Benzos Lorazepam vs Xanax

[phatass]

xanax definately packs more of a punch

 

[80mg]

Definitely true. I've had plenty of experience with Xanax, and 80mg is right, it's like getting sloppy drunk. REALLY sloppy.

To answer the OP's question:

Xanax- Better recreationally
Ativan- Better therapeutically

TL;DR YOLO

lol jk. That's the best answer. Also valium is great thereputically. Kpins is a LITTLE better than xanx theraputically...and xanx im surprised is even legal lol

 

[Kid Amine]

Lorazepam was the most disappointing benzo I've ever taken, even at 0.5mg sublingually it didn't feel as therapeutically effective as the equivalent 0.25mg Xanax or 5mg Valium.

This. Lorazepam might as well be placebo pills for me; even in doses as high as 10mg, I did not feel calmer. No buzz, no high, no effect. This is FAR different than when I was prescribed alprazolam; even a 0.25mg pill would calm me down in <10minutes. Hell, just knowing I had something that could calm me down that quickly was calming in itself, and I always had extra pills at the end of the month. Now, high doses of alprazolam (>4mg) is basically asking for trouble

Diazepam is good stuff, but what I gather has active metabolites with LONG half lives. I remember backin 2004 I was prescribed Valium and got busted. I didnt want to detox in jail, so I stopped taking them long before my day in court. They were awful to get off of, took a full six weeks to feel normal again.

Everyone is different, but in my case I was prone (for a while) to major anxiety attacks that were intense. Lorazepam does not help with that, I needed something that worked NOW, and alprazolam works NOW.

If I were to rate the three in terms of withdraw, zero being a cakewalk and 10 being the 7th level of hell, lorazepam (ativan) would be a zero (because it's useless and worthless imo), xanax (alprazolam) would be a 2 (sucks buts it's very short lived), and valium (diazepam) would be a 6. and just for comparison's sake, oxycodone would be a 7, hydromorphone a 9, heroin a 10, and methadone (if done too quickly, which it is in 99% of the cases Ive seen) is about a 13.

Back to the benzos tho, in my experience it's really easy to screw up or overdo it with alprazolam, much moreso than any other benzo Ive tried.

 

[Psychonauticunt]

Alprazolam packs more of a 'punch' and offers very quick relief, and is chiefly anxiolytic (and also quite amnesic). I found its other typical benzo effects to be pretty negligible. I do consider it one of the more recreational benzos, though, and it's easy to eat a little too much. Works as a strong acute anxiolytic for me even at low doses though.
Lorazepam is also absorbed very quickly, and at least for me it also had stronger hypnotic, anticonvulsant and muscle relaxant effects, as well as a longer duration and less amnesia. I found it to have absolutely zero recreational value, so for me, it's a superior therapeutic benzo - comes on almost as fast and almost as strong, is less abusable, lasts longer, and works in other ways than anxiety relief.

Both are pretty damn addictive, but I found alprazolam to be more so.

 

[tricomb]

How you guys all say lorazepam is useless, are my exact sentiments towards clonazepam.

 

[dhcdavid]

Alprazolam (Xanax) in the U.K.

To clear this up once and for all: alprazolam DOES appear in the BNF (British National Formulary: the book which all doctor's and prescribing nurses, pharmacies etc have which comes out every year and contains every single drug which can be legally prescribed) BUT sharp-eyed readers will notice that alprazolam CANNOT be prescribed on the NHS: it can only be prescribed on a private prescription.

So the UK poster earlier in this thread whose doctor said they can't prescribe it was probably absolutely correct: as the vast majority of doctors in the UK are working in the NHS and therefore cannot legally prescribe alprazolam.

And anyone who looks up "alprazolam" on Wikipedia and notes that it can be prescribed on the NHS is talking bollocks. Read the text in a current edition of the BNF: alprazolam may very well appear in the BNF but it most certainly cannot be prescribed on the NHS.

 

[phatass]

How you guys all say lorazepam is useless, are my exact sentiments towards clonazepam.

i personally find lorazepam and clonazepam to be completely useless recreationally, and very limited therapetic value... both benzos that just didn't "do it" for me

 

[ErgicMergic]

Alprazolam (Xanax) in the U.K.

To clear this up once and for all: alprazolam DOES appear in the BNF (British National Formulary: the book which all doctor's and prescribing nurses, pharmacies etc have which comes out every year and contains every single drug which can be legally prescribed) BUT sharp-eyed readers will notice that alprazolam CANNOT be prescribed on the NHS: it can only be prescribed on a private prescription.

So the UK poster earlier in this thread whose doctor said they can't prescribe it was probably absolutely correct: as the vast majority of doctors in the UK are working in the NHS and therefore cannot legally prescribe alprazolam.

And anyone who looks up "alprazolam" on Wikipedia and notes that it can be prescribed on the NHS is talking bollocks. Read the text in a current edition of the BNF: alprazolam may very well appear in the BNF but it most certainly cannot be prescribed on the NHS.

