Posted by cache-monkey on March 15, 2005, at 1:35:46
In reply to Re: Klono not nearly as effective as X? (Oth. Benz, posted by mattw84 on March 14, 2005, at 15:50:13
True, Ativan has a short half-life. Multiple dosing might eliminate that. Thing is that I have a lot of free-floating anxiety that sometimes turns into panic, so PRN isn't an option. I'm in therapy to try to get at the root cause of the anxiety. My goal with the benzos is to be on them for some non-short amount of time to give me a continuous buffer from which to address those roots.
It's also possible that adding Depakote reduces my anxiety (mixed state dysphoria?) to tolerable levels and I don't need the benzo continously. I actually hope this is the case, because as you point out withdrawal can really be tough. (But I do know that my dad took Valium for some time at a similar point in his life and didn't have any problems discontinuing.)
Thanks for the input,
cache-monkey
> Lorazepam might be worth a try, but the short half life can lead to rebound anxiety. Xanax is 100% the best benzo for panic attacks -- but as you noted, it is of the most difficult to discontinue use of. If you go that route I would try for an "as needed" basis, rather than taking it continually.
>
> Ativan can be sublingual - under the tongue - to provide really quick relief. Xanax taken orally is just about as quickly effective, but klonopin is a very long acting benzo -- and may just not be the right one for your situation. Try to avoid chronic use of any of these if you can, withdrawals are killer (unfortunately sometimes literally). Best of luck!
>
> Matt
poster:cache-monkey
thread:470912
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050312/msgs/471185.html