# Xanax & Klonopin



## Spider1 (Jan 14, 2002)

Any thoughts on these two Benzo drugs? I went home to see family and I am changing my job. My anxiety is off the hook. I was taking Xanax daily and my doc switched me to Klonopin because it has a longer halflife and is less addictive.My anxiety is gettting to the point where I don't want to leave the house unless I absolutly have to.


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## Cindy3535 (Jun 28, 2002)

Hi Spider,







Yes I have taken Klonapin I was on 1mg at night for almost a year. I'm off of it now. It helped for a while then it stopped working and I decided to try a more natural approach. I drink Sleepytime tea to get to bed.I'm glad if you have to be on something that you switched to the Klonapin. Xanax is very highly addicting and Klonapin is as well but not at low doses. Try and stay on as low as possible and if it stops working in 4 months try something more natural if you can.Best of Luck


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## honichou (Jun 30, 2002)

I think that I have taken every, or just about every, benzodiazepine under the sun. I take them for a bit of a different reason though. I have epilepsy, and they work on one of my symptoms - a visual hallucination. However, I can tell you this. In terms of anxiety, Klonipin did absolutely nothing for me. My psychiatrist hates Xanax because of its very short half life. It wears off after about 4 hours. If you need to be on something for anxiety, have you thought about one of the serotonin reuptake inhibitors? They are used for panic disorder. If you really need a benzodiazepine, I'm all for the older drugs - diazepam. I have been using it for a long time (again to keep an epileptic symptom at bay). It's got its own issues in terms of build up in fatty tissues, but that can be an advantage as you build up your own reserve of it and you don't go into daily withdrawal as with Xanax. Just some suggestions; I am not a physician.Steven


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## spider (Sep 26, 2001)

Thanks for the replies. Yeah, I am starting prozac and the thinking is that once it kicks in I won't need the Klonopin. I have been taking it as needed, so not all the time.


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## slacker (Mar 23, 2002)

Theres a ton of benzos, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Like someone said, Xanax (Alprazolam) is the most potent and has a short half-life and is considered the most addictive, and the most "recreational" partly because of its "extra" effects. It has some other effects like muscle relaxation, sedation, and sometimes euphoria (or agitation). I would agree that it has more of an "intoxicating" feel to it than some other benzos, adjusting for dosage of course. Valium (Diazepam) also has some of these "recreational" effects, but a much longer half-life, and is thus safer and less addictive. I currently take Ativan (Lorazepam). It is being used more and more versus other benzos because it is less addictive, has a medium half-life, and doesn't build up in your system (good for old people). Less addictive partly because it doesn't have the "recreational" effects and other side effects. It does just what it is supposed to do (anti-anxiety) with minimal other effects. For me, all I noticed was Minimal sedation for a couple days until I was used to it. It is half as potent. So if you take .5mg of Xanax 3 times a day the equivalent dose of Ativan is 1mg 3 times. I would say, with its 2x adjustment, subjectively it is equally effective for anxiety as Xanax. Maybe even more later in the day, due to the longer half life. No withdrawal between pills or if your late for one or even overnight, really, I'm not positive about the halflife off-hand but I'm remembering reading 10-20 hrs. It is defintely adequate. If anyones worried about addiction, between pill withdrawal, side effects, etc, if you talk to your doctor im sure they would have no problem switching you to it, as it is widely agreed to be among the safest and absolutely more so than Xanax and Valium. That is, assuming you don't have a condition besides just plain anxiety, otherwise you may be on a specific benzo for a reason. Also, if you are on Xanax now and cutting them in half, you won't have to anymore.1mg Xanax = 2mg Ativan = 10mg ValiumSlacker


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