Never mind

[[Buddie]]

N/m 

[[Buddie]]

Not everyone can take Valium. It makes a lot of people feel depressed. I tried crossing over to Valium, but I couldn't handle the depression, so I switched back to Klonopin and tapered off that. Klonopin has a fairly long half-life - only half as long as Valium, but 3 or 4 times longer than Xanax. So you might consider switching to Klonopin.

I'm not sure what the best Klonopin dosage would be for you at this point, but it is commonly thought that Klonopin is about 20 times more potent than Valium. See the equivalence table here:  https://www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm  So according to that table, if you're currently taking 10mg Valium, you would cross over to 0.5mg Klonopin; for 20mg of Valium, you'd cross over to 1mg of Klonopin; if 40mg Valium, cross over to 2mg Klonopin; and if you're taking 50mg Valium, you'd cross over to 2.5mg Klonopin. But I have read other estimates to the effect that 1mg of Klonopin is equivalent to only 10mg of Valium. It's not an exact science, and you have to see what works for you. 

[[Buddie]]

Well you are on such a high dose, I fear giving too much advice.  Your doc should lead.
That said, if you have a bunch of valium, you could slowly transition over.  How much valium do you have at the moment you start the new drug?
How can we help you?

[[Buddie]]

Thanks. I don’t think my psych is going to go for this though. I was told that the long half life of the Valium and K makes it unnecessary to do a gradual crossover. Just basically start the klonopin and see how it goes for a week and let him know how I’m feeling and if I want to continue with klonopin or stay with Valium. At this point I’m so confused and worried about kindling that I almost feel like I should just keep trying with the Valium and not mess with my already frazzled CNS. Right now I’m taking Valium 4x a day, 10 mgs, 5 mgs, 10 mgs, and 20 mgs at night, so 45 mgs total. I’m torn l honestly. Maybe I’m just not trying hard enough. I am just wracking my brain about what to do. 

In your opening post, you indicated you had been ‘stuck’ at your current dose of 45mg of Valium. Can you help us understand what you mean by ‘stuck’?  For example, do you mean you’ve tried to reduce your dose but were unable to do so?  Something else? 

I ask because I wonder if you might feel better if you adjusted your dose — it’s possible the dose you crossed over to was not ‘just right’ for you.  Benzodiazepine substitution is not an exact science. For example, I’ve included a link below to a benzodiazepine equivalence calculator that shows the range of published equipotent dose estimates for different benzodiazepines.

Feel free to ignore the following if you are already fully informed about the challenges of tapering clonazepam …

Do you live in the US?  If so, the lowest commercial dosage form available is a 0.125mg Orally Disintegrating Tablet (ODT).  (Unlike in some other countries, a commercial oral clonazepam liquid is NOT available.) This means the only ways to achieve ‘small enough’ reductions in dose are to (1) obtain and use a compounded dosage form (either solid or liquid) and/or (2) use one of the do-it-yourself (DIY) approaches (none of which have been tested for safety, effectiveness, or accuracy).  Other challenges associated with tapering clonazepam include (1) it is an extremely potent drug so small fluctuations in dose can have a large impact and (2) its half-life is much shorter than that of diazepam so it is difficult to achieve a smooth, gradual reduction in blood serum concentration.

FYI: Member Cooper5 substituted diazepam for alprazolam and seems to be doing well.

Link:
Benzodiazepine Equivalents Conversion Calculator - ClinCalc.com
https://clincalc.com/Benzodiazepine/

[[Buddie]]

Not everyone can take Valium. It makes a lot of people feel depressed. I tried crossing over to Valium, but I couldn't handle the depression, so I switched back to Klonopin and tapered off that. Klonopin has a fairly long half-life - only half as long as Valium, but 3 or 4 times longer than Xanax. So you might consider switching to Klonopin.

I'm not sure what the best Klonopin dosage would be for you at this point, but it is commonly thought that Klonopin is about 20 times more potent than Valium. See the equivalence table here:  https://www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm  So according to that table, if you're currently taking 10mg Valium, you would cross over to 0.5mg Klonopin; for 20mg of Valium, you'd cross over to 1mg of Klonopin; if 40mg Valium, cross over to 2mg Klonopin; and if you're taking 50mg Valium, you'd cross over to 2.5mg Klonopin. But I have read other estimates to the effect that 1mg of Klonopin is equivalent to only 10mg of Valium. It's not an exact science, and you have to see what works for you.

Now THAT is interesting. So K is like in between X and V while still as “strong “ as X just longer half life.
And not as sedating or depressing as you like, as V.
There is a well versed Doc on YouTube who suggests the same.
In the end however whatever the flavora Benzo seems to be a Benzo…. Sigh

[[Buddie]]

Yeah, you have to switch to the Valium in phases.
I messed it all up.
I detoxed 40mg of Valium and 4 mg of klonopin. I couldn't handle it any longer.

Made me super depressed and miserable.

The Valium did come with a slight depression once I added it.

Take your time and do it right. Organize and plan.

I did everything wrong a person could.