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Re: anxiety

Posted by jboud24 on November 4, 2004, at 9:21:36

In reply to Re: anxiety, posted by mattw84 on November 3, 2004, at 12:21:22

sgirl and others,

I have taken Paxil, Celexa, Lexapro, and I'm finally now on Zoloft. In my opinion Zoloft blows the other AD's I've taken out the water. Lexapro actually induced panic attacks in me. They are all fairly similar IMHO for helping with anxiety, but Zoloft has this calming, anxiety-blunting effect that the others lacked.

I have also taken Ativan, xanax, and now klonopin for my social anxiety, panic, and generalized anxiety. Xanax and Klonopin have been the best by far. (As an aside, I've actually taken every benzo, including midazolam, with the exception of Rohypnol off the records:-) Here is the difference between Klonopin and Xanax that I've noticed:

1. Xanax will always subjectively 'feel' like it is calming you down more than klonopin will, I believe this is due to a euphoria-like effect of the xanax. This effect for me is what made xanax really good at quelling anxiety. It is better for panic attacks than it was for social anxiety. I can feel xanax working VERY quick, in about 15 minutes if I let it dissolve under my tongue. I've found that I get no real additive anti-anxiety effect from it at single doses above 2mg. Above 2mg only adds more of the euphoria effect, not the anxiolytic one. This extra-calming euphoria is the first thing I gained tolerance to, in about 3 months unfortunately. After that period of daily use, xanax was really no better than any other benzo at equipotwnt doses for anxiety reduction. I took xanax for 1 and 1/2 years without a break. Some people have gone much longer than this, however, claiming sustained anti-anxiety effects so YMMV. Xanax will always be the US markets best feel-good/party/euphoric benzo until another drug may eventually succeed it.

I know take Klonopin, started 2 days ago, and I'll compare it to the xanax. It takes about 1-2 hours to reach full effect, although with more experience I'll be able to narrow that time frame down some more. Whereas xanax only lasted about 3-4 hours tops before the effects would fade, Klonopin seems to be lasting MUCH longer, which is consistent with its pharmacokinetics. I can't yet tell exactly how long it lasts (again I'll know better in more time), but I'd say pretty much full strength effect is felt for a good 8-10 hours if not more. I know my 2mg dose yesterday which I took at 7pm coukd still be felt at about 1/2 its peak strentgth at 8am this morning. With xanax, a 7pm dose would leave me either up all night because I didn;t have any left to cover me for nightime (until I discovered my magical remeron). If I did take one to sleep at like 10-11pm, I would wake up wide awake at about 4 in the am. Subjectively, Klonopin lacks any noticeable euphoria, has anti-anxiety benefits equal to xanax on a mg for mg basis (ie 1mg X = 1mg K), and covers you for a heck of a lot longer.

Also, I experienced rebound anxiety on xanax btween doses. For this, my old pdoc gave me an XR xanax in addition to the immediate release formulations to smooth out the effects. It did not work at all. I found xanax xr to be a weaker version of xanax that lasted only 1-2hours longer than the IR formulation (12 hours duration my ass!) If you decide to go with xanax, avoid the xanax XR, just trust me on it. Really, I promise.

One last thing for ya'll:
Every generic xanax I;ve taken (purepac is the only one I believe) has been about 30-40 % weaker than the brand-name stuff. Just a little FYI. I only have experience with the generic purepac Klonopin right now, but I will post a futre update on the efficacies between purepac, teva, and roche(the name-brand) Klonopin in the future so stay tuned fellow babblers. So far, I'm fairly impressed with purepac's Klonopin, but again, I have no experience yet with other brands.

I hope this helps you in your decision, and I;d be happy to try to answer any other questions anyone may have.

Best wishes,
Justin


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poster:jboud24 thread:410990
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041103/msgs/411564.html