Posted by med_empowered on August 13, 2005, at 14:30:03
In reply to Who here takes Xanax?, posted by rjlockhart98 on August 13, 2005, at 12:58:30
xanax used to be *the* most popular benzo for a while...I think, overall, its still much more popular than Klonopin in terms of the number of prescriptions written. The deal with Xanax is that for a while, it seemed like a *really* good idea: it was short-acting and came on fast, so the idea was patients could use it for intense anxiety or to sleep without being sedated all day. The problem is that compared to the other benzos, Xanax is believed to be more "addictive". I don't know that I'd consider it addictive per se, but I did find it harder to withdraw from than Klonopin or Tranxene in terms of withdrawal effects...plus, if its taken in multiple doses, some people tend to get anxiety in between doses, which is kind of like a mini-withdrawal. So...there's been a move to go more for long-acting benzos with a slower onset, which is why Klonopin has become so popular lately (until relatively recently, Klonopin was used mostly as an anticonvulsant and only secondarily as an anti-anxiety medication). You doctors whole "you're not your own doctor" thing is kind of understandable, but it also indicates, I think, that your doctor prefers to RX with a minimum of input or questions from the patient. If Klonopin is depressing you, it probably is good idea to switch, but I think you might be better served by going to another long-acting benzo...your doctor will also prefer to maintain you on a long-acting benzo rather than risk having to do a more tricky withdrawal with Xanax. Tranxene is pretty good; its calming, but doesn't seem to cause or worsen depression. Librium is an under-used option that might also help. I believe you said you had already tried Ativan with minimal results, so I guess that's out. Valium would be the *classic* benzo option, but doctors don't like to RX it (it has a bad rep) and when they do, they tend to under-prescribe (at least in my experience). So....maybe a switch to Tranxene, with Ativan as an as-needed "extra" med ? Adding propranolol also helps people with anxiety sometimes, but it can cause/worsen depression (this is more common at the doses used for hypertension, but still possible at psychiatric doses). Good luck!
poster:med_empowered
thread:541091
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050811/msgs/541124.html