Benzo Rx change, Ativan --> Klonopin

[bronson]

Just recently had my prescription for generalized anxiety disorder with panic attacks changed from 1mg Ativan, three times a day as needed to 1mg Klonopin, four times a day as needed.

The Ativan had been doing a good job at controlling my anxiety for the most part, however its duration was not long enough, and thanks to my OCD, the anxiety would commonly recur after the Ativan had worn off.

Since getting switched to Klonopin, it seems to be doing much better at keeping my anxiety under control, however it also seems to be making me very tired compared to Ativan.

Does anyone else who has taken these at therapeutic doses know if Klonopin normally causes more sedation / sleepiness than other benzos?

 

[drug_mentor]

I have looked at 2 benzo equivalency charts, one puts .25mg of clonazepam (klonopin) equal to 1mg of lorazepam (ativan) while the other puts .5mg of clonazepam equivalent to 1-2mg of lorazepam. Going by this mg for mg clonaz is twice as strong as loraz, if not 4 times as strong.

Lorazepam has a half life of only 6-12 hours compared to clonazepams half life of 18-50 hours.

Clearly mg for mg clonazepam is considerably more potent than lorazepam before you factor in the substantially longer half life. I have no idea how your doctor fucked up the doses on the switch so badly, unless he intended to increase your dose by a large margin?

It is obvious by looking at these figures why you would both feel greater sedation and greater anxiety relief. If you do not wish to increase your dependence on benzodiazepines, you may want to consider tailoring your dosing of clonaz to fall more in line with what you were used to with Ativan.

It is honestly mind boggling to me how you have been switched to a more potent and longer lasting drug AND had your total mg dose increased, it seems pretty irresponsible on the doctors part to not see how you went on a dose of clonaz that was equal to your usual loraz dose, as opposed to one that is considerably greater.

 

[qwe]

kpin lasts quite a while. i'd get used to taking less than 4, and save like 1 a day to have to sublingual when panic sets in. tastes sweet

 

[bronson]

Very odd as that was a question I specifically asked at my doctors appt. yesterday. He said that mg for mg the two were the same, the only difference being the Klonopin would be longer lasting.

As stated above, I did need something that would be longer lasting since my OCD seemed to be recurring the anxiety otherwise.

Very odd indeed that he essentially doubled my dose though, and then also went for three a day to four, even if it is just on an as needed basis.

Thanks for the input guys.