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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 13 of 13. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Phillipa on August 6, 2006, at 15:23:24
Here we go again which is better klonopin brandname or valium? I know we go over and over this but I need to know. So please bear with me. Love Phillipa
Posted by bassman on August 6, 2006, at 16:26:41
In reply to Difference Between Klonopin and Valium whitch is b, posted by Phillipa on August 6, 2006, at 15:23:24
Phillipa, I'm confused by your question. Do you mean Klonopin (generic name clonazepam) versus Valium (generic name diazepam)...don't know what you mean by "better". Valium is supposed to have a longer half-life in the blood than Klonopin, etc. (?).
Posted by Phillipa on August 6, 2006, at 16:39:50
In reply to Re: Difference Between Klonopin and Valium whitch is b, posted by bassman on August 6, 2006, at 16:26:41
Sorry it is a bit confusing. Someone told me that the brand name klonopin was differant to the generic. But it didn't matter brand or generic in the valium. Does this make more sense? I know this has been discussed before. I'm sorry to bring it up again. But it's important to me as generic klonopin I hated depressed me. Valium doesn't matter with me generic what ever. Love Phillipa
Posted by bassman on August 6, 2006, at 17:14:55
In reply to Re: Difference Between Klonopin and Valium whitch is b » bassman, posted by Phillipa on August 6, 2006, at 16:39:50
Ah, the old "generic versus brand" thing. Klonopin depresses me, too. Valium does nothing. I did see an article in which the generic alprazolam was substituted for Xanax and people experienced withdrawal-but never saw anything like that with Klonopin or Valium. I always think a generic is a second choice to the brand-but I pay the same for brand or generic and would definately try generic first if I were paying the full price.
Posted by Glydin on August 6, 2006, at 17:43:34
In reply to Re: Difference Between Klonopin and Valium whitch is b, posted by bassman on August 6, 2006, at 17:14:55
I think the main thing I've gleamed from hearing, seeing, reading and experiencing med reactions, it's: responses are so individualized and so complex it's very difficult to get much from what one person thinks is awful, bad, good, better, or best other than it being interesting to know.
Klonopin as generic has never been a problem for me. I have done brand name but I noted no difference but my cost. Haven't been on Valium.
Posted by UgottaHaveHOPE on August 7, 2006, at 9:52:52
In reply to Re: Difference Between Klonopin and Valium whitch is b » bassman, posted by Phillipa on August 6, 2006, at 16:39:50
I have tried both, and Valium had zero effect on me. Then again, I dont know if I was taking as high of a dose as you.
I have been on Klonopin for 9 years, and am taking less now (2-3 mg/day) than I was when I started. I asked my new pdoc, who is nationally known, if there was a difference between generic Klonopin and Klonopin and he said no.
I guess the good news is that both are benzos and fast-acting. You can switch between the two. You should feel an effect from either the same day. So experiment.
Posted by Paulbwell on August 11, 2006, at 3:10:25
In reply to Difference Between Klonopin and Valium whitch is b, posted by Phillipa on August 6, 2006, at 15:23:24
> Here we go again which is better klonopin brandname or valium? I know we go over and over this but I need to know. So please bear with me. Love Phillipa
After being in hospital for 2 weeks for Alcohol overuse, to self medicate my anxiety-which got outa hand, i was discharged with:
-3mgs Xanax T.I.D
-6mgs Clonazepam T.I.D
-5mgs Diazepam Nocte
-2, 7.5mg Zopliclones NocteI have cut down drinking.
Cheers
Posted by Phillipa on August 11, 2006, at 20:40:52
In reply to Phillipa » Phillipa, posted by Paulbwell on August 11, 2006, at 3:10:25
Paulwell I'm so glad. And another Aussie friend. Love Phillipa ps I e-mail with quite a few from Australia. Babble if you want to e-mail okay? Love Phillipa and I've heard the hospitals aren't that good over there
Posted by yxibow on August 12, 2006, at 2:16:28
In reply to Difference Between Klonopin and Valium whitch is b, posted by Phillipa on August 6, 2006, at 15:23:24
> Here we go again which is better klonopin brandname or valium? I know we go over and over this but I need to know. So please bear with me. Love Phillipa
I switched a while back from a fairly heavy load of Klonopin over to an equivalent of Valium. I still take the Valium 2x a day with the brunt of the load in the evening when my particular condition is worst, but that is only for peak results. The actual typical half life of Valium is 24+ hours, while Klonopin is typically 16 hours and is usually often 2x a day.
Valium "seems" to be a bit better for me for my condition -- any benzodiazepine is still mostly a coverup and not a cure for what I have as that still eludes me but medications such as Valium and the occasional Xanax have shown to be effective, evidence based.
