Clonazepam and Ativan

Question

I have taken Clonazepam 2 mg 2-3 times a day for several years. My new doctor took me off Clonazepam and put me on 1 mg Ativan 3 times a day. I think the change was too drastic. I am having withdrawals and am very scared. Any advice

Paxiled · Answer

I've been having to comment on your posts too much.  You are not reading what I'm writing, and you are generalizing what happened to you personally to what has happened to others.  Xanax made my nuts, valium worked only short term, clonazepam I doubt has worked at all.  The body does not metabolize drugs the same.  You are completely ignoring this, just going by statistical dosages.  Did you ever take a drug and it didn't work but another did?  Why?  Some of what you're telling people isn't only overgeneralized, it's dangerous as it can lead to some bad withdrawals and addiction where addiction isn't necessary.  Again, I'm sure you're doing the best for you, but that isn't what will happen to somebody else.  The brain doesn't work that way.  Now, of course I'm nuts or I wouldn't be on this site, but like you I've been going through this for decades and so I had to read up on it because a medication destroyed my life and doctors had no idea what was going on.  Researchers do.  But any clinician will tell you, this is all trial and error, not an exercise in statistics.  Be very careful telling others to do what you're doing, just share your experience and caution about the pitfalls you've had, but don't believe for a moment, as I don't, that what has happened to you will necessarily happen to someone else.

DYSLEXIC · Answer

you are totally wrong.       Valium is the weakest but last longer you can easy be on 100mg I have been on 2- 40mg does a day before. Xanax is 1 of 3 strongest  100mg Valium is only 5 mg of Xanax  , and 10mg of Ativan. is 5MG XANAX Get them  wrong and are in the ****.       If you don't go out your way to find this out frankly your nuts,  many would not dream of taking 100mg valium  , but would look at 5 mg XANAX  and think that's not much when really there the same be very very awarel

Paxiled · Answer

Just to say, you can't really compare one drug to another by quantitative analysis, as one post above does.  People don't metabolize drugs the same as others or the same as other drugs.  Some work, some don't.  Some work at lower doses than others because they're metabolized better.  When you're on a really high dose of a med it means it either pooped out and you had to go way up or you're body just doesn't let the drug get to where it has to go -- liver metabolites can be responsible for this, along with other things.  The brain is a very hard place particularly to get substances to.  So a very low dose of one benzo might work whereas another benzo might need a very high dose in the same person -- you just can't generalize from one med to another based on statistics when you're dealing with the human brain.

AgreatRescue · Answer

I have a friend who suffers from panic disorder and seizures and is tired of taking medicines, she switch to compassionate healing she says it made her feel better. I dunno if this helps. I tried it a couple of times and so far it's doing well. For pains and depression et al. Maybe you should try too.

DYSLEXIC · Answer

6 mg of clonazepam is the same strength  has 12 mg ATIVAN its twice the strength ,   he has left you with the grand total of 1and a half mg clonazepam  instead of the 6mg you were taking, no wonder your ill.  I take 6mg of Ativan a day and that's a lot , your 6mg clonazepam was 12mg  ATIVAN  the most scripted in ENGLAND is 10 mg or the same has 50mg of Valium  . LOOK AT IT ANOTHER WAY YOUR 6MG   is 120mg Valium this is how it works 1 mg clonazepam is the same has 2 Ativan or 20mg valium

persephonedemeter · Answer

Also, the only thing I can see for the reason why your psychiatrist is adamant about taking you off clonazepam is if he thought you have a tolerance to it now and it isn't holding you. It doesn't mean you are less prone to withdrawal when it is being removed and weaned down. In other words,ideveloping a tolerance to the clonazepam doesn't mean the withdrawal lessens with more tolerance to a drug,

persephonedemeter · Answer

Sorry. Going throughkeyboard skipping problems. I meant pain and sedation management. The other thing is doctors in different fields consult each other and can ask for specialized advice from each other. It is done all the time, between doctors who don't have a problem doing so. I don't know if you are "forward" to ask if the doctpr can consult woth a colleague, and I don't know what the ego or self esteem of your doctor is like and what you are willing to do or possibly confront. I know it is frustrating going "up a ladder" and just trying to get addressed AND help. I just want to let you know you do have more than one option to deal with your dillema.

persephonedemeter · Answer

Do you have a primary care physician? You can tell the primary care physician what you are going through and let that dr. know what a bad state you are in and that it needs to be addressed, that your psychiatrist is not addressing what you are going through. You can also try the ER again and get a different dr., but an urgent care center may be the way to go instead. You can call your insurance and ask for advice to where you can be seen and that would work with your coverage. I usually talk to my primary care doctor.

