What is the Difference Between Diazepam and Temazepam

The key difference between diazepam and temazepam is that diazepam is helpful in relaxing and sleeping, whereas temazepam is useful in treating anxiety.

Diazepam and temazepam are important medications. Diazepam is a medication that acts as an anxiolytic, while temazepam is a medication useful in treating insomnia.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Diazepam
3. What is Temazepam
4. Diazepam vs Temazepam in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Diazepam vs Temazepam

What is Diazepam?

Diazepam is a medication that acts as an anxiolytic. It is marketed as Valium. This medication is commonly used in treating a range of conditions which include anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome, muscle spasms, and insomnia. Moreover, we can use diazepam to cause memory loss during certain medical procedures.

The routes of administration of diazepam include oral administration, insertion into the rectum, injection into muscles, injection into a vein, or as a nasal spray. Upon administration, the effects tend to begin within 1 to 5 minutes. It may last up to an hour. When taken orally, the effects begin to appear within 15 – 60 minutes.

There can be some side effects such as sleepiness and trouble with coordination. However, there can be some serious side effects as well, which include suicide, decreased breathing, and increased risk of seizures when it is used frequently in people having epilepsy. Furthermore, long-term use can cause potentially dangerous effects.

The bioavailability of diazepam is about 76%, and the metabolism occurs in the liver. The elimination half-life of this drug is about 20-100 hours. The excretion occurs in the kidney. The use of this drug is not recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

What is Temazepam?

Temazepam is a medication useful in treating insomnia. The brand name of this drug is Restoril. The use of this drug should be limited to about 10 days. It is usually taken orally, and the effects tend to generally begin within an hour and last for around 8 hours.

There are some common side effects, including sleepiness, anxiety, confusion, and dizziness. There can be some serious side effects such as hallucination, abuse, anaphylaxis, and suicide. It is not suitable to use this medication along with opioids. Also, it is not recommended for use during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

The bioavailability of diazepam is about 96%. The metabolism of this medication occurs in the liver. The elimination half-life of this drug ranges from 8 to 20 hours. The excretion occurs in the kidney. However, this medication is not suitable for people having ataxia, severe hypoventilation, acute-narrow-angle glaucoma, severe hepatic, sleep apnea, severe depression, acute intoxication with alcohol, etc.

What is the Difference Between Diazepam and Temazepam?

Diazepam is a medication that acts as an anxiolytic, while temazepam is a medication useful in treating insomnia. The key difference between diazepam and temazepam is that diazepam is helpful in relaxing and sleeping, whereas temazepam is useful in treating anxiety. In addition, the routes of administration for diazepam include oral administration, insertion into the rectum, injection into muscles, injection into a vein, or as a nasal spray, while the routes of administration for temazepam is oral administration.

The below infographic presents the differences between diazepam and temazepam in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Diazepam vs Temazepam

Diazepam and temazepam are important medications. The key difference between diazepam and temazepam is that diazepam is helpful in relaxing and sleeping, whereas temazepam is useful in treating anxiety.

Reference:

1. “Temazepam to Diazepam Equivalence in Hypnotic Withdrawal.”  General Practice Notebook.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Diazepam structure” By User:Mysid – PubChem (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Temazepam” By Harbin – PubChem (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia