Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 609615

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Ativan or Clonazepam

Posted by KarenRB53 on February 14, 2006, at 21:44:02

I've used Ativan in the past and it works great however my doctor wants me to switch to Clonazepam because of its longer half life. Whats the difference if I just take Ativan more often? I find the Clonazepam makes me a lot more tired than Ativan. Is there much of a difference between the 2 other than the half life?
Thanks
Karen

 

Re: Ativan or Clonazepam » KarenRB53

Posted by Phillipa on February 14, 2006, at 21:52:05

In reply to Ativan or Clonazepam, posted by KarenRB53 on February 14, 2006, at 21:44:02

I found clonazepam depressing but not the ativan. Just more frequent dosing. Fondly, Phillipa

 

Re: Ativan or Clonazepam

Posted by med_empowered on February 15, 2006, at 0:49:33

In reply to Re: Ativan or Clonazepam » KarenRB53, posted by Phillipa on February 14, 2006, at 21:52:05

Klonopin is emerging as the "it" benzo..it lasts a long time, people dont seem to abuse it as much as xanax, plus its well studied for social phobia. That said..if you're doing well on Ativan, I don't see why you'd switch. Ativan requires more dosing, but its not as bad as xanax, and its "cleaner" than most other benzos, including Klonopin. Klonopin was developed for epilepsy, and it has more anticonvulsant-style side effects...it can also cause/worsen depression more often than the other benzos.

Personally, I'd stay on Ativan.

 

Re: Ativan or Clonazepam

Posted by fenix on February 15, 2006, at 12:04:47

In reply to Ativan or Clonazepam, posted by KarenRB53 on February 14, 2006, at 21:44:02

> I've used Ativan in the past and it works great however my doctor wants me to switch to Clonazepam because of its longer half life. Whats the difference if I just take Ativan more often? I find the Clonazepam makes me a lot more tired than Ativan. Is there much of a difference between the 2 other than the half life?
> Thanks
> Karen

There are some differences; such are the delights of benzodiazepines. It is a sort of complicated
thing. But anyway, benzodiazepines will generally differ in strength concerning these following effects (noting that they all produce these effects to an extent):

anxiolytic (anxiety reduction; anxiety lysis)
anti-spasmodic (muscular assuagement)
anti-convulsant (relieves or prevents convulsions)
anterograde amnesia (events that happen after that which caused the condition (in this case a benzodiazepine) don't transfer to declaritive long-term memory)
hypnotic (sleep induction; drowsiness)

Your doctor may want you to change benzodiazepines for whatever reason and you should probably ask why.

This is useful:

http://dr-bob.org/tips/bzd.html

As you can see, Ativan and Klonopin are both very potent relative to Valium. Not a big deal, one just takes more Valium to make up for this.

From my experience with Klonopin (clonazepam), it lasts a very long time, is less anti-spasmodic than Valium (diazepam), etc. The variables and such are complicating; remember to factor in the individual's "chemistry" as well as the relative dosages, and also the manufacturer and the specific form of the pill.


 

Re: Ativan or Clonazepam

Posted by tizza on February 17, 2006, at 0:21:14

In reply to Re: Ativan or Clonazepam, posted by fenix on February 15, 2006, at 12:04:47

I didn't find ativan very helpful at all and it wears off very quickly, but on the other hand I found klonopin too strong and it made me quite forgetful and foggy. Valium seems to work best for me, you'll just have to see which one works best for you. You might have to try a few different flavors to figure it out, good luck Paul

 

Re: Ativan or Clonazepam

Posted by Greif on February 18, 2006, at 12:19:18

In reply to Re: Ativan or Clonazepam, posted by tizza on February 17, 2006, at 0:21:14

I have (unfortunely) been on all 3. Patients tend to seek early refills or Ativan and Xanax. Xanax can produce a Euphoria for a while so they are hard to gap dosages due do discomfort after 3-4 hours. I switched to K by request. The side effects (drowsiness, fogginess) wear off after a few weaks...lots of methods for transition that should make it seamless. There is no reason one would abuse K IMHO due to the more benign (but efective) effects. 2-3 mg day at max...may work for you. I resisted it for years because I loved Xanax


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