Posted by Louise on December 4, 1999, at 11:19:09
In reply to Re: social anxiety - benzos - to Louise., posted by Rick on December 3, 1999, at 14:17:09
Rick,
I'm certainly not benzophobic, but for whatever reason I wasn't able to tolerate Klonopin, and it's true that we're all different. However, according to several pdocs I've talked with, Klonopin is well known to cause depression in SOME people.
It's silly to say that just because a benzo is longer lasting that it's less likely to cause dependency. Any benzo will eventually cause dependency if taken continually for several weeks.
For me, the big issue is not dependency. I don't have a problem being dependent for the rest of my life on a medication that allows me to function normally. If Xanax, Ativan, Valium, and even Klonopin allows you, me or anyone else to have a good quality of life, then what's the big deal?!
BTW, if the benzo equivalency chart is inaccurate, I would be interested in seeing it corrected, although most people I've talked with have pretty much agreed with its accuracy.
Louise
> Louise -
>
> Sorry to hear about your bad experience with Klonopin. But you'll note that -- despite my pdoc's pronouncement that he has rarely seen a withdrawal problem in a situation like mine -- I am very careful to use qualifiers like "primarily" in my posts. I did not, and would not, make an absolute statement, because I know there are sometimes cases like yours where things work out differently. While research and years of professional experience have conclusively demostrated that Klonopin is far less likely to cause withdrawal difficulties than the shorter-acting benzo Xanax, that certainly does not mean no one ever has the opposite reaction (or rebound anxiety which presents as withdrawal symptoms). You said it yourself: everybody's different. Statistically speaking some people are going to end up as outliers, or atypical cases.
>
> As for the relative potency of the two benzos, I could write a thesis here. (And I hate to point this out once again, but some parts of Dr. Bob's wonderful site have info which is controversial and/or has not been updated with the most recent research -- including the benzo equivalency chart.) But suffice to say that, here again, individual body chemistry is a more important determinant of benzo "equivalencies" than some set mathematical formula. To get the same anti-anxiety effect as X mg. of Xanax, Person A may need X/2 mg. of Klonopin, Person B needs X mg. of K, person C needs 2X mg., and person D just doesn't get any help from it at all.
> This is why, even more so than for antidepressants, you often see the term "highly individualized" applied to benzo dosing.
> For me, .5 mg of Xanax puts me to sleep, while I can take .5 mg of Klonopin with no fatigue at all.
> Rick
poster:Louise
thread:15816
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991123/msgs/16189.html