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Is Valium not as anxiolytic as Klonopin? Not well post substitution


[Ac...]

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Hi There You Who All Hopefully Have Great Wisdom to Share on This!

 

June 2017 was at 3 mg klonopin + 2 mg ativan per day; tapered off the ativan and down on the klonopin to .75 mg per day Oct 2017, then, finding Ashton, substituted .25 mg K 3x/day to ~ 5 mg V 3x/day (14 mg total - 5/5/4).

 

After tapering too fast in January - go to 5/1/5 before "crashing" & "kindling" - trying to get stable again at 5/5/4, and finding it VERY tough. 2-3 x day intense anxiety attacks daily going on 3rd week now.

 

I'm wondering if maybe the valium itself doesn't work for me as well as the klonopin?

 

Curious if anyone has ever "substituted back" to klonopin and tapered successfully, finding valium just not right for them?

 

Or am I better to stay w/ the valium and wait it out till it stabilizes. It's kind of intense - it's really wrecking my nervous system, I respond to an email saying someone missed a call like there's a terrorist outside the door - just nuts (and painful). Can't calm myself.

 

Am I still paying the price for cutting too quickly in January - initially I was fine, I substituted 1/2 of each of 3 doses over about 6-7 weeks - but starting to wonder if valium's profile for me is less "effective." Or maybe that additional "effectiveness" will make it harder to taper off?

 

Thanks for any experiences and/or research links!

 

-=AA

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I don't know anything about K but am trying to stabilise on Valium after c/ting *only* 2mgs about a moth ago.  Things got decidedly worse after c/t and am still struggling.

 

Having tiny snippets of *normality* only to slip backwards again.  One step forward two steps back, progress I guess.

 

I really can't answer your question but have read that V is the crossover way to go, maybe, like me, your brain is struggling to find equilibrium and to cross back might cause more chaos?  Again, I really DONT know and am on a wing and a prayer myself.

 

Went and sat on my balcony this morning and felt something drop on my head and thought it was a spider.  I started screaming and clawing through my hair in panic.  Neighbours came running it was really embarrassing.  Every sense is on high alert, it's awful and am trying to take it slow. 

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I think you are right. Compared to Klonopin, valium is a much weaker anxiolytic. It is helpful in tapering from other bzd's  because it has a very long half life, but, by itself, it isn't a very strong anxiolytic. It would be for someone with no tolerance, but for some of us who have reached tolerance on the likes of Klonopin or Ativan, Valium will feel weak. However, it should get better because it takes a while for Valium to build up in the body to properly replace the Klonopin that was previously there. Good luck!

 

By the way, I love the comment about benzo sounding like some petroleum product :). I am so tired of that abbreviation. I am much more used to the word tranquilizer.

 

 

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