Not everyone has the same results when it comes to benzos but that saying goes with pretty much every drug ever made. I am prescribed 1mg Clonazepam twice a day, and sometimes i feel it's not enough myself but I mean...I look at it like this. The drug can only do so much, the rest you have to accomplish yourself. Find better ways to cope/or manage your anxiety in conjunction with your clonazepam.
Clonazepam takes a little bit longer to take effect, so the effects are a bit more gradual and not in-your-face right when you need it. It's a creeper benzo. Because of this though, it has a long half life. If I take 2mg of clonazepam, I am doing pretty good for at least several hours. I've also been on xanax before in the past. That was obviously before I got into my opiate addiction. Now that I am on suboxone, my suboxone doctor will not right me a script for xanax because of it's addiction potential(We all know ALL benzos are addictive) but the reason he feels this way is because xanax really hits hard and fast. It almost has a rush of good feeling, and it tends to be one of the more euphoric benzos(theres not many that are, trust me..) there is.
Basically, if your anxiety consists mainly of sudden onset panic attacks, xanax is probably the better benzo for you. If you have consistent anxiety, than it won't work as well unless you're dosing more frequently because xanax has a short half-life and duration. It's wam-bam-thank you may I have another maam? That's how I look at it anyway. Benzo addiction is no joke, and it sucks because benzos really do take care of anxiety unlike any other type of medication..but xanax is an evil bitch, let me tell you. If you're going to be dosing repeatedly, every day, for months, you're going to need to do a very strict/controlled taper or you'll be in for a world of hell. So far with my klonopin, I've been fine. I've run out a week early one time after being on it daily for 4+ months, and felt fine. I just don't think tha would be the case if it was xanax I was taking.
Maybe upping your dose to 2mg clonazepam, as needed(I'd think twice a day would be suffice) could work for you. But if you're already over-medicating and it's still not doing the job, then I guess it's worth giving xanax a try. Truthfully, I'd love me some xanax. They did wonders for my anxiety, but I've been lucky enough to even get a benzo prescribed to me while on suboxone maintenance. Most docs REFUSE benzos of any kind and force SSRIs down your throat or "non narcotic" drugs like vistaril(sp?) which doesn't do jack shit for anxiety. It didn't for me anyway, it just gave me the shakes.
Good luck to you. Long story short: Ask to try out the xanax. Tell him the dose of clonazepam you're taking now is not doing anything for you. I'm going to guess he'll start you off at 0.5mg xanax, but maybe you'll get the 1mgs at first. Try it out for a month, if it works, it works. If not, well...there are plenty of other benzos out there that might. Valium, temazepam, etc etc.
