Shown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Allan on September 20, 2004, at 17:41:40
Does anyone have any favorable experiences with Xanax XR? Is it harder to get off of than Klonopin? Does it cause less of a depressant effect? What about cognition / memory impairment?
I'm on Klonopin .5 twice a day (along with effexor) but am thinking about switching to Xanax XR.
Posted by chess on September 21, 2004, at 8:15:31
In reply to Xanax XR vs. Klonopin?, posted by Allan on September 20, 2004, at 17:41:40
It's an individual thing how people respond, but for me XanaxXR has so far worked just as well as Klonopin and is very much less sedating than Klonopin
Posted by 4mygrls on September 22, 2004, at 17:32:41
In reply to Re: Xanax XR vs. Klonopin?, posted by chess on September 21, 2004, at 8:15:31
i'm taking klonopin. 2mg nightly to sleep and 05mg in the morning for anxiety. But i decided i want off it. it's making me depressed. my husband has noticed the change in me since i got back on klonopin.last night i took 1mg k. i took my .5 this morning. oh, and it's making me so tired. you say xanax xr is not as sedating? would it have a less of a depressent affect than the k. i'm beginning to hate klonopin and i'm really mad at my pdoc for putting me back on it. i read all about it on rx list and i shouldn't be taking it according to all of the possible side affects. i read that you can switch straight from k to xanax without any taper since they are both benzos. is that true. i have an appt with my pdoc tomorrow and we are going to have a few words.
Posted by utopizen on September 23, 2004, at 9:21:02
In reply to I would really like to get some more input on this, posted by 4mygrls on September 22, 2004, at 17:32:41
> i'm taking klonopin. 2mg nightly to sleep and 05mg in the morning for anxiety.
Switch to Ambien, or try Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, for insomnia. CBT is more effective than sleep meds for insomnia according to a recent study. Since I switched to CBT for sleep, I can literally take excessive doses of amphetamines and still sleep on them. Try that, Ambien!
Switching to CBT or Ambien would mean you could reduce your dose to .5 or 1mg/day, still get the relief from Klonopin, and possibly not have so much in your system after a week or two washout so you could get the relief without the depression that higher doses may cause...
just a suggestion.
Posted by Allan on September 23, 2004, at 16:28:22
In reply to Re: Xanax XR vs. Klonopin?, posted by chess on September 21, 2004, at 8:15:31
I'm taking Klonopin .5 twice a day ... how much xanax xr does this amount to? Should I take it twice a day too?
Posted by utopizen on September 25, 2004, at 15:37:50
In reply to Re: Xanax XR vs. Klonopin?, posted by Allan on September 23, 2004, at 16:28:22
> I'm taking Klonopin .5 twice a day ... how much xanax xr does this amount to? Should I take it twice a day too?
>For me, the amount of my total daily dose of Klonopin that I took equaled about 1/2 of how much Xanax XR I needed when I switched to Xanax (only to switch back!) So I took 3mg of Klonopin, then switched to 6mg of Xanax.
Some docs think 1mg Klonopin=1mg of Xanax, but it's not that simple. You need to start on the equivocal amount (numerically the same), and increase if you aren't noticing the same level of benefit.
So you need to see if 1mg of Klonopin/day can equal 1mg of Xanax XR, and then slowly go up if you need to until you find adequete relief.
Frankly, my advice is don't touch Xanax, because if you ever want to switch back to Klonopin like I did you wind up making your pdoc anxious about slowly tapering down. So in other words, you have to spend about a month with little or no Xanax before you can switch back to another benzo like Klonopin.
In other words, I don't advise messing with Xanax. Unlike Klonopin, Xanax can be PHYSICALLY addictive-- meaning you will be addicted before realizing it. Your hand will literally open the vial of the stuff like it's being guided by a Weegie board. Been there, done that with prescribed Vicodin, and it took me a couple of weeks to realize I was rationalizing using it beyond the recommended dose AFTER my pain was gone.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.