![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by cache-monkey on December 22, 2004, at 10:40:28
Hey all,
This is really just out of curiousity more than anything, although partially out of personal interest. I've seen a lot of discussion about various benzos on this board, but it's only rarely that I hear one of the big daddies, Valium, mentioned. Instead, most of the discussion is about the newer benzos: Klonopin, Xanax, and Ativan.
But, Valium seems to have the longest half life out of the benzos, which would seem to make it more easy to wean off of, both physically and psychologically. (For the latter: dosing isn't tied to the anxiety-making event, so the mind is maybe tricked into thinking that you've somehow made it through on your own.) I believe that all benzos also hit the same GABA receptors, making them equivalent in anxiety reduction.
So, I'm wondering how come Valium seems to have fallen out of favor. Am I wrong about the equivalence? Or is it a matter of side effects? Or do the Valium users out there just not post to this board? Or what?
*cache-monkey
Posted by dawnfawn on December 22, 2004, at 10:50:24
In reply to Does anyone take Valium anymore?, posted by cache-monkey on December 22, 2004, at 10:40:28
I take valium occasionally. I've never taken the others it seems to work fine for me.
Posted by cubbybear on December 22, 2004, at 11:01:21
In reply to Does anyone take Valium anymore?, posted by cache-monkey on December 22, 2004, at 10:40:28
You raise some very good questions. I myself found Valium terrific for weaning off the final minuscule amounts of Klonopin last year (i.e. taking the equivalent amount).
I've made a mental note that Valium is supposedly helpful as a muscle relaxant, just in case. After all, that's one of the original, "official" indications for it.
Posted by Lucylooo on December 22, 2004, at 13:01:00
In reply to Re: Does anyone take Valium anymore? » cache-monkey, posted by cubbybear on December 22, 2004, at 11:01:21
> You raise some very good questions. I myself found Valium terrific for weaning off the final minuscule amounts of Klonopin last year (i.e. taking the equivalent amount).
~~~~~~I'm curious to know what you mean by miniscule, and how long you'd been on the klonopin? I've been given 10 pills of clonazapam, .5 mg each, and directed to take half a pill twice a day for a week, then half a pill a day, and no refills. I'm concerned about setting myself up for possible withdrawal at the end of 2 weeks, I've never taken this drug before. Do you have any idea? Thanks, Lucy
Posted by tensor on December 22, 2004, at 13:31:21
In reply to Cubbybear can I ask you a question?, posted by Lucylooo on December 22, 2004, at 13:01:00
>Re: Cubbybear can I ask you a question?
Sorry to interfere..
but i don't think you'll get addicted to klonopin after two weeks, you'll do fine. A month is generally required to get addicted, and your are taking a relatively small dose.Best wishes,
Mattias
Posted by Lucylooo on December 22, 2004, at 13:41:39
In reply to Re: Cubbybear can I ask you a question? » Lucylooo, posted by tensor on December 22, 2004, at 13:31:21
Posted by tensor on December 22, 2004, at 15:58:43
In reply to Does anyone take Valium anymore?, posted by cache-monkey on December 22, 2004, at 10:40:28
Posted by cubbybear on December 24, 2004, at 0:10:52
In reply to Cubbybear can I ask you a question?, posted by Lucylooo on December 22, 2004, at 13:01:00
> > You raise some very good questions. I myself found Valium terrific for weaning off the final minuscule amounts of Klonopin last year (i.e. taking the equivalent amount).
>
> ~~~~~~I'm curious to know what you mean by miniscule, and how long you'd been on the klonopin? I've been given 10 pills of clonazapam, .5 mg each, and directed to take half a pill twice a day for a week, then half a pill a day, and no refills. I'm concerned about setting myself up for possible withdrawal at the end of 2 weeks, I've never taken this drug before. Do you have any idea? Thanks, LucyYou didn't say how long you've been taking the Klonopin, and this is a crucial factor. If you've been on it for several weeks or months, then you might have a problem coming off of it this quickly. But it wouldn't be you who'd be setting you up for withdrawal problems. It would be the doctor who, for whatever reason, may be jumping the gun and forcing you to withdraw too fast. That happened to me at one point during decrease in dosage and the doctor refused to allow me to go slower. I had no choice but to change doctors to someone who was sympathetic and knowledgeable about a reasonably-paced decrease.
As for me, I had been on Klonopin all told for about 1-1/2 years, coming down from a high of about 3.75 mg./day. I don't recall the exact number, but it was at around the .375 mg. mark that I switched to the equivalent amount of Valium. I used the tapering schedule provided on the website www.benzo.org.uk (I think that's the address) and followed it with total success. Don't get frightened off by all the material on that website regarding dangers of benzodiazepines. Just focus on the tapering charts for the withdrawal and you shouldn't have any trouble. I'd even recommend copying the schedule and presenting it to the docto. If the doctor refuses to go along with this, then cut your session short, and try to find someone else.
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.