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My guilty secret? I've been taking the Valium pills my DOG was prescribed by the vet. But I never imagined how my girlfriends would react when I confessed all during a prosecco binge in the pub..
. By AMY BLACKWOOD Published: 11:55 BST, 28 April 2025 | Updated: 11:55 BST, 28 April 2025 e-mail View comments Caroline has been my closest friend since we were 12 years old. Despite now both being in our mid 50s, I still have this ingrained need to please her.
So when I received a text telling me she was shocked to learn of my recent behaviour, I felt crushed. My crime ? I'd admitted to her that I'd taken some prescription pills that were never intended for me..
. or any other human for that matter. When the sedative diazepam was first introduced in 1963, under the brand name Valium, it was marketed as a miracle little pill to help stressed housewives with their 'nerves.
' Wrongly thought to have no side effects or addictive qualities, before long it was in such wide use that the Rolling Stones even wrote a song – Mother's Little Helper – about the phenomenon. Millions of women became hooked on it and, as a result, doctors are now very cautious about prescribing the drug. Having taken it, I must admit it's easy to understand why it became so popular.
When I injured my back in a car accident ten years ago I was given it to help with muscular spasms. The spasms went, I slept like a baby and for the week I was on diazepam all worries and anxiety washed away. I felt relaxed, unflappable but still able to focus and do my job.
Five years later, during lockdown when we were in danger of losing the family business, I tried to get some again. However instead of offering me diazepam for my mounting anxiety and panic attacks, my GP suggested I take up meditation and go for a daily walk. Following a bout of sleepless nights, I couldn't hold out any longer and popped one of Baxter's pills With my request refused, I accepted that I wouldn't be getting my hands on it ever again.
.. or so I thought.
Several weeks ago we moved house. The last of our three children has flown the nest and so we downsized from the big family home to a smaller one. Moving, as it always is, was stressful and nobody felt it more than Baxter, our nine-year-old Miniature Schnauzer.
He loathed being uprooted from the only home he'd ever known and overnight transformed from a placid, well-trained family pet into an aggressive nightmare. When he started to have anxiety-induced seizures we took him to the vet. The vet said it was common for pets, particularly older ones, to hate house moves and prescribed a course of sedatives.
When the nurse handed over a box of diazepam I felt relieved and – I won't lie – a wee bit jealous. Read More Why 500,000 Britons who signed up to this medical research trial MUST leave it now Baxter took three doses a day and within 48 hours he was his old self again. Four days later he was off the pills altogether, with 12 remaining in the pack.
Convinced they must be some special canine version of the human drug I packed them away in a drawer, until my curiosity got the better of me. After an hour of extensive research, I was satisfied enough to throw caution to the wind. Then there was only one direction things were going to go in.
.. Later that week, following a bout of sleepless nights, I couldn't hold out any longer and popped one of Baxter's pills.
Within 20 minutes I felt relaxed, soothed and drifted off into an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep. I didn't dare tell my husband who I knew would be appalled and get straight on the phone to our junior doctor son who would, in turn, deliver the scolding I probably deserved. Afterwards I felt guilty and vowed not to be so irresponsible again.
Until the house was crawling with builders and my nerves took another battering. Four of them are here every day turning the cramped downstairs rooms into one open plan space. They're noisy, it's dirty and this week one of the clumsy oafs broke the beautiful stained glass in the front door.
Ordinarily I'd have screamed and ranted but not this time. Instead I took a dose of Baxter's diazepam, and told the builder 'no big deal, it's just a door'. Since then, there have been a couple of times when I've had a pill or two to take the edge off – before a scale and polish at the dentist, ahead of dinner with new neighbours.
Now half have gone and I did briefly wonder whether to request a repeat prescription from the vet, claiming Baxter wasn't yet back to his old self. But if they'd asked to see him I'd be well and truly busted. A few days ago, fuelled by prosecco, I confessed my secret to some girlfriends in the pub.
A couple found it amusing but most were horrified. The day after, Caroline, my oldest and most sensible friend, sent me a stern text telling me that I needed to bin the pills now and stop being so irresponsible. Feeling suitably admonished, I promised I would.
Baxter has brought so much joy to my life and he deserved better than an owner who snaffles his medicine. Now he's back to his bouncy, tail-waggy self, I'll stick to long walks and sofa cuddles with him as a way of calming down – and leave the doggie diazepam to the dogs. VIEW FROM DR MAX PEMBERTON I strongly advise against taking your pet's medication.
Attempting to self-medicate this way might sound like a quick, easy solution but could result in more problems and putting your health at risk. Animal medications are not always the same as ours, for instance, from the strength of active and non-active ingredients to different doses, and there's often no way of knowing this. Also, tablets may not have been assessed for safety in humans or contain products not suitable for our consumption.
Diazepam needs to be taken under medical supervision as it can be highly addictive (plus there's the risk of tolerance – where you're increasing the dose to achieve the same effect), and an unpleasant side effect called rebound anxiety. This is when anxiety returns worse than it was before, once you stop taking it. If you have anxiety, there are other far better medications and treatments available if you go for thorough medical consultation.
Amy Blackwood is a pseudonym The Rolling Stones Share or comment on this article: My guilty secret? I've been taking the Valium pills my DOG was prescribed by the vet. But I never imagined how my girlfriends would react when I confessed all during a prosecco binge in the pub..
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