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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 19 of 19. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by alexandra_k on January 28, 2006, at 23:45:24
okay so for once i haven't come to bitch about benzos...
i've actually been prescribed some diazepam (sp?)...
(so i really am not here to bitch about benzos)
anxiety...
i have heard of people taking a low daily dosage to help with that. if you are... then how much?
i have heard of people taking it prn to help with it when it becomes bad. if you are... then how much?
any thoughts on which is preferable?
maybe depends on your symptoms?anybody know how long it takes for tolerance to set in???
ta.
Posted by ClearSkies on January 29, 2006, at 0:28:23
In reply to benzo's for anxiety, posted by alexandra_k on January 28, 2006, at 23:45:24
I have been taking .25mg of Xanax prn for over 2 years now. Have gone up as much as .50mg on a BAD day but that's it, recently.
It works quickly and efficiently. the withdrawl is a low and constant niggling that you're not all right, and that just a dose of .25mg will make you feel better. And it does.So I can vouch for the dependence, though I can't say that my usage has increased at all. If anything, I have decreased my dose greatly: I weaned down from 1.0mg a day a year ago to my present usage.
Not an ideal picture - I would love to be free of them alltogether - but it is still helping, and the effiicacy has not diminished.ClearSkies
Posted by kerria on January 29, 2006, at 0:43:40
In reply to benzo's for anxiety, posted by alexandra_k on January 28, 2006, at 23:45:24
Hi Alexandra,
my psychDr gives 5mg diazapam prn i guess- he never told me. On the bottle it says two in the morning and three at night but i couldn't possibly take that.
i take one 5mg tab when badly upset. then another if it's very bad- like a bad therapy session and i'm stuck in the parking lot too upset to go home.
i haven't noticed any tolerance. i don't take it everyday and sometimes not for a week or two.It's good because it helps put me to sleep and has no strange effects.
i hope things are going well,
kerria
Posted by blueberry on January 29, 2006, at 6:37:52
In reply to benzo's for anxiety, posted by alexandra_k on January 28, 2006, at 23:45:24
I take low dose xanax on an as needed basis for either anxiety or sleep. I usually don't need it and don't use it very much.
I have to go to national conferences sometimes that are extremely hard for me. Closed in spaces. Hundreds of happy bubbly people. Lots of noise. In those situations I take .25mg xanax 3 times a day and it works like magic. That's a low dose. The longest I ever took it continuously was about 6 weeks, and I did not develope tolerance to it in that time, though the sedating effect wasn't as strong after just a few days. Withdrawing from it was not that hard. I just whittled off little pieces over a week or so and added in some magnesium. I thought withdrawing from it would be a nightmare, but it was actually a million miles easier than withdrawing from an antidepressant or an antipsychotic.
Anyway, basically, just take as low a dose as possible and let the real need for it be guide as to how often. Just my opinion. Benzos are actually said to be good for the brian in preventing neurotoxicity. If you are overly sedated or groggy, that is a sign the dose is too high. Just my opinion though.
Posted by kerria on January 29, 2006, at 7:35:29
In reply to benzo's for anxiety, posted by alexandra_k on January 28, 2006, at 23:45:24
Hi again- i checked this morning, i made a mistake. My dr wrote intructions on the diazapam 'Take 2-3 tablets every day.'
They're 5mg tabs and one or two works as my only psych med. i take only as needed.
diazapam is good- you can't take more because it makes you too sleepy so you go to sleep. It's long acting also- not like ativan- i was in big trouble with ativan. i would take it too much and a tolerance started. Then i'd be short and the dr was upset when i ran out. Diazapam works long enough to get me over - even major upsets - you know - struggling with so many things now. It interacts with pain medicine and gets very sedating.
It's also good to have for dental appt, and it helped for the nerve block last week.
take care,
kerria
Posted by ace on January 29, 2006, at 9:35:16
In reply to benzo's for anxiety, posted by alexandra_k on January 28, 2006, at 23:45:24
Posted by ed_uk on January 29, 2006, at 11:53:49
In reply to benzo's for anxiety, posted by alexandra_k on January 28, 2006, at 23:45:24
Hi Alex
I used to take 10mg diazepam when required for anxiety. I found it helpful in certain situations.