And then there's the brand name vs. generic. For those who take a certain small exact dose there may be a difference in generic, but for those on any significant load of benzodiazepines I think it is the Coke vs. Pepsi vs. Diet Rite, etc. But some may disagree and that's fine, it is their dime, perhaps, depending.I think double blind studies would show little difference.
If there is difference, and insurance loves not to cover non generic, which is a bygone at this point as Valium is over 40 years old, I would think the best thing is to increase the dose of a generic by x% to equal what would "feel" to be a better "original" dose.
The chemical formulas have been honed over such time that they are rather cheap to manufacture by large firms such as Teva, etc.
-- tidings
Jay
Posted by Paulbwell on August 12, 2006, at 2:26:40
In reply to Re: Difference .... Personal anecdotes mostly... » Phillipa, posted by yxibow on August 12, 2006, at 2:16:28
Ihave taken benzos for 3.5 years, and don't 'feel' themunless i go a week without 1.
-Clonaz 2-6mgs day
-Xanax .25-4mgs day
-Valium 2-100mgs day.I NEVER feel a benzo kicking, working, If i stop for over a week i would be VERY sick.
Just been given Xanax-1mg up to 3x day.
Cheers
Posted by yxibow on August 15, 2006, at 0:04:05
In reply to Benzo feel? » yxibow, posted by Paulbwell on August 12, 2006, at 2:26:40
> Ihave taken benzos for 3.5 years, and don't 'feel' themunless i go a week without 1.
> -Clonaz 2-6mgs day
> -Xanax .25-4mgs day
> -Valium 2-100mgs day.
>
> I NEVER feel a benzo kicking, working, If i stop for over a week i would be VERY sick.
>
> Just been given Xanax-1mg up to 3x day.
>
> CheersAt 100mgs daily, and I won't post my current record, you would be beyond sick, you would be in danger of grand mal seizures. Benzodiazepines at that high a level are definately not to be discontinued ever. Fortunately Valium has a 24+ hour half life.
Xanax is another story though -- I still "feel" Xanax even though I take Valium -- its not intense, but it has a slight immediacy even though its equivalency is actually low at 1mg. The kick is different than the subtler Valium.
-- J
Posted by Phillipa on August 15, 2006, at 20:17:31
In reply to Re: Benzo feel? » Paulbwell, posted by yxibow on August 15, 2006, at 0:04:05
Jay which do you prefer and why. Klonopin or valium. It's important. Love Phillipa
Posted by yxibow on August 16, 2006, at 4:00:12
In reply to Re: Benzo feel? » yxibow, posted by Phillipa on August 15, 2006, at 20:17:31
> Jay which do you prefer and why. Klonopin or valium. It's important. Love Phillipa
Its subjective -- its hard to say now. I used to take small doses of Klonopin when I was taking SSRIs or especially Wellbutrin.
Now that I take larger doses for a disorder that seems no end at the immediate time in life, but a palleative rather than restorative function, at least medically in late 2006 (there is a lot psychologically at play underlining including an increasingly ingrained peter pan syndrome, fear of death, and the world at large that is overlayed on top of my visual symptoms or may be causing them), I began to feel that I wasn't really feeling enough anxiolytic relief from Klonopin. (Hopefully that run-on sentence made some sense)I felt it was worth enough of a concerted taper/switchover (which was complex in dosing strategies, eventually discovering that adding Valium before removing Klonopin was better) that I did so.
Today I can't say that I "feel" Valium a lot, as I am used to its dosing, but I at least believe that for my particular condition it provides a greater GABA sub anxiolytic type receptor binding than Klonopin. Of course, I could be reading into things alot, or there could even be a placebo effect in a sense, which isn't terrible really.
So personally, I am continuing Valium although for other reasons such as cognitive function (which occurs with any high dose benzodiazepine regime no matter how used to it you are) I may scale back on the amount if I can tolerate my condition with less.
Others may wildly differ on this and find Klonopin (and then there's the whole side issue of "real" Klonopin, discontinued in general use in the 80s or so I would imagine and the argument of generics) at high doses more effective than Valium.
Ultimately I think its a personal brain chemistry issue and preference. I dont think I really get depressed from benzodiazepines, except maybe Restoril, which ironically is a smaller metabolite of Valium. Some people seem to get very depressed from Klonopin. Again, that has to do entirely with personal biochemical makeup and current state of psychology, which of course is biochemical in the first place.
So if you are happy, I believe, with taking Valium, and you have for quite some time as I recall, a relatively minor dose, then all means do so.-- Jay
This is the end of the thread.
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