It should also be remember that clonazepam is a strong anti-seizure med. it is prescribed in many countries for seizures/ epilepsy,etc only and not for anxiety. I only mention it because once you've been on it for a while you will need to taper down and not stop abruptly. This goes for all benzos, but given the anti epileptic properties of clons you have to keep the rebound effect in mind. Just food for thought.
Den
(03-20-2017, 10:14 PM)Denman66 Wrote: [ -> ]It should also be remember that clonazepam is a strong anti-seizure med. it is prescribed in many countries for seizures/ epilepsy,etc only and not for anxiety. I only mention it because once you've been on it for a while you will need to taper down and not stop abruptly. This goes for all benzos, but given the anti epileptic properties of clons you have to keep the rebound effect in mind. Just food for thought.
Den
while your right about epileptic use,but every benzo once addicted comes with seizure risk if seizing CT,thus clonz properties being epileptic doesnt make it more dangerous then xanax,only benefit between two is that clonazepam has longer half life,but not as long as valium.
Longer half lifes are NOT necessarily a benefit.......many downsides to long "half life"....particularly regarding buildup.
if we would speak about person who is relatively new to benzos and is only taking as needed,then short life benzo is way to go,but if someone is tapering that short life is hell since your constantly in wd's ,thats why asthton manual always refers person to switch over to valium,otherwise many fail to taper since its on/off kinda battle 24/7
There is no short life Benz that is short enough to NOT build up in the body.....if taken daily.
1/2 life refers to how long it remains in the body....not how long it affects the body mind, although there is an imprecise correlation....
Correct Popster,the half life means time until body metabolizes it,also think some of it even can be stored in fat tissue,not quite sure for fact thou.But general effects still play major role,since valium builds up thus if one takes same dosages every day eventually they take more since the buildup,where xanax is cleared so fast that effects last few hours and w/ds kick in,thus while all benzos could build up,one that clears faster in this case say xanax would feel instant,compared to valium where come down is more gradual.
Anyhow never really tried clonazepam,only alps and vals,thus will be looking in the future to see if can get smth of both worlds,strong enough and smth that lasts once buildup.
If it is to mange panic attacks, I would go alp, but if its social anixety clon works, but alp works best for me
I switched from 1mg alprazolam to .5mg clonopin and then finally back again (before I was cut off altogether by an evil doc).
I found the clonopin OK at controlling anxiety but felt mild, lingering depression.
Xanax is the only one that controls my anxiety and does not induce this depression.
Ativan was the worst for depression, was very severe and I had lethargy too.
I've always been on a low dose of any benzo and only take once/day (morning/afternoon usually).
I've read so many different accounts of these various drugs and can only conclude that different people react differently depending on their chemcial makeup. So which is 'better' is really subjective.
I also don't believe that longer acting benzos are necessarily 'easier' to get off of. (Perhaps they are for the high-dose user).
I've had the best luck getting off alpraz several times, with a proper taper (minimum 1 month), it was barely noticeable.
I think they're like opiates, the shorter acting ones might be more intense initially, but it will be for a much shorter duration.
I'd rather have a week of fairly intense w/d and be over with it than enduring months and months of malaise.
That said, I don't know if I'll ever be able to survive without them after 20 years being on them.
recently had a chance to get sample amount of clonz,and since have had enough xanax,id say maybe valium is best of the two.Now i have high tolerance but take small amounts thus my opinion might be skewed.
clonz seem more energetic as no clouding,but slow onset for me personally is hard to tell how good it works,using before sleep i must be doing smth wrong since i still end up wide awake till early hours of the morning,if taken early in the morning i think its best time since few hours later i feel (normal) .
xanax on the other hand is go to sleep pill that 8/10 times works ok,but eventually waking up mid night sleep becomes skewed,also mornings are somewhat groggy and anxious,thus the short effects.
valium i found is once you take enough it carries trough most of the day,granted its not great for panic or sudden anxiety situations and a bit slow onset,but
for me seems most stable of the bunch.
i consider benzos the "sneaky med" that start working before you realize it... this especially true of clon for me, it has a softer touch. so i follow the typical pattern of when in maintenance of homeostasis mode clon is the longer lasting more subtle but effective choice, but if i am freaking out/having a very bad panic episode i want something to start working immediately and i want to notice it working which will further calm me down, where alp is the better choice for me personally. there is extended release alp but i have no experience with that. i would say i would rather be managing my anxiety well and not need alp than to have it and having to manage crisis/breakdowns on a regular basis.
- S.