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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by mav27 on December 24, 2008, at 8:57:26
I've just been changed from clonazepam to alprazolam.. the clonazepam wasn't quite working and causing some extra depression. I was on 2mg per day of it.
So now ive been put on alprazolam 1mg 3x per day. Thing is after each dose iam out cold.. sleep for around 2 hours on average.. i've even cut down to .5mg and same thing. Should it be knocking me out this badly ? And here is a slight twist which has me stumped. Tonight i thought i would see what happened if i took the 3mg in 1 go... and i dont feel in the least bit tired.. actually im quite awake and its 2am. Any ideas what's going on here ?
Posted by Phillipa on December 24, 2008, at 10:59:57
In reply to experiances with alprazolam?, posted by mav27 on December 24, 2008, at 8:57:26
For years I used to get energy from benzos. Maybe that's it? Now the opposite tired. Klonopin also depressed me. Phillipa
Posted by mav27 on December 24, 2008, at 20:09:47
In reply to Re: experiances with alprazolam? » mav27, posted by Phillipa on December 24, 2008, at 10:59:57
Did you notice any difference in energy from the dose of alprazolam you took ? Did lower doses make you tired like it does for me ? I will have a couple more goes at taking a higher dose in one go but i don't want my doctor to think i;m becoming a xanax junkie or something.
Posted by Phillipa on December 24, 2008, at 20:18:32
In reply to Re: experiances with alprazolam? » Phillipa, posted by mav27 on December 24, 2008, at 20:09:47
Jeez I feel so helpless tonight. Ativan I took when on luvox and didn't take more than 3-4mg and then the chloral hydrate for sleep. But two summers ago a pdoc here wanted a baseline on me without any luvox said to take 8mg of ativan didn't took 6mg but didn't sleep for two weeks and ended up in ER and they said go back on low dose of luvox the lowest only 50mg and the valium was I think 20mg then. I guess my chemistry has radically changed since menopause????? Love Phillipa
Posted by desolationrower on December 25, 2008, at 1:16:45
In reply to Re: experiances with alprazolam? » mav27, posted by Phillipa on December 24, 2008, at 20:18:32
> Jeez I feel so helpless tonight. Ativan I took when on luvox and didn't take more than 3-4mg and then the chloral hydrate for sleep. But two summers ago a pdoc here wanted a baseline on me without any luvox said to take 8mg of ativan didn't took 6mg but didn't sleep for two weeks and ended up in ER and they said go back on low dose of luvox the lowest only 50mg and the valium was I think 20mg then. I guess my chemistry has radically changed since menopause????? Love Phillipa
You could be right, when pre- and post- menopausal women are broken out in statistics on psych drugs, they often don't react the same (as you could guess based on hormone changes, pre-menopausal women tend to outlie from men, post-menopausal women, and and i think children)
-d/r
Posted by Phillipa on December 25, 2008, at 23:03:41
In reply to Re: experiances with alprazolam?, posted by desolationrower on December 25, 2008, at 1:16:45
d/r just home don't know if you're there or not could you explain more about the peri-menopause and after menopause in how meds effect this? What does it mean that I tried all those SSRI's and couldn't tolerate them before menopause and fear has keep me on luvox only 50mg and the benzos which now so tired? Thanks Phillipa
Posted by desolationrower on December 26, 2008, at 0:10:50
In reply to Re: experiances with alprazolam? » desolationrower, posted by Phillipa on December 25, 2008, at 23:03:41
> d/r just home don't know if you're there or not could you explain more about the peri-menopause and after menopause in how meds effect this? What does it mean that I tried all those SSRI's and couldn't tolerate them before menopause and fear has keep me on luvox only 50mg and the benzos which now so tired? Thanks Phillipa
sorry, i don't know. Not sure theres anything that specific.
-d/r
Posted by Vincent_QC on December 27, 2008, at 6:20:29
In reply to experiances with alprazolam?, posted by mav27 on December 24, 2008, at 8:57:26
> I've just been changed from clonazepam to alprazolam.. the clonazepam wasn't quite working and causing some extra depression. I was on 2mg per day of it.
>
> So now ive been put on alprazolam 1mg 3x per day. Thing is after each dose iam out cold.. sleep for around 2 hours on average.. i've even cut down to .5mg and same thing. Should it be knocking me out this badly ? And here is a slight twist which has me stumped. Tonight i thought i would see what happened if i took the 3mg in 1 go... and i dont feel in the least bit tired.. actually im quite awake and its 2am. Any ideas what's going on here ?Hi Mav27 ;-)
Hummmm Xanax is a "weak" benzo drugs...So powerfull but at the same time not a lot effective in a long-term of view, especially for SAD and panic disorder. The XR version is still "weak" also, with a lot of up and down...I totally hate it.I was put on my first benzo drug in 2005, I was on Rivotril at the time. It work like a charm for 3 months, 4mg/day...At first I had this extremely well being feeling on it, it was the first time of my life I was able to go outside the house without fearing the others people. I can tell you that I did a lot of "things" that I can't imagine doing now...I was completely out of control, not myself at all. After 3 months, I had to increase the dose to 8mg/day to keep the same effect on me...it worked well for another 3 months but after nothing, I Was taking it because I was addicted, and I return in a BIG depression mood...the biggest one I had in my life.
So yes, Rivotril, or all the others benzo drugs can cause depression, at the same level than alcohol or others drugs who act as depressor of the nervous system. At the same time in 2005, I developp an alcohol problem, I begin to take my Rivotril pills and drink at the same time, drink tons of Vodka...I never drink like this in my life, so the mix of those 2 agents in my blood make me more addicted for sure and didn't help for depression. I never pass out on it...I Was lucky because it's dangerous to blend those 2 things together...
After that experience, I ask to be put on a more long half-life benzo drugs to be able to do a withdrawh of it more easily after. I was put on Valium in the middle of 2007...I was still at 8mg/day of Rivotril at the time, so me and my family doctor convert the Rivotril dose...but the problem is that Rivotril is so powerfull, 0.5mg of Rivotril = approx 10mg of valium...My family doctor refuse to put me on 160mg of valium each day, so I begin my withdraw of Rivotril at 80mg/day of Valium... And it was really hard...I had strong withdrawh effects for 2 months and the adjustement to the Valium was hard also, the valium cause more sedation and is less effective for anxiety problem.
I had several months of headache episode, migraines and muscles spasm and cramps as well as a lot of others cognitive problems.
I succed to slow my reduce my intake of Valium to 20mg/day in 3 months and I stay at this level until last spring 2008, when I begin to have more anxiety on another try of the Effexor-Xr AD, I ask to be switch again to Rivotril, but it was not working on me anymore, I had to take more than 10mg to feel something...After, the psychiatrist put me on Serax (a metabolite of Valium) but it was inneftive, not very strong, I switch to Frisium (Clobazam), a different benzo drug, more use an an anticonvulsant, he act on the 1,5-benzodiazepine receptors site instead of the usual 1 and 4 with the more conventionnal benzo drugs for use for the management of anxiety...But it was the same, Clobazam din't help me at all, I switch to Librium, the oldest benzo drug, same here, felt nothing...so as a last ressort, I Was put on Xanax, knowing that I will probably developp a big addiction problem from it since it have the shortness half-life in the blood than all the benzo drugs use as anti-anxiety agents (i'm not include the benzo drugs to sleep, the more hypnotic ones...).
So that's it, I was put on 12mg/day of Xanax...and I became addicted the first day on it...I was eating the pills like candy, feeling nothing at all (well, it what I was thinking...), I became like a zombie, I was anxious but at the same time very calm...I can't describe the sensation but I ended up at the psychiatrist emergency hospital because of my addiction problem. My cognitives functions was so affected, I Was even not able to speak and I had several episodes of shaking, especially my hands and my legs...
After 3 days at the emergency, I return home, see my familly doctor and ask again to be put on Valium. I do another long 3 months of withdrawh from Xanax, first month, I reduce my intake from 12mg/day to 2mg/day of Xanax...it was terrible, I don't wish this to anyone here. At 2/mg day of Xanax, I switched to Valium again...2mg of Xanax =40mg of Valium...And I succed to return to my normal 20mg of Valium in the end of august 2008...And I promise myself and everyone around me (the doctor also and the psychiatrist), that I will never take again a "powerfull" benzo drugs of my life...(Powerfull = More addiction = more hard to stop= Rivotril, Ativan, Xanax).
Now I just recover at 50 % from this experience, I Still have poor memory problems, muscles cramps and hands shaking, sometimes I can't articulate the words with my mouth, it's like I have a big hot patatoes in my mouth, i'm slow, I have difficulty to read more than 1 page of a book, I turn the page and I forget what I just read before, I tend to repeat myself a lot (you probably remark this here...lol)...
Well, that's not easy...some people never get addict on the benzo drugs...they are lucky...some people like me, who had "street" drugs problem in the past will tend to became addicted fast on benzo drugs.
I think the one to blame on all this story is only me. The doctor never ask me at first if I was before addicted to a drug...I think he should ask the question before prescribe a benzo drug to someone...but I'm the one who take the pills...and I asked for more and more...
I don't think they are not usefull....they help to manage strong anxiety problems, but just in a short term of view. A benzo drug should never be prescribed for more than 4 weeks and should also never intended to be use as a long term treatment for social anxiety disorder or general anxiety...
So for your question, yes, Xanax is a lot porwerfull, it cause a lof of dizness problems as well as fatigue. If you was on Rivotril before and notice that it was not strong enought, maybe it's because you are also predisposed to "addiction"...becacause normally, Rivotril is one of the most powerfull benzo in the world. No wonder why in some countries, they remove it from the market as a anti-anxiety drug, it's just prescribe as an anticonvulsive drug now (in the UK it's like that...).
So go slow on the dosage, don't increase it for nothing...Maybe ask to be switch to a more long-acting benzo like Valium...yeah, valium have a lot of metabolites and can stay more than 200 hours in your blood, but it's more stable and less addictive and the side-effects like day-sleepness dissepear fast. A more long half-life mean a less difficult drug withdrawh also. Since Valium come into small pills of 2mg, that's easy to cut it in small pieces...Rivotril smallest pills come into 0.5mg and Xanax in 0.25mg also...Remember that 0.5mg of Rivotril or Xanax mean 10mg of Valium...so do the calcul...if I take only 1mg of Valium that's mean I will have to cut a 0.5 pill of Xanax into 10 pieces to have the same amount of benzo drugs...that's ridiculus...
Well that's all I can say...I hate benzo drugs cause they make me SLOW and cognitively affected...and I still don't know if one of these day I will return to my normal state or the damages will be permanent...Before I was so "smart"...I was able to do 10 things at the same times, go to the university, take course notes on my laptop, type a homework at the same time and talk to the person sit next to me, eat something and drink a coffee and do a sodoku in a book...all of this at the same time!!! lol Now, just answer to a message here, take all my energies and all my concentration...and a LOT of time...
I learn my lesson...that's the important...As soon as i'm stable on the Parnate, I will withdrawh the Valium by 1 mg/week...so in 20 weeks I will be benzo drug free for the first time of my life since 2005!!! ;-)
I wish you good luck with this...Remember, go slow on the Xanax intake...if you find it to be too much sedating, it's probably because the dose it to strong, so cut your dose...
Have a nice day ;-)
This is the end of the thread.
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