![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by football on March 29, 2007, at 22:44:00
I know most people have considerable success with klonopin for helping with anxiety, but I'm now taking 2 MG of it a day without much improvement. Could it be possible it's too low a dose, or is it time to try a different benzo? Any recommendations?
Posted by rjlockhart on March 29, 2007, at 22:54:00
In reply to More effective anxiety benzos then Klonopin?, posted by football on March 29, 2007, at 22:44:00
every person would recommend Xanax, which is the potent benzo of all mostly, besides Halcion and Temazepam (Restoril) which are only used for sleep.
But a doctor, i have been on Klonopin for 3 years, 1 year on Ativan and now one year on Xanax.
I do take a high dose, but for me actually Ativan (lorazepam) was helpful at 2mg. I could function during the day and not feel "down" like a downer. It just eases up anxiety, smoothly, sub-noticably.
I would ask your doctor for another benzo. This one is not working, if he wants to wack you around on higher doses do it, thats what i did, finally i said this medication is not for me. So we switched, some docs are aggressive, some arnt.
So hang in there.
Matt
Posted by UgottaHaveHope on March 30, 2007, at 1:39:44
In reply to More effective anxiety benzos then Klonopin?, posted by football on March 29, 2007, at 22:44:00
You can go up to 4mg.
Have you ever tried Seroquel? It's a miracle for sleep and really smashes anxiety, but makes you groggy. Your pdoc should have sample pack of 25 mg.
Michael
Posted by UgottaHaveHope on March 30, 2007, at 1:50:08
In reply to More effective anxiety benzos then Klonopin?, posted by football on March 29, 2007, at 22:44:00
Then that has an outstanding rep for treating anxiety, which is the only reason I would consider it and I am. Maybe the extra anxiety is just from starting up Nardil, lots of ppl have side effects that go away in a few months.
However, I have heard that mixing a TCA with Nardil is the ultimate anxiety killer. Google below about what SLS is taking or Babblemail me. Michael
PS Youre still taking Nardil, right?
Posted by greenline on March 30, 2007, at 9:59:10
In reply to More effective anxiety benzos then Klonopin?, posted by football on March 29, 2007, at 22:44:00
I take ativan for my anxiety and it works pretty well for me. I tried Klonopin and it made me too tired.
Posted by Phillipa on March 30, 2007, at 11:22:01
In reply to Re: More effective anxiety benzos then Klonopin?, posted by greenline on March 30, 2007, at 9:59:10
Klonopin first time made me feel suicidal. Off and back on short acting xanax felt fine. Then to ativan okay . Then the valium and did well now the pdoc switched me in two weeks off of valium and on xanax long acting and the ativan which isn't helping at all making things worse so I still like the valium Love Phillipa
Posted by SandyWeb on March 30, 2007, at 11:22:34
In reply to More effective anxiety benzos then Klonopin?, posted by football on March 29, 2007, at 22:44:00
Football,
Well, I'm the strange one again. My experiences seem to be different. Maybe you and I follow along the same lines. I don't know.
Remember, these are MY experiences only:
I found Xanax to be a placebo. It did absolutely nothing, no matter how many pills I took. I have heard from another person on this Board that had the same experience as that. It was just a waste.
Ativan I found to take an hour to work, but then you felt it immediately. Your mind just relaxes and you can sigh with relief. I find it to be the strongest benzo, but it only has a half-life of about 4 hours.....so doesn't last long enough. I didn't find it all that sedating, either. It *may* have helped me sleep a teeny bit better, but I'm not really sure because I don't sleep well at all.
As for clonazepam (Klonopin), I find that it takes about maybe 40 minutes to work. But it comes on so subtly that I'm not even aware of it until I realize that my body tension is gone. Very, very subtle. Its half-life is about 16 hours, BUT.....it doesn't seem that way. I still need to take it multiple times per day. And it has the complete opposite effect of what a benzo should do....it actually energizes me! I keep switching back and forth between Ativan and Klonopin, forgetting (duh) that Klonopin energizes me and thus doesn't help with sleep at all. But even though it gives me the energy to stay up all day and get work done, it also allows me to be calm. Weird, huh? I was taking 1 mg 3x per day, but then realized that it was making my insomnia even worse. Now I take 2 mg in the morning and 2 mg in the late afternoon. If it's an extremely stressful day (such as the other day when I had a Social Worker visit my home), I was jumping through my skin and had to keep taking more. But that's okay. I made it through the interview. Phew!
Anyways, that's my dissertation (ha) on benzos. I wish you well.
God bless,
Sandy
Posted by football on March 30, 2007, at 16:17:48
In reply to Re: If you are still taking Nardil ... » football, posted by UgottaHaveHope on March 30, 2007, at 1:50:08
> PS Youre still taking Nardil, right?Yes, sir. It's helped greatly with depression all ready but only moderately with anxiety so far. I understand that some times anxiety relief takes a little longer to take effect then depression relief, so I'm gonna give it a little more time, and then probably bump it up to 90 MG.
Posted by rvanson on March 30, 2007, at 19:59:08
In reply to More effective anxiety benzos then Klonopin?, posted by football on March 29, 2007, at 22:44:00
> I know most people have considerable success with klonopin for helping with anxiety, but I'm now taking 2 MG of it a day without much improvement. Could it be possible it's too low a dose, or is it time to try a different benzo? Any recommendations?
Xanax.
Posted by UgottaHaveHope on March 30, 2007, at 21:34:54
In reply to Re: If you are still taking Nardil ..., posted by football on March 30, 2007, at 16:17:48
Football, if Nardil is working great for your depression, then you are halfway there. Yes, you are right: Nardil will likely be more effective toward anxiety the longer you take it.
But also, a lot of ppl augment Nardil with Klonopin and Seroquel.
Posted by FredPotter on March 31, 2007, at 22:01:14
In reply to Re: Then you are halfway home » football, posted by UgottaHaveHope on March 30, 2007, at 21:34:54
I've been off Effexor for 2.5 weeks and on Nardil 1.5 weeks. A rough ride at first, it's been nice to feel my energy come back as the Effexor left. I suppose it's too early to say about Nardil, except so far the diet is no big deal
Fred
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.