Posted by cache-monkey on March 26, 2005, at 13:45:54
Hey all,
So, I've been trying to go the benzo route lately, upon a strong recommendation from my therapist. Xanax works the best for me at about 1-1.25 mg per day. Problem is the inter-dose rebound anxiety and the difficulty with eventual discontinuation.
The XR version of Xanax didn't work for me. Maybe my digestive system rips through all the layering too quickly, but it was like 3 hours of intense sedation, another 3 hours of anxiolysis, then nothing.
Klonopin also didn't work: excessive sedation relative to anxiolysis, and some sexual dysfunction.
I'm now trying Valium and was pleased by my first 2 mg dose. Problem is, I'm not sure what amount of Valium equates to 1-1.25 mg of Xanax.
According to Dr. Bob's tips [1], 1 mg of alprazolam should be ~ 10 mg of diazepam. I've seen this also at the on-line Family Practice Notebook [2], and in an article in the American Family Physician on discontinuation/withdrawal [3].
But, C. Heather Ashton, who has written an extensive manual on benzos and discontinuation, claims that 1 mg of alprazolam should be ~ *20* mg of diazepam [4].
What gives? Maybe it's because Ashton's equivalence chart is geared toward cross-tapering to diazepam for discontinuation. I.e. just to make the transition smoother (since not all benzos are perfectly interchangeable), she inflates the diazepam equivalent?
Anyway, if anyone, from personal experience, might be able to tell me what amount of Valium they found to equate to a workable Xanax dose, I would be much obliged.
Thank,
cache-monkey[1] http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/bzd.html
[2] http://www.fpnotebook.com/PSY163.htm
[3] http://www.aafp.org/afp/980700ap/miller.html
[4] http://www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm
poster:cache-monkey
thread:475854
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050326/msgs/475854.html