Ed
Posted by alexandra_k on January 29, 2006, at 18:29:07
In reply to Re: benzo's for anxiety » alexandra_k, posted by ed_uk on January 29, 2006, at 11:53:49
thanks people.
i got it as an emergency backup when i get into one of 'those states'. to help with the distress. for a few days... or a week max, i guess.
i have a hard time with pills that can make you feel good. i want to keep on taking them... but i'm really determined to limit this to emergencies and to limit this to the minimum dose needed to help.
i'm not sure about benzo's... fairly anti in general (because of tolerance and addiction). but i guess that is fairly much a factor of how much you take them... and why you are taking them.
i'll see how it goes.
thanks.
Posted by fenix on January 29, 2006, at 19:22:10
In reply to Re: benzo's for anxiety, posted by alexandra_k on January 29, 2006, at 18:29:07
I like benzos, a lot. They are very beneficial and the side-effects are very minimal.
They work so well for anxiety and I think it would be nice if they were presribed more often for long term anxiety, mainly because their side-effects are very nominal.
The whole thing about building tolerance however, is a complicated thing. I was on clonazepam 1mg for many months and never had to raise the dosage.
The whole thing about the addiction is really a stupid thing. If you need benzos then you need benzos. If you get addicted to them it doesn't matter because you have to be on them anyway. Now, if you want to get off of them... I guess that is a different story, but honestly benzos are so effective I would wonder why someone would want to stop taking them.
Posted by Phillipa on January 29, 2006, at 21:44:57
In reply to Re: benzo's for anxiety, posted by fenix on January 29, 2006, at 19:22:10
Alex, I've been on benzos for over 30yrs and have never felt the need to raise the dose. I was first prescribed valium when it was known as mother's little helper. I decreased the dose as I felt so much better anxiety free that it was the natural thing to do. When Ativan came out I took that also never upped the dose, then xanax for years again never raised the dose, tried klonopin but hated it it is depressing, and now valium again used solely as a sleep aid l0mg at sleep and if I wake in the middle of the night another 5mg. It has such a long half-life that I need none during the day. I have lowered my Rx'd doseages many time down to nothing at one point . No side effects at all and no withdrawal either. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by alexandra_k on February 1, 2006, at 0:57:38
In reply to Re: benzo's for anxiety, posted by fenix on January 29, 2006, at 19:22:10
> They are very beneficial and the side-effects are very minimal.
> They work so well for anxiety and I think it would be nice if they were presribed more often for long term anxiety, mainly because their side-effects are very nominal.I'm glad they work for you - but other people have different experience with them.
I guess I'm high risk for addiction...
So I'm going to have to be careful how I use them.> I was on clonazepam 1mg for many months and never had to raise the dosage.
That is good.
> If you need benzos then you need benzos.Well... Chlorpromazine will drug me if I take enough of that. That is probably just as helpful to me (truth be told) and isn't as addictive. There are always other options.
> benzos are so effective I would wonder why someone would want to stop taking them.
Because some people find they do develop a tolerance (they need more to achieve the same effects over time).
I guess it depends on the person...
Posted by ed_uk on February 1, 2006, at 13:08:46
In reply to Re: benzo's for anxiety » fenix, posted by alexandra_k on February 1, 2006, at 0:57:38
Hi Alex
>Well... Chlorpromazine will drug me if I take enough of that. That is probably just as helpful to me (truth be told) and isn't as addictive. There are always other options.
Do you take chlorpromazine (Largactil) for anxiety? What dose do you take?
