Posted by Viridis on July 16, 2003, at 7:09:25
In reply to anti-anxiety medication, posted by Sabrina2 on July 15, 2003, at 15:47:14
This is mostly just repeating what others here have said, but since I take both Klonopin (every day) and Xanax (occasionally), here's the lowdown:
Both are benzodiazepines, and the way they work is to increase the effects of GABA on specific brain cells. GABA is like a "brake" that prevents certain brain cells (neurons) from getting over-excited and sending unnecessary "panic" messages to others neurons, which triggers an overall anxiety reaction.
Xanax and Klonopin are somewhat different in structure, and as others have pointed out, Klonopin lasts much longer than Xanax (about 12 hours vs. 3-4 hours for me). Therefore, doctors are generally more comfortable with prescribing Klonopin (= clonazepam = Rivotril; all the same thing) than Xanax (= alprazolam). This is because short-acting benzodiazepines are thought by many doctors to have more potential for dependency than long-acting ones. A lot of doctors won't prescribe Xanax (or even benzodiazepines in general) at all, which is sad because they're so effective, and very few of the people who really need them abuse them.
Benzos are great drugs for anxiety, and the main caution is that if you take them regularly and decide to go off them, you have to do so gradually. Overall, I'd recommend Klonopin for general anxiety relief, and Xanax for "flareups" (you can usually take both at the same time with no problem).
poster:Viridis
thread:242127
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030714/msgs/242397.html