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questions about benzodiazepinesi have a question... as i stated in my previous post, i plan to soon be prescribed some sort of benzo for my constant anxiety and mysophobia. my doctor has already talked to me about this class of drugs, and he says that if no other medications work for me and i keep getting the negative side effects from anti-depressants then we will move ahead and try a benzo. my question is, what exactly is the main difference from benzo to benzo? for instance alprazolam, diazepam, clonazepam, lorazepam, and temazepam? i understand that clonazepam has a longer half-life than alprazolam and the effects tend to take longer to build up in your system, rather than taking alprazolam and feeling the effects almost instantaneously. i know that the dosages for clonazepam and alprazolam are equal, 0.5 mg of alprazolam = 0.5 mg clonazepam, but the equivalent dosage for diazepam is a whole 10 mg. are there certain benzos that anyone has found to be more effective than others for the treatment of anxiety and phobias? do certain benzos not carry the sedative and hypnotic properties? any information on these drugs would be greatly appreciated. i already know a lot about alprazolam, i am just wondering about the other types of benzos such as listed below. thanks a lot!
( categories: Discussion of Prescription and OTC Meds )
  Benzodiazepine medications
Chicago_cubs25, Try this link and let us know if you still have questions. There are a few up there you will not be prescribed, regardless of the severity of your anxiety. Good luck, and let us know if the link helps or not. gtrplayer  hmm... that website tends to
hmm... that website tends to focus mostly on the withdraw and addiction of benzodiazepines. i generally know what benzos are, and that they pose a high threat for addiction and i've heard that withdraw symptoms can be horrendous. basically what i'm asking is what is the main difference from drug to drug? there probably isn't a staight cut answer, but i'm guessing that it has to deal with the 6 main properities that each may or may not produce (hypnotic, sedative, anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, muscle relaxant, and amnesic) and their different half-lives. when comparing drugs like opiates, such as are hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, and tramadol, i wonder why there are so many different types of benzodiazepines? i have been reading a lot and most of the time i can not understand all of the scientific terminology stated in the different pharmacology aspects. thanks anyway for the website gtrplayer, i'm going to read through it more. i appreciate any and all feedback. thanks again here, i found this website
here, i found this website on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_benzodiazepines
does this table seem to be accurate? does it contain the information needed to separate each benzo from one another? this seems to be the answer that i was looking for I would be careful about
I would be careful about taking Wikepedia as a real source. This site can be changed day to day by anyone that want's to change it. Now don't get me wrong most of the time it is correct but I always used at least one other site that`has a good reputation. Just an observation Sorry, Chicago_cubs25, I
Sorry, Chicago_cubs25, I threw up the one link I knew talked about benzodiazepine medications in detail. I forgot that it also dealt with the withdrawing process. If you are going to be started on a daily regiment of benzodiazepine therapy, ask your doctor about the longer acting medications. Short acting medicines like Xanax and Ativan are good for panic attacks, but does not do much (unless taken around the clock) in terms of preventing an attack. Xanax XR works pretty well in terms of preventing a panic attack, but depending on insurance type, may be a bit pricey. Klonopin is the other long acting benzodiazepine that I have seen prescribed on a fairly regular basis for panic disorder. Good luck, and sorry the link did not help. gtrplayer  [quute]alprazolam (Xanax)
Quote:
All of the links DO NOT WORK!
