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Benzos Clonazepam benzo equivalence

L

L3inad

Bluelighter
Joined
May 9, 2009
Messages
434
Location
Melbourne
Hi all,

Just getting some confusing info re: clonazepam benzo equivalence. I've been on xanax (1-2mg daily) for about 12 months or so, unscripted. Mostly recreational use, but I do believe I have moderate natural anxiety. So lately I've been switching to longer acting benzo's to try and taper down before I go overseas, this also means I dont get anxious towards the end of the day as I would when using just xanax at nights.

I'm aiming to break the habit of daily dosing benzo's so I can get down to a level where the w/d's are bare-able if I have to go through it oversea's where I cant source anything.

Most websites from google say that Clonazepam is twice as potent as alprazolam (0.25mg/0.5mg respectively)

Here and here.

However the bl Benzodiazepine-Equivalency-Half-Life-Dose-Chart thread seems to think they're of equal potency. (0.25mg/0.25mg)

I've been using diazepam during the week, 10 - 20 mg a day and trying to wait as long as possible between doses (ie. 10mg in the morning, then say 15mg after uni the next day).

Currently switching to Clonazepam due to availability/intermediate halflife between alpraz and diazepam. Just wondering if anyone has some input to clear the clonazepam equivalency up completely, so I can taper accordingly.

Thanks guys, apologies if this has already been answered, the Benzo equivalency thread was closed so thought I'd start this. I'm a nearly graduated pharmacology student, so no need to simplify responses. Science is good :D
 
Alprazolam and clonazepam are equally as potent. So 0.5mg's of alprazolam = 0.5mg's of clonazepam. Also 0.5mg's of alprazolam and clonazepam = 10mg's of diazepam. Here is a good link for looking up benzodiazepine equivalency.

You can taper off with clonazepam but make sure you go really slow. Valium is a better one to taper with because of it's very long half life and the doses are much easier to adjust.
 
paranoid android said:
Alprazolam and clonazepam are equally as potent. So 0.5mg's of alprazolam = 0.5mg's of clonazepam. Also 0.5mg's of alprazolam and clonazepam = 10mg's of diazepam. Here is a good link for looking up benzodiazepine equivalency.

You can taper off with clonazepam but make sure you go really slow. Valium is a better one to taper with because of it's very long half life and the doses are much easier to adjust.
Click to expand...

Thats what I was hoping to hear. Switched to clonaz yesterday, started with 1mg and topped up another 1mg shortly after. Was expecting to get way more wasted than a 2mg xanax but found it quiet comparable. So was worried I'd have to start my taper at 0.5mg of clonaz, which I didn't feel would be enough. This makes it easy to work out in my head on a day to day basis.

Thanks heaps! :D
 
people think klonopic is so much weaker then xanax but its not , it makes me laugh, if ur taking 8mg of xanax a day, and switch to 8mg klonopin a day, u will not suffer any withdrawl, i think klonopin is superior than xanax..
 
You could probably switch to 4mg of clonazepam, or at most 6mg of clonazepam if you're taking 8mg of alprazolam a day. They are equipotent (I actually think I read once that xanax IS stronger, but negligibly so), but Clonazepam's half life is so much longer that one doesn't need to re-dose as much as someone would on Xanax or another short acting Benzo. In a way, Clonazepam and Diazepam are to Alprazolam what Methadone is to heroin or Dilaudid. The goal when switching someone to a longer acting benzo is to be able to keep that person comfortable without having to redose multiple times a day.
 
Well I've been taking 1mg clonazepam a day and finding myself alot more comfortable than I was taking 1mg alprazolam. No anxiety towards the end of the day has been a nice change. That said I took 6mg alpraz to get to sleep last night, but there were some amphetamines etc involved.
the need
I find your comparison to opiate maintenance rather suitable. I'm pretty familiar with maintenance drugs, but find opiate w/d's rather easy and rarely feel the need to taper.

I think using the longer acting benzo's in a similar manner could be a good idea for people not wanting to munch bars constantly and still be comfortable. That and tapering of course
 
So lately I've been switching to longer acting benzo's to try and taper down before I go overseas
Click to expand...

Just keep in mind that clonazepam has long and drawn out withdrawals due to it's length of action. You don't want to get stuck on that and then suddenly have to taper rapidly before going overseas. Rapid clonazepam tapers are hellish.
 
^this is true. I always would end up taking more clonazepam than prescribed and then, if I couldn't find anyone who had any type of benzodiazepine, I'd spend days in withdrawal. The one good thing that I've noticed from my pane experience with it, but that of many others I've known too who have gone through clonazepam withdrawal, is that it seems to take about 72-96 hours for the withdrawal to kick in (for me its usually 72 hours), which gives you some time to try and get some other benzodiazepine to tide you over.

Still though, for the OP's purpose I think a long acting benzo would work better in terms of keeping away withdrawal and creating a sense of stability. I have limited experience with diazepam/Valium, but I preferred it to clonazepam.
 
Clonazepam and Alprazolam are equapotent, but work in differently. Clonazepam is actually considered a nitro-benzodiazepine being that it's (almost positive) actually an active metabolite of another benzo, Nitrazepam. Clonaz has skeletal muscle relaxant properties and is used more like Valium (I believe there's some old archive threads on here that discuss when it first came out and was suppose to be as heroin was when it was made pharmaceutical as the cure for Morphine withdrawal (or sickness as they called it) but if you look at the benzo dosage equivalency chart 1mg Clonaz = 1mg Alpraz = 10mg Diazepam. But what's special about Diazepam is that it's one if not the only benzo that acts on the limbic system (pleasure/reward). If your looking for something that's like diazepam go for clonaz, IMO it is more stimulating where as xanax makes me tired and just wanna lay around. But clonaz takes bout 1hr orally or about 20-30 min sublingually (which I recommend as it bypasses your livers first pass metabolism). Xanax is very different in that it comes on fast (~10min) but metabolizes much quicker, you can take xanax sublingually, but it is by far the worst tasting chemical, kpin taste like mint. Above post is right, clonaz is probably a better fit, tolerance builds quick though. I'm on 3x2mg/day and still get panic attacks. Benzos are technically only suppose to be used very temporarily (weeks) because of tolerance and loss of effect. Get the clonaz, way longer half life than xanax and take it the same time(s) everyday too build up your blood plasma levels minimizing withdrawal because it leaves the body slower. Good luck.
 
I've limited experience withdrawing from longer acting benzo's, but assume its much the same as the shorter acting ones just more mild and longer acting.

That sounds preferable to deal with while overseas rather than a super harsh 48-72 hours of alpraz panic attacks and social phobia. That said, come the time I have to bite the bullet (if/when that ever comes...) then coming off even smaller doses of clonaz should be rather tolerable.
 
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