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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Mr.Scott on May 2, 2001, at 14:41:44
My Doc says he uses a lot of Tranxene (clorazepate dipotassium). He claims it is like Phenobarbital is to the barbiturates. It has a VERY long half life like 100 hours or something crazy like that and so is 'self tapering'. Drug addicts seem to rank it very low in terms of liking whereas Xanax and Valium rank very high. It is also the second most anticonvulsant of the benzodiazepines after Klonopin. Finally it binds weakly to receptors unlike the High Potency benzos (Ativan,Xanax,Klonopin) making it good for anxiety but probably not for Panic.
That said.. I hate taking benzos.. or anything else potentially dependence inducing. But Nothing..and I Mean Nothing works as well for me when I'm in a pinch.
Does anyone have any experience with Tranxene?? Or thoughts on the matter.
Posted by JohnM on May 2, 2001, at 15:29:52
In reply to -Tranxene- The lost benzodiazepine-Discussion, posted by Mr.Scott on May 2, 2001, at 14:41:44
I tried Tranxene recently. Its effect and duration of action is almost identical to Valium. I stopped it after a while after I began getting nausea from it--a very unusual side effect for me.
Posted by SalArmy4me on May 2, 2001, at 17:38:37
In reply to -Tranxene- The lost benzodiazepine-Discussion, posted by Mr.Scott on May 2, 2001, at 14:41:44
Have you tried some gabapentin or buspirone? You may get some relief from those instead, both with anxiety and depression.
> My Doc says he uses a lot of Tranxene (clorazepate dipotassium). He claims it is like Phenobarbital is to the barbiturates. It has a VERY long half life like 100 hours or something crazy like that and so is 'self tapering'. Drug addicts seem to rank it very low in terms of liking whereas Xanax and Valium rank very high. It is also the second most anticonvulsant of the benzodiazepines after Klonopin. Finally it binds weakly to receptors unlike the High Potency benzos (Ativan,Xanax,Klonopin) making it good for anxiety but probably not for Panic.
>
> That said.. I hate taking benzos.. or anything else potentially dependence inducing. But Nothing..and I Mean Nothing works as well for me when I'm in a pinch.
>
> Does anyone have any experience with Tranxene?? Or thoughts on the matter.
Posted by Mr.Scott on May 3, 2001, at 9:41:06
In reply to Re: -Tranxene- The lost benzodiazepine-Discussion » Mr.Scott, posted by SalArmy4me on May 2, 2001, at 17:38:37
Thanks SAL,
I tried Buspar but became unsteady and nauseated.. I nearly vomited on several occasions. But I thought outside of that it may have been working synergistically with the Prozac I was taking. And thats coming from someone who has needed benzos on and off for a long time.. Usually Buspar doesn't work for previous benzo users.
Gabapentin I have not tried.. What is the side effect profile like?
Posted by SalArmy4me on May 3, 2001, at 14:31:01
In reply to Re: -Tranxene- The lost benzodiazepine-Discussion, posted by Mr.Scott on May 3, 2001, at 9:41:06
Here's my "take" on Neurontin:
--It has anti-anxiety and antidepressant actions.
--It has no anticholinergic side-effects.
--Few sexual side-effects.
--It now comes in 600 and 800 mg tablets, reducing the number of pills one takes per day
--It requires no blood-levels taken.
--It has gained the respect of psychiatrists world-wide in less than a decade.
--Gabapentin has few negative drug interactions; it can even be taken with MAOIs and moclobemide.Here are the studies that prove Neurontin's efficacy:
1: Jefferson JW.
Benzodiazepines and anticonvulsants for social
phobia (social anxiety disorder).
J Clin Psychiatry. 2001;62 Suppl 1:50-3.
PMID: 112060352: Janowsky DS.
New Treatments of Bipolar Disorder.
Curr Psychiatry Rep. 1999 Dec;1(2):111-113.
PMID: 111229123: Keck PE, Mendlwicz J, Calabrese JR, Fawcett J,
Suppes T, Vestergaard PA, Carbonell C.
A review of randomized, controlled clinical
trials in acute mania.
J Affect Disord. 2000 Sep;59 Suppl 1:S31-S37.
PMID: 111218254: [No authors listed]
Valproate and other anticonvulsants for psychiatric disorders.
Med Lett Drugs Ther. 2000 Dec 11;42(1094):114-5.
PMID: 111148425: Vieta E, Martinez-Aran A, Nieto E, Colom F,
Reinares M, Benabarre A, Gasto C.
