I have sweated this change for a long time and my pdoc finally convinced me that Klonopin is the better benzo for me and my symptoms. I've taken 2-4 mg of Xanax for 7 years so I was reallly nervous about withdrawal. She established a cross taper of:
Week 1: decreased to 2 x and and add 1 mg K
Week 2: decreased to 1 x and add 2 mg K
Week 3: decreased X to zero and leave K at 2 mg.

I haven't experienced any withdrawal (just my normal ultra rapid cycling stuff).

I feel like Rip Van Winkle right now, but I can deal with sleepiness.

The wonderful thing is that the jaw-clenching anxiety I was feeling on Xanax has really been muted with Klonopin. I do feel anxious right now, but again, I think its related to my cycling and I can handle that much better than feeling like a wound up top.

I have been trying for years to get my anxiety under control and this would be a truly wonderful change if it sticks.

Just wanted to share some good news,
Phoenix

Try 25mg of seroquel per 2mg of Ativan (or equivilent) to start (can adjust up if needed) instead of the benzies - the residuals can take a year or more for withdrawal. I took various ones for 15 years.

You get two bonuses from seroquel... it will take the edge off enabling you to sleep at night and can take the edge off of the anxiety beast and the real bonus is that it is also a mood stablizer. I am also an ultra-radian cycler BP I. If you have never taken Lithium, you should; it truely is bettder than most of the newer drugs, and therapuetic levels can be monitored with a blood test. It you have taken either Lithium or Lamictal previously, taking them again can be lethal...

--Kim

DUDE. Taking either lamictal or lithium a second time doesn't equal lethal.

You are pulling that out of your ass. Come on, now.

There are so many reasons people stop a med and just as many that one might try it again.

That's awesome. Good luck! I used Klonopin for a long time. In the end I was taking too much and did need the help of a hospital stay to get off of it. But benzos in moderation, yeah, they work. I know you'll be careful.

Yeah for you and your chilled out ass!
S9

this is the second post where you encourage someone who is doing WELL with benzos to switch to seroquel. from your posts, it's obvious that you had problems with benzo dependence. bummer. glad you're not physically dealing with that anymore. it appears, however, that the psychological damage of that dependency still has a strong hold on you. bummer again, but it's very self-serving to steer people away from benzos (that seem to be working well for their issues atm) because YOU had issues with them.

seriously, bummer that you became dependent, glad you've dealt with it, sucks that you have taken the selfish stand that benzos are not useful drugs. just because you can't take them doesn't mean that other people shouldn't.

imitrex makes me violently ill. should i go on an anti-imitrex crusade and try to convince anyone who will listen that maxalt is THE WAY to go for migraines? of course not. that's patently ridiculous.

/end rant

phoenix - it's always great to hear good news! i hope you continue to do well with klonopin and stomp on that anxiety.

Moderator,

Please let me start by saying that i currently take and have in the past taken Lamictal and Lithium. I have tried both of these as well as almost every drug available in the market if the pdocs prescribe to me as well as the drugs to counteract the side effects of the psych drugs.

I choose hope with death to what I have become. That is my choice, but I have made it with all of the technical components to enable me to do that. Being educated about the chemicals that I have running through my body and brain, leaving chemical remnants, may be the last bit of control I have left in my life. I believe that everyone deserves that last bit... don't you?

I believe in understanding what I put into my body - food, beverage, vitamins/ minerals, and medicines (chemicals). Only pdocs and you are able to understand what goes into your body. Wouldn't you want to know if the mushrooms that you eat are toxic or can make you hallucinate or just plain taste good??? I want to know the same about these meds.

Please look on the FDA website (Food and Drug Administration - government appoving body for available drugs in the US) - www.fda.gov It details everything that you should know all US approved drugs. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/ (National Institute of Mental Heath - contains studies completed, being explored, or about to happen as well as papers on drugs anaylsis - Is a government body subsidiary of NIH - The National Institite of Health http://www.nih.gov/.

Although, I leave open for others to research their own meds using RELIABLE sources of information, I will address the Lamictal issue specifically - since you repeatedly, obviously without all of GSK disclosed data about the potential lethal, physical deformation, and permanent disabling risks, I have included a snippet from GSK's (Glaxo Smith-Kline Pharmacuetical Corp. : www.gsk.com) released Lamictal documentation (on their web site for Lamictal: http://www.lamictal.com/bipolar/patients/s...g_lamictal.html ) You are actually correct in that it is not necessarily a restart of the drug for the lethal issues to occur in people using lamictal. I ask that you read the following excerpt from the documentation noted above "Complete Prescribing Information for LAMICTAL" The immediately preceeding link is a pdf file containing the full document from which the following was extracted without modification.