Dr. Knight  Links
No, they don't work. It's got something to do with referring to the respective links on Wikipedia's pages only. Won't work outside of that website. It's like here on Pharmer. Early on I was instructed that I could do 'node/XXX' and it would go to the post or image or whatever. And it works as long as I am on Pharmer.org and linking here. But it won't work if I use the same link offsite. To be safe always use the entire URL - http://www.whatever.website/XXX The link above is a 'nonsense' link for example only. It doesn't go any place. It's just to illustrate that you need the entire 'http://www' part for good results. I'm not a pharmacist or a medical doctor. This message is not medical advice nor is it an offer to provide medical advice. All drug identifications should be validated by a licensed MD or pharmacist.  All Benzodiazepines
All Benzodiazepines exhibit the same characteristics, but do so at varying degrees. Thats why one may be better for a different condition than another one. You say you are interested in what real people say about the different drugs for each condition and not what just some doctor tells you. If thats what you are interested in then read the Prescribing Information for each medication that you are considering suggesting to your doctor. The info in there that relates to side effects,and length of action and so on are straight from the clinical trials that where done on real people. Oh yea, you also not that 0.5mg alprazolam is equal to 0.5 clonazepam, but you note that it takes a whole 10mg Diazepam to equal the two, like its a bad thing. The numbers dont really matter, as long as its an equipotent dose, right? In case you are still reading this the top five (in no particular order) for anxiety and phobias will be Valium, Xanax, Klonopin, Ativan, and (Librium which really isnt Rx'd too often).  All benzos are similar in
All benzos are similar in that the slow down the central nervous system by acting on the inhibitory nuerotransmitter GABA. The main differences are some are specificially for panic attacks, some like clonazepam are for panic attacks and seizures. Some are more for sleep inducement, more sedative/hypnotic ones (although they all are), some are for daily GAD, some are for muslce spasms and strains. They are also used in weaning people off of opiates and other drugs. Mainly they are for anxiety, but there are many off brand uses and many types of anxiety. One person might be nervous a lot (GAD), while another is not being able to breath and fainting (full blown panic attack). Check with a licensed MD before you take any suggestions! thanks for all the feedback
thanks for all the feedback guys. i appreciate it. when i stated that 10mg of diazepam = .5mg of alprazolam i was just stating how different the dosages are. i'm def not saying that 10mg of diazepam is bad, not at all. i was just stating the difference between the dosages, when compared to others. that more diazepam is needed (compared to other benzos) in order to find relief from your symptoms. Goat, valium's primary effects are that of anxiolytic, anticonvulsant and muscle relaxant which explains why the alprazolam probably wouldn't do too much for muscle spasms, because xanax's primary effects are listed as haiving only anxiolytic effects. the fact that diazepam has muscle relaxant and anticonvulsant effects would tend to make it a better medication for you condition. also, i've read many many
my bad kirby and knight metal!! i realized that those links don't work, and i'm new as a user on pharmer.org, i didn't know how to make them actual liks. and to freakonaleash... i've read many many medical references about the equivalent dosages of all benzos, and they all state that 1 mg of alprazolam = 1 mg of clonazepam. some people think that's wrong simply because clonazepam doesn't act as fast as alprazolam. i strongly believe that they are definately the same in terms of dosage. every medical site and doctors have have confirmed this. they are the same is terms of dasage... thats true, i have seen so
thats true, i have seen so many different comparision charts all saying different stuff. i have always believed that klonopon=alprazolam in terms o dosage... but here are some charts that i found. damn, i don't know what to believe?!? http://www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm http://www.mental-health-today.com/rx/benzo.htm http://www.betterway2health.com/Benzoequiv.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_benzodiazepines (althought i know that many people here don't like wikipedia, most of it's information is reliable) |
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lol so i guess i didn't have to bother everyone with my post if i would have just looked harder myself. but while i already posted it, i'll take this time to ask anyone who has taken or been on benzodiazepines their opinions about these drugs. for instance which benzo(s) helped you the most for your symptoms. i'm sorry to ask so many questions, but i like to hear feedback and answers from real people who have experienced these drugs not some doctor who can read a book as i very well can. not saying that doctors don't know what they're talking about, but i like to hear testimonials, you know what i mean? i want to understand what i'm putting into my body and i think it's pretty interesting how drugs effect the mind and body and i like understanding the mechanisms of pharmacutical drugs. thanks again. go cubs!
Joined: 2007-09-24