Thanks
Ed
Posted by alexandra_k on February 1, 2006, at 23:03:11
In reply to Re: benzo's for anxiety » alexandra_k, posted by ed_uk on February 1, 2006, at 13:08:46
> Do you take chlorpromazine (Largactil) for anxiety? What dose do you take?
i guess i sort of take it for anxiety... maybe not quite anxiety... i get these episodes that last a couple days to a week. really very emotional. at risk of si etc. i was looking for something to help me through those times...
when i was in hospital a few years back now... they decided to drug me up to my eyeballs at one point because I was such a high risk of suicide. i think i was on 1,000 per day. maybe even 1,500. i can't quite remember but i remember it was a high dosage for someone of my body weight who wasn't psychotic. it turned me into the vegetable they were aiming for...
then... moved to the newer anti-p's. but i figured that if i took 50-100 of chlorpromazine then that would drug me to help me through those hard patches.
now... now that i have less tolerance for psych meds... 25 is sufficient. but... they don't like to do that... didn't like me taking chlorpromazine at the same time as a newer anti-p because they were worried abotu increased risk of td.
so... 25 i guess. then another 25 if needed. 2x (or up to 3X) daily. but... it does drug you rather. but 25 in the morning might do it...
dunno.
i don't think they like to do that...
i don't think it is really supposed to be for anxiety it is just that a side affect is sedation so i was exploiting that...
Posted by ed_uk on February 2, 2006, at 13:26:21
In reply to Re: benzo's for anxiety » ed_uk, posted by alexandra_k on February 1, 2006, at 23:03:11
Hi Alex
>it turned me into the vegetable they were aiming for...
I can imagine! 1500mg!
>so... 25 i guess. then another 25 if needed. 2x (or up to 3X) daily. but... it does drug you rather. but 25 in the morning might do it...
Have you tried taking 10mg (or 12.5mg if you don't have the 10mg tabs where you live) up to three times a day? It might be enough.
Regards
Ed
Posted by Karla on February 3, 2006, at 23:17:40
In reply to benzo's for anxiety, posted by alexandra_k on January 28, 2006, at 23:45:24
I have taken 1-4 mg of xanax a day over the last year. More often the 4 mg. I had no problem quitting the last couple of weeks. It helped my anxiety stop significantly. Long enough until my therapist could teach me to deal with things without having the panic attacks.
Posted by alexandra_k on February 3, 2006, at 23:42:16
In reply to Largactil » alexandra_k, posted by ed_uk on February 2, 2006, at 13:26:21
> Have you tried taking 10mg (or 12.5mg if you don't have the 10mg tabs where you live) up to three times a day?
no i haven't. smallest size pill i've seen is 25mg. i don't take it any more. but i did think (as the thread unfolded) that that might be better than a benzo. because... of my history of substance abuse etc.
thanks for the suggestion. i'll mention it to my doc next time :-)
Posted by alexandra_k on February 3, 2006, at 23:43:35
In reply to Re: benzo's for anxiety, posted by Karla on February 3, 2006, at 23:17:40
> I have taken 1-4 mg of xanax a day over the last year.
thanks for that.
um... whats the difference between xanax and diazepan? (sp?)
also... helsion (sp?)
are there comperable dosages of the different sorts?
Posted by ed_uk on February 4, 2006, at 11:27:11
In reply to Re: Largactil » ed_uk, posted by alexandra_k on February 3, 2006, at 23:42:16
Hi Alex
>smallest size pill i've seen is 25mg
In some countries the lowest strength is 25mg. The 10mg tablets are probably the most popular strength in the UK though. Very low doses can be effective but there is a risk of permanent movement disorders (tardive dyskinesia) if chlorpromazine is taken regularly/daily for several months. Daily use for more than 4 weeks is inadvisable.
Cutting the 25mg tablets in half can be useful. You could take half a tablet up to three times a day.
Regards
Ed
Posted by crxsi on February 5, 2006, at 12:09:21
In reply to benzo's for anxiety, posted by alexandra_k on January 28, 2006, at 23:45:24
Hi I was taking Ativan for anxiety and panic attacks. Ativan is very short acting so you can build a tolerance very quickly and most people eventually have to increase the dose or it does not work at all. It also just helps reduce symptoms and not the real problem that is if you have a chemical imbalance.
It caused me to have a depressive episode after taking it for only five months. I am now on effexor which has helped greatly. I am still adjusting the dose. Everyone is different just be carefull with any type of benzo. Most Dr's are very hesitant to prescribe them.
This is the end of the thread.
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