Posted by brynb on August 6, 2012, at 17:14:35
In reply to Xanax instead?, posted by sheilac on August 6, 2012, at 12:22:21
Hi Shiela,
Finding the perfect balance/cocktail/dosage is beyond frustrating. It's a never ending process. I've seen your posts and I understand how you feel.
In my opinion (and I used to use & abuse all the benzos), klonopin and Xanax are pretty different. First, they're kind of opposites in terms of half-lives. Xanax is one of the shortest acting benzos. It doesn't stay in your system all that long. That means "rebound anxiety" is more likely. Klonopin is the longest acting benzo and stays in your system for days. Klonopin can definitely be more of a depressant, and I find that Xanax isn't.
Also, klonopin seems to be the favorite amongst pdocs for controlling GAD & long term use, but I find that Xanax works faster and is harder-hitting (so to speak). Consider this too (you're probably not going to like it, though): long term benzo use can cause major irritability :(.I know you don't want to consider going off the Adderall, but it could be doing more harm than good. During my brief stints with stims, they only helped my depression initially, then they made me super angry and irritable.
I know you mentioned you can't take ADs, but (I think) we both mentioned how great Tramadol is for mood. Maybe Tramadol & Lithium (plus a benzo) would work? I'm currently on Lexapro 20mg, Lithium 300mg and Tramadol, and it's doing the trick (for now anyway!).
Good luck.
B
poster:brynb
thread:1022795
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120803/msgs/1022804.html