I start to use the Valium (diazepam) because of anxiety problems. I'm pre-op MtF (without orchidectomy)

I have one question: Does this drug rise testosterone in blood?
I have found informations in the internet that short administration of this drug rises the blood testosterone and chronic administration of this drug lowers the testosterone (in men).

Is there any MtF person which have used this drug? Do you have any experience in this matter with this drug?

Is here any MtF pre-op or no-op person which use or used this or similar drug and can answer whether te testosterone was in female range? If Yes, please send me a private message.

Sorry for my english.

Call your pharmacist. A thousand times more reliable than an Internet search. Moreover, a couple websites that are relatively reliable that I saw made no mention of such a side effect.

And to begin with, if you're on anti-androgens, nothing, except maybe an injection of testosterone, would do much to your testosterone levels.

Quote from: A on October 20, 2012, 08:15:11 PM
Call your pharmacist. A thousand times more reliable than an Internet search. Moreover, a couple websites that are relatively reliable that I saw made no mention of such a side effect.

And to begin with, if you're on anti-androgens, nothing, except maybe an injection of testosterone, would do much to your testosterone levels.

How scientific. One source is a thousand times more reliable than a collation of hundreds of scientific journal sources.
The internet in the eyes of a scientific mind is extremely reliable, more so than many so called professionals.

Although I will admit a pharmacist has generally undergone education far in excess of anything they will ever need for the job they do. They're very overqualified.

Quote from: Katze on October 20, 2012, 07:33:16 PM
I start to use the Valium (diazepam) because of anxiety problems. I'm pre-op MtF (without orchidectomy)

I have one question: Does this drug rise testosterone in blood?
I have found informations in the internet that short administration of this drug rises the blood testosterone and chronic administration of this drug lowers the testosterone (in men).

Is there any MtF person which have used this drug? Do you have any experience in this matter with this drug?

Sorry for my english.

There's no evidence I can find to suggest Diazepam would raise your testosterone in the blood, it may well lower it although the study I saw on that was administering doses to rats far far in excess of what you would usually be taking even if you were abusing diazepam.

And on that note, be careful with Benzodiazepines like Diazapam, they can be addictive and benzodiazepines have one of the harshest withdrawals going around.

I have made blood tests iin the laboratorium and the testosterone level is unchanged - 0.32ng.ml before start and 0.30 during administration.

BTW. I know that benzodiazepines can be addictive but other drugs cannot help me. I use Valium in small doses (smaller than in the leaflet).


   

Quote from: Asfsd4214 on October 20, 2012, 10:43:37 PM
Although I will admit a pharmacist has generally undergone education far in excess of anything they will ever need for the job they do. They're very overqualified.

I don't think that is the case.  Theoretically a pharmacist is supposed to be a final check for a patient, to gate keep potential mistakes with drug interactions and allergies.  All the study they go through is supposed to be for that, but sad to say, the reality is that most pharacists are more like talking pez dispensers (j/k) once they're out and working due to sheer workload that most of them have.

I don't know how it is in the US and whatnot, but here, pharmacists are highly qualified and in various fields considered as competent as doctors. A debate is actually open about giving them the right to accomplish certain doctor's tasks to remove some workload from these.

Quote from: A on October 24, 2012, 04:15:35 PM
I don't know how it is in the US and whatnot, but here, pharmacists are highly qualified and in various fields considered as competent as doctors. A debate is actually open about giving them the right to accomplish certain doctor's tasks to remove some workload from these.

Well at least then they'd be able to make a bit more use with their education, currently sticking labels on bottles and giving the most basic advice hardly warrants the level of education they receive.

Quote from: Asfsd4214 on October 24, 2012, 09:29:38 PM

Quote from: A on October 24, 2012, 04:15:35 PM
I don't know how it is in the US and whatnot, but here, pharmacists are highly qualified and in various fields considered as competent as doctors. A debate is actually open about giving them the right to accomplish certain doctor's tasks to remove some workload from these.

Well at least then they'd be able to make a bit more use with their education, currently sticking labels on bottles and giving the most basic advice hardly warrants the level of education they receive.

It's actually pharmacy technicians who slap labels on bottles and refer any questions by patients to the pharmacist who can't do anything advice wise because of lack of information about conditions the patient may or may not have. And with eventual increases in education requirements to become a pharma tech, and increasing workload (compounding), kinda hard not to wonder about the future of the phd pharmacist other than glorified supervisor even though the techs can't legally do what little advice and administration the phd's do.

Well, uhm. The way I know it, pharmacists are the primary professionals people go to when they have a health need that doesn't require a doctor, especially old people, I notice. Old people go there to talk about their blood pressure, for example, and they actually do consultations pretty often. I've heard of people whose doctor couldn't see them so easily and who could hardly go wait 12+ hours at the ER for a prescription for their sick child who went to the pharmacist, who did a check, transmitted a diagnosis impression to the doctor, who faxed back the prescription.

The only thing is that they're not quite doctors and they themselves can only prescribe non-prescription-only medications - which is still useful because it can make the medication covered by insurance.

But maybe that's solely prompted by the lack of doctors. :p

Quote from: Flan on October 24, 2012, 10:18:06 PM
It's actually pharmacy technicians who slap labels on bottles and refer any questions by patients to the pharmacist who can't do anything advice wise because of lack of information about conditions the patient may or may not have. And with eventual increases in education requirements to become a pharma tech, and increasing workload (compounding), kinda hard not to wonder about the future of the phd pharmacist other than glorified supervisor even though the techs can't legally do what little advice and administration the phd's do.

Compounding is increasing? This is news to me, and my aunt is a pharmacist of 20 years. Compounding historically has been declining for the last 70 years, but if you know something I don't I'd be more than happy to listen.

Also, I'm fairly sure, here at least, both pharmacists and the staff put labels on bottles depending on how busy things are. You're right though it's more common for the techs to do it.
Pharmacists can provide basic advice. They can suggest medications up to what Australia classifies as Schedule 3 medications (Pharmacist advice required, e.g. certain formations of sudafed, benadryl, any painkiller containing codeine, but not requiring a prescription (Schedules 4 and ), and can give advice on when to take it, what not to take with it, etc. Largely anything that doesn't require a prescription. If they need to know what other conditions a patient has, they ask and ask what other medications they take.

My feeling is they're competent enough to be given prescription power, that or we should lower the requirements for most medications so that pharmacists can authorize their purchase, especially when doctors are so overloaded. For all this forum raves on about the danger of prescription medications and if you don't see a doctor YOU WILL DIE HORRIBLY. Most of the medications in the prescription only realm can be used even incorrectly without harm. If they didn't people would drop like flies due to the level of incompetence of so many doctors I've seen.