let the anesthesia community know. (We do have a drug called propofol that will do that, but it is intravenous only, and does cause people to stop breathing.)

He needs to get hooked up with a free clinic. Contact a teaching hospital. They usually have clinics at little to no cost. He would probably benefit from a colectomy, if it is that bad.

The bottom line - you cannot do what he is proposing to do safely. When we sedate people in the operating room, it is with a number of monitors, and personnel trained to resuscitate patients if things go bad.

Answer 4

To tell you the truth, NO. Valium is too weak a drug to break through the pain of someone in this condition. Valium and other benzodiazepines would have to be given at massive doses as answerer one said - which would be dangerous - to have any effect.

You need to get some real pain killers, and try to manage this condition the best you can - not try to "push it into a coma" - but try to deal with it, so that it has a way of working it's way into a part of daily living. There are a number of alternative cures and lifestyles that are available - I know you say you don't have insurance - but apply for SS or disability, and take this person and discuss his conditions and alternatives with a doctor.

This is the only option in making this persons life worth living. Living in a coma, is like death to me, I wouldn't want it, and I'm certain that this person doesn't really want it, they just don't want to be a burden, and always be in pain.

Answer 5

Okay first, don't bother. Living in a coma isn't really living.

Now for some better news, ask your doctor about methadone for the pain. I've put a link below that tells you why it's good. Seriously look into it it can help. As far as I can tell it's one of the best classes of pain killers out there, it lasts a long time as well.

Also there's a study out that shows that pig whipworm egg intake will give a remission rate of 50-70%, so find out if there's any studies at the moment that your partner can take part in to hopefully help manage this. I heard about this on a science show here in Canada, and one participant said that taking those eggs was nasty at first, but since it helped so much he didn't care after. It cannot hurt to look into it so please do, there's information about it all over the net.

Best of luck to you and yours.

Answer 6

What will you do when he stops breathing. Even if EMS is 2-3 minutes away that may be too long.
Someone somewhere will see him. Check in your area for clinics that see people on a sliding scale. Is there a Medical school in your area. THese have clinics that offer high quality, cutting edge treatments at low to no cost.
Who is prescribing your valium????? Buying it on the street is dicey at best.

Answer 7

there are a great number of factors to be considered here.
one big one is the law. the other is that you dont list what medications he is on now . you dont list his vitals.
i would not advice you to even think about doing this .
i would advice you to seek the help of a pain specialist.
i assume you in that great country the usa . so called greatest place on earth . and this is why you have no insurance. well too bad you not in canada or another advanced place like britain or austraila or sweden or almost any other nation. you do have some sort of semi free hosp. system there i think so go there.

Answer 8

sorry to hear about your situation. as said before it is possible, but the line could be pretty easy to cross, not sure if that would be worth the risk, but this sounds pretty close to a suicide thought and/or paln which if im not mistaken would warrant medical assitance if you were to report it. not sure if that is a route you want to go but mess up with the valium it could be bad times for both of you.

Answer 9

Yes, you can. But, at those serum levels, it's also pretty easy to induce death as well.

Doug