Even if doctors were able to prescribe it on the NHS legally, would it change anything? I've read that the UK is extremely careful with prescribing benzos, most patients are given a very short term script of 2mg TID valium, rarely any higher and especially not long term in most cases. They don't even make Xanax dosages that low, which would be ~0.125mg. I kind of wish that doctors were that strict here, some get put on ridiculous dosages of benzos long term for minor, non-debilitating anxiety.

 

[dhcdavid]

Replying to ErgicMergic: you're pretty much spot on re benzo prescribing trends in the UK. The GPs in the UK, until the mid to late 1980s, were as carefree in their copious over-prescribing of benzos as anyone else; but after a few documentaries featuring moronic horror stories from junkie housewives and white professionals who couldn't handle the fact they enjoyed drugs and wanted to blame someone else (i.e their GPs) for their hard-earned benzo addictions, the tranq party was crashed and prescribing of benzos has been in steep decline ever since.

Unless you're epileptic - and have responded poorly to the 10 or so other 1st and 2nd line treatments and get scripted clonazepam long-term - or dying (and have midazolam added to your iv meds), here in the UK nowadays long-term benzo scripts are things of great rarity and low dose. Trouble sleeping is invariably met with zopiclone first, zolpidem second and only in rare case with nitrazepam and temazepam. Severe and debilitating acute anxiety may see you scripted diazepam but almost always for a maximum of 2 weeks or occasionally 4 weeks. Lorazepam is usually only used IV in a hospital setting if someone's having bad seizures.

Midazolam is however commonly used for most surgeries requiring a degree of amnesia (ie many of them) but only as a one-off in the Operating Room/ Operating Theatre.

Diazepam is only rarely prescribed long-term for muscle spasms (there are other non-benzo drugs tried first) and invariably they'll try to shift you off that after a while due to fears of addiction and unless you have something nasty like MS your chances of getting a benzo long-term in the UK are pretty fucking slim. Alcoholics suffering from delerium tremens as they come off booze may well get diazepam prescribed short term but are just as likely to get the weaker librium (chlordiazepoxide) instead. Hope that clarifies things.

 

[80mg]

Honestly everyones different. Besides xanax which seems to knock almsot everyone down...my kpins may ont work for you, and your lorezapam may not work for me. Experiment a little.

 

[RorerQuaalude714]

...and xanx im surprised is even legal lol

qft

 

[xxxyyy]

in my experience they're just about equally effective against anxiety. however, alprazolam has a 'kick' to it that lorazepam has not, so if i'd want to abuse a benzo recreationally and had the choice it would always be alprazolam.

 

[Pupils]

For me personally Xanax hits quicker and has (what the previous poster mentioned) the "sloppy drunk" effect when taken in high(er) dosage than ativan...

for functional use...Ativan
for recreational use...Xanax

That's just MY experience. If im on the job, I'm going to take Ativan over Xanax anyday...I don't want the *1,000 yard stare* zoning off then all of a sudden "Huh, Oh Yeah...Back to what I was saying" effect. I like that about Xanax...The FTW tune shit out and carry on my armchair keyboard commando shit. LOL

I get prescribed Tizanidine (flexall) for muscle spasms...I don't take that if I'm out and about/on the job. It really sedates me, especially if just sitting around. Flexall isn't a benzo, but I could compare it in a way to Xanax, just for the "tuning out" aspect...Valium is my favorite, but Xanax is the most available to get a hold of.

what i would do for a REAL 10mg Valium

I would put it in a stamp/coin sleeve and just keep it up on my desk/wall for decoration. You gotta admit, it is the most romantic looking pill EVER made. It just looks blue,mellow,loving. LOL

That should of been the slogan...Kinda like on Wayne's World "Small,Yellow...different" *that ad they did for that pain relief pill...forgot the fuckin' name! *facepalm

Valium-"Blue,Mellow...Different" :D

 

[Manflu]

I have had bad panic attacs my whole life. Started with benzos in my 20's and have tried the most. Valium is not good when you feel a panic attack is building up, not even for long use to prevent future attacks. Oxazepam is a little better when used in long terms. I have used alprazolam and clonazepam each for years and clonazepam is great for preventing future attacks. So is alprazolam, and if you get an attack, you can just take a ekstra pill since it kicks really fast compared to clonazepam. Alprazolam is the best if you suffer from severe panic attacks long term in my opinion. Just don't stop cold turkey with alprazolam. I tried and ended up in the hospital because I got a heavy epileptic respond to the cold turkey stop.
And if you have so bad attacks that alprazolam doesn't work fast enough, Midazolam is the go to drug to stop all kind of anxiety on the spot. But that is in my opinion an emergency drug against panic attacks when nothing else works.

Just my 2 cents...

 

[Keif' Richards]

They are horses of a different color. If you're looking for information of which is more fun or recreational, we don't do that here. The primary benefit if differentiating these would be to determine which is more beneficial for status epilepticus or for pre-surgical sedation. If you're just trying to get fucked up, both will do just fine and the differences between the two will be like a random guy describing two different horses. They're both gonna have four legs, a head and a tail.