Diazepam (Valium) is the weaker "kinder-gentler" benzo, it's half life is 20-100 hours.
Doctor's (most) are very unknowledgeable about the workings of benzo's. Better to talk to those who have been there.
You've been given some good advice above and some excellent information. The best person to discuss this all with, in the end, is your doctor. And while benzos can literally be "life-savers," the bottom line is that their main job is to help you with the SYMPTOMS of your anxiety/panic. They do not CURE it. For that, you need to be in some kind of therapy to figure out the root cause of your anxiety and deal with it. Once you've done that, you can then work on getting off whichever benzo has been helping you cope.
I hope some of these answers have helped you.
Peace
Greenlydia
Benzos can vary. Some are worse than others. Yes, all are addictive. But some are for short term fixes. Others might be for longer term usage. Xanax is Mr Nasty but is an instant fix. Valium would come second in the hardest Benzo list. Fast acting, but a hard come down effect once it begins to wear off. Klonopin would be the easiest of them all as far as how long it can be used for and it is not all that bad either. But they vary from user to user. What is good for one person may be bad for another person. Withdrawls are nasty. Have been there with Xanax. Trust me, you don't want to go there. But if you need medication, you need medication and it depends on what doctor is offering. Might help you come the end of the day.
i also understand your not supposed to take benzoes for a long time because of serious withdrawel symptoms at least thats what i was told.
Chronic use of benzodiazepines leads to the development of tolerance with a decrease of benzodiazepine binding sites. - Wikipedia
Poster jakegordon's text seems pretty much on the mark.
Klonopin is an anti-anxiety medication that can be taken for a long period of time. Xanax and valium are supposed to be for short durations. Both meds can develop dependancy and tolerance, but klononpin, not as quickly. I am not a doctor, but this is what I have heard...I may be wrong!
I know of people that had stopped klonopin and restarted later and it worked fine (all through the advice of a doctor of course). Your body can definietly build up a tolerance to benzos, but klonopin is a much longer lasting benzo then xanax or ativan and is used for longer durations.
it all depends on the person.
a friend of mine has been on klonopin for 14 years, he cant take any SSRIs or anything because of allergic reasons, and hes been on 1-1.5 for the most part of the time, and says he never feels the need to up the dose.
He dose however every 6mths or so, cut his dose by a little for about 2 weeks, and for some reason he thinks this keeps him from needing more..
I dont know if that works, or not, but he seems to swear by it.
Like I said, I think it all has to do with the person.
I read allot of studies, and met allot of people that agree that if the 2 mg thresh hold isnt passed then the risk for tolerance and withdraw complications isnt as great, but everyones different.