Posted by mattdds on August 30, 2003, at 22:48:54
In reply to Re: Parnate trial, etc. » mattdds, posted by Budgie on August 30, 2003, at 22:05:40
Chris,
About the Klonopin question you had:
>>That's good news. Isn't it less addictive when you don't take it on a regular schedule? I hope that means that only a tiny bit will help me a lot. I'm a philosophy major, so I'm really afraid of losing any of these "mind-clarifying effects," as you say. I *need* to feel like I sound intelligent and coherent in class (but maybe this is a separate therapy issue). :)
I wouldn't call it "addictive", but I think I know what you mean. I'm guessing that you mean that you become dependent on it if you take it for a longer than a couple of weeks. This is absolutely right. But I think only a select few become "addicted", in the medical sense. However, you *will* need to taper your dose very slowly when you decide it's time to discontinue. The PDR cites a study that when people were tapered over 7 weeks, the withdrawal side effects tended to be very mild.
There are a couple of major advantages of taking Klonopin regularly, which I'll try to explain.
1. The benzodiazepine family (of which Klonopin is a member) tend to produce what some call "differential tolerance", that is, tolerance builds to certain effects and not to others. Conveniently, tolerance usually builds to the sedative and "slowing" effects rapidly. However, the generalized anxiolytic and certainly anti-panic effects **do not** typically create tolerance. I've taken the same dose of Klonopin for over a year with no loss of benefit for panic during social situations. Actually, I would say it's better now, because I have *zero* noticible side effects, no kidding! So what you wind up with after regular dosing is a very clean anxiolytic without sedation or "brain fog"!
I actually believe that Klonopin has *sharpened* my thinking, if anything. Anxiety is a huge intellect killer for me. It also robs me of all spontanaity in social situations.
This is why benzos, in my opinion, are poor sleep drugs, they poop out quickly.
2. There is some evidence that benzodiazepines **when taken p.r.n. - or as needed**, interfere with CBT treatment. This is not seen when benzos are taken on a regular basis. I know this seems contrary to intuition, but this is what the research shows. I think this is because, p.r.n. usage is a form of "escape behavior", which defeats the purpose of some CBT assignments. Steady dosing *do not* have this effect, for some reason or another. This is what the studies have shown. Weird, eh?
Yeah, we'll chat CBT when you get back. I go back to school on tuesday. Have a great trip.
Matt
poster:mattdds
thread:254616
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030828/msgs/255805.html