Posted by Caper on June 2, 2004, at 2:11:42
In reply to Xanax to Klonopin or Ativan?, posted by amyedwa on May 18, 2004, at 16:20:17
Hi,
I agree with the previous posts, you definitely want to go with the medicine with the longest half-life, Klonopin. The shorter time a med lasts, the more you take and the more you crave.
I've detoxed from alcohol with Ativan (short acting- a bit longer than Xanax) and with Librium (one of the longest lasting, along with Valium). The Librium detoxes were by far the easier- much more comfortable. Plus they come in 25mg and 10mg capsules, so you start with one or two 25mg and then only one 25mg, then go down to 10mg only if you're having withdrawal symptoms.
If you could get an Rx for Librium that might be ideal. It hits you slowly, but fades away slowly too, so you're not caught up in that vicious cycle of quickly needing more because Xanax wears off so fast. With long acting benzodiazapines you don't notice that it's wearing off suddenly. It's very gentle.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Caper
> I am currently on a pretty high dose of Xanax (between 4 mg and 6 mg daily) and have found myself becoming quite tolerant of the drug (though it was great for the first 6 months or so. Anyway, I'd eventually like to ween off of it completely and become semi-normal again (I also take 20 mg of Paxil and Seroquel before bedtime) but my anxiety during the day is just awful. I hear that Klonopin and Ativan are decent replacements for withdrawing and would like any help I can get (especially because I have built up a tolerance to the Xanax and run out very quickly). I have a script for the both of them, but am unsure of what dosage will work. Truley my doc is clueless and due to insurance reasons I cannot change him right now.
poster:Caper
thread:348281
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20040409/msgs/352913.html