Adjunctive gabapentin treatment of bipolar disorder.
Eur Psychiatry. 2000 Nov;15(7):433-7.
PMID: 111129366: Frye MA, Ketter TA, Kimbrell TA, Dunn RT, Speer AM,
Osuch EA, Luckenbaugh DA, Cora-Ocatelli G, Leverich GS, Post RM.
A placebo-controlled study of lamotrigine and
gabapentin monotherapy in refractory mood disorders
J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2000 Dec;20(6):607-14.
PMID: 11106131
8: McElroy SL, Keck PE.
Pharmacologic agents for the treatment of acute
bipolar mania
Biol Psychiatry. 2000 Sep 15;48(6):539-57.
[Record as supplied by publisher]
PMID: 110182269: Bennett J, Goldman WT, Suppes T.
Gabapentin for treatment of bipolar and schizo-
affective disorders.
J Clin Psychopharmacol. 1997 Apr;17(2):141-2.
PMID: 1095049410: Pande AC, Pollack MH, Crockatt J, Greiner M,
Chouinard G, Lydiard RB, Taylor CB, Dager SR, Shiovitz T.
Placebo-controlled study of gabapentin treatment
of panic disorder.
J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2000 Aug;20(4):467-71.
PMID: 1091740812: Ghaemi SN, Gaughan S.
Novel anticonvulsants: a new generation of mood stabilizers?
Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2000 May-Jun;8(1):1-7. Review.
PMID: 1082429215: Brannon N, Labbate L, Huber M.
Gabapentin treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder.
Can J Psychiatry. 2000 Feb;45(1):84.
PMID: 1069649516: Dallocchio C, Buffa C, Mazzarello P.
Combination of donepezil and gabapentin for behavioral
disorders in Alzheimer's disease.
J Clin Psychiatry. 2000 Jan;61(1):64.
PMID: 1069565217: Herrmann N, Lanctot K, Myszak M.
Effectiveness of gabapentin for the treatment of
behavioral disorders in dementia.
J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2000 Feb;20(1):90-3.
PMID: 1065321419: Schaffer CB, Schaffer LC.
Open maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder spectrum
patients who responded to gabapentin augmentation in
the acute phase of treatment.
J Affect Disord. 1999 Oct;55(2-3):237-40.
PMID: 1062889420: Maurer I, Volz HP, Sauer H.
Gabapentin leads to remission of somatoform pain
disorder with major depression.
Pharmacopsychiatry. 1999 Nov;32(6):255-7.
PMID: 1059993621: Sokolski KN, Green C, Maris DE, DeMet EM.
Gabapentin as an adjunct to standard mood stabilizers
in outpatients with mixed bipolar symptomatology.
Ann Clin Psychiatry. 1999 Dec;11(4):217-22.
PMID: 1059673622: Brown ES, Hong SC.
Antidepressant-induced bruxism successfully treated
with gabapentin.
J Am Dent Assoc. 1999 Oct;130(10):1467-9.
PMID: 1057059023: Botts SR, Raskind J.
Gabapentin and lamotrigine in bipolar disorder.
Am J Health Syst Pharm. 1999 Oct 1;56(19):1939-44. Review.
PMID: 1055491124: Magnus L.
Nonepileptic uses of gabapentin.
Epilepsia. 1999;40 Suppl 6:S66-72; discussion S73-4. Review.
PMID: 1053068625: Connor KM, Davidson JR, Sutherland S, Weisler R.
Social phobia: issues in assessment and management.
Epilepsia. 1999;40 Suppl 6:S60-5; discussion S73-4. Review.
PMID: 10530685
Posted by Mr.Scott on May 3, 2001, at 16:04:00
In reply to Re: Neurontin » Mr.Scott, posted by SalArmy4me on May 3, 2001, at 14:31:01
SAL,
You are very thorough. I will ask about this as an alternative to benzo's. What is your opinion of benzo's? I guess that will depend in part on whether or not your in recovery for a dependency too..mr.scott
Posted by Rick on May 5, 2001, at 3:14:33
In reply to -Tranxene- The lost benzodiazepine-Discussion, posted by Mr.Scott on May 2, 2001, at 14:41:44
Tranxene did nothing for my Social Phobia.
I have a friend who used to take Tranxene PRN for Generalized Anxiety, and found it very effective. Oddly, he found Klonopin -- the med that is so beneficial for my Social Anxiety -- to be nearly a placebo.
Rick
This is the end of the thread.
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