Actually, doctors who are not psychiatrists and specialize in substance abuse and sedation management are very good with weaning and getting people off medications like the benzodiazepines you are on. Weaning is fine tuned to the person. It has to be that way, because everyone's bodies and responses are different, You really need to be SEEN by someone who will address your concerns, which are very reasonable and when the physical symptoms of withdrawal and mental agitation is present, Weaning also requires monitoring and feedback on response, and that goes for medication switching, Close, timely followup is important besides managing the change out and wean.

I don't get the ER doc and psychiatrist response at all.

breakdance202 · Answer

I don't understand why your new doc would switch you to ativan either. As others have stated and been told(so have I), clonazepam is better for long term use. I was on 4mg of alprazolam a day and was cut down to 2mg pretty much overnight and had withdrawals from the decrease and even had to call in sick from work. And then on 2mg I was withdrawing between doses. 

It wasn't good. Then my doc switched me to clonazepam 2mg a day, and it works much better for me. (I can still take alprazolam 2mg if I have a panic attack or severe anxiety attack, but I rarely do.)

Anyway, I don't understand your doc's logic. Did he or she say why? 

Benzo withdrawal is awful. I know how that feels. Have you been sleeping alright? 

I just don't understand your doctor's logic!

Paxiled · Answer

Seriously, I'd get a different psychiatrist.  I'm not a doctor or an expert on anything, but I do take clonazepam.  This is my understanding:  if you're going to take a benzo daily, which is a bad idea all around but sometimes we do what we do, clonazepam is the recommended one because of it's long half life in the body.  Ativan leaves the body much more quickly and is therefore thought to be much more likely to cause dependency problems and reach tolerance much more quickly.  When I was put on Klonopin many years ago I wasn't told these were addictive drugs and that you really shouldn't take them on a daily basis and that they were very hard to stop taking, but at this point I'm surprised at what's happening with you.  When this happens, whether it's a psychiatrist or a surgeon, the recommendation is usually to get a second opinion.  This is what I'd do, because this goes against everything I've been told for years and years by psychiatrists and my own research.  I'm not saying your psychiatrist doesn't have some reason for this, but I am saying that my experience over a long period of time is that most psychiatrists are awful at their jobs and primary docs even worse.  These meds are very difficult to use and therefore you need to be sure your doctor is giving you good info.  I would definitely see a different psychiatrist and see if you get different results, as I think you will.  Good luck.

chuck001972 · Answer

My new Psychiatrist is the one who made the change.  He is very adamant that I get off Clonazepam.  I called today because I am having withdrawal symptoms and he will not increase the Ativan to what the equivalent was of the Clonazepam.  I'm a mess right now and don't know what to do.

Paxiled · Answer

Yeah -- get a psychiatrist.  Regular docs are terrible at this.  If you're going to take a benzo regularly, clonazepam is thought to be a better one because it stays in the body a long time, whereas the others leave quickly.  And to avoid withdrawals, you have to taper off very slowly -- taking a new drug doesn't necessarily work for this because they work differently.  If I were you, I'd go back on the clonazepam at the last dose at which you felt fine, and, given that you're still going to be on a benzo, as long as the clonazepam is still working and you don't have some side effects that forced you to switch I'd stay on it until I was ready to stop taking benzos, but I'd definitely discuss this with a psychiatrist before you make any move like this as they're more likely to understand the difference between drugs and how hard they are to stop taking.  Not likely, but more likely.  Good luck.

annak91 · Answer

I was on Clonzepam .5 mg several times a day, so my dosage was not as high as yours.  One day I thought I was having a stroke.  The emergency room physician said it was Clonazepam withdrawal and nothing more.  I had to go under a doctor's supervision to wean myself off and it took months. The symptoms can be scary. I went back to .5 mg at night to help during a stressful period of my life and am currently at .25 mg and am having withdrawal symptoms even from that small of a dose.  I am attending a 12-step support group in my local community about going through this withdrawal so that I do not have to go through this alone.  This is a very common problem, it seems.  Some doctors just push pills and the recovery community helps us change our stinking thinking, the true issue at hand.  I have gone to several meetings and my eyes have truly been opened.  I'm on my path towards true healing.  Best to you!