PRESCRIBING INFORMATION

LAMICTAL^®

(lamotrigine)

Tablets

LAMICTAL®

(lamotrigine)

Chewable Dispersible Tablets

SERIOUS RASHES REQUIRING HOSPITALIZATION AND DISCONTINUATION OF TREATMENT HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE USE OF LAMICTAL. THE INCIDENCE OF THESE RASHES, WHICH HAVE INCLUDED STEVENS-JOHNSON SYNDROME, IS APPROXIMATELY 0.8% (8 PER 1,000) IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS (AGE <16 YEARS) RECEIVING LAMICTAL AS ADJUNCTIVE THERAPY FOR EPILEPSY AND 0.3% (3 PER 1,000) IN ADULTS ON ADJUNCTIVE THERAPY FOR EPILEPSY. IN CLINICAL TRIALS OF BIPOLAR AND OTHER MOOD DISORDERS, THE RATE OF SERIOUS RASH WAS 0.08% (0.8 PER 1,000) IN ADULT PATIENTS RECEIVING LAMICTAL AS INITIAL MONOTHERAPY AND 0.13% (1.3 PER 1,000) IN ADULT PATIENTS RECEIVING LAMICTAL AS ADJUNCTIVE THERAPY. IN A PROSPECTIVELY FOLLOWED COHORT OF 1,983 PEDIATRIC PATIENTS WITH EPILEPSY TAKING ADJUNCTIVE LAMICTAL, THERE WAS 1 RASH-RELATED DEATH. IN WORLDWIDE POSTMARKETING EXPERIENCE, RARE CASES OF TOXIC EPIDERMAL NECROLYSIS AND/OR RASH-RELATED DEATH HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN ADULT AND PEDIATRIC PATIENTS, BUT THEIR NUMBERS ARE TOO FEW TO PERMIT A PRECISE ESTIMATE OF THE RATE.

OTHER THAN AGE, THERE ARE AS YET NO FACTORS IDENTIFIED THAT ARE KNOWN TO PREDICT THE RISK OF OCCURRENCE OR THE SEVERITY OF RASH ASSOCIATED WITH LAMICTAL. THERE ARE SUGGESTIONS, YET TO BE PROVEN, THAT THE RISK OF RASH MAY ALSO BE INCREASED BY (1) COADMINISTRATION OF LAMICTAL WITH VALPROATE (INCLUDES VALPROIC ACID AND DIVALPROEX SODIUM), (2) EXCEEDING THE RECOMMENDED INITIAL DOSE OF LAMICTAL, OR (3) EXCEEDING THE RECOMMENDED DOSE ESCALATION FOR LAMICTAL. HOWEVER, CASES HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN THE ABSENCE OF THESE FACTORS.

NEARLY ALL CASES OF LIFE-THREATENING RASHES ASSOCIATED WITH LAMICTAL HAVE OCCURRED WITHIN 2 TO 8 WEEKS OF TREATMENT INITIATION. HOWEVER, ISOLATED CASES HAVE BEEN REPORTED AFTER PROLONGED TREATMENT (E.G., 6 MONTHS). ACCORDINGLY, DURATION OF

1

THERAPY CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS A MEANS TO PREDICT THE POTENTIAL RISK HERALDED BY THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF A RASH.

ALTHOUGH BENIGN RASHES ALSO OCCUR WITH LAMICTAL, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO PREDICT RELIABLY WHICH RASHES WILL PROVE TO BE SERIOUS OR LIFE THREATENING. ACCORDINGLY, LAMICTAL SHOULD ORDINARILY BE DISCONTINUED AT THE FIRST SIGN OF RASH, UNLESS THE RASH IS CLEARLY NOT DRUG RELATED. DISCONTINUATION OF TREATMENT MAY NOT PREVENT A RASH FROM BECOMING LIFE THREATENING OR PERMANENTLY DISABLING OR DISFIGURING.

A- I can find the PI sheets too! AMAZING!

B- You're still making generalizations for everyone. What happens to you won't necessarily happens to everyone. It just won't you need to accept that and move on.

C- don't waste space with nonsense. Make a link instead.

D- I've noticed that you have been making links in your other posts to sites like commercial sites. These aren't reputable. Try again.

Oh wait. Forgot one more thing

E-
While it is possible to develop a potentially lethal rash, this rahs is identifiable, watched for, easily cured, and rarely dangerous. I once heard someone describe the likelyhood of danger being akin to having a piano dropped on your head.

DON'T INCITE PANIC ON THIS FUCKING SITE. I WILL BAN YOUR ASS FOR DOING SO, SO HELP ME GOD.

Whoa...I hadn't checked this post for several days and suddenly its a war zone.

Kimberly: First, although I appreciate support and advice, I will not tolerate being told that my meds are killing me when I pay a good deal of money to a pdoc who has a wee bit more education on the matter. I have done my own education and research, thank you very much and, b/t me, my pdoc and my tdoc, I think we've got it covered.

I have been taking benzos for over 12 years. I've switched benzos. I've reduced dosages. I've increased dosages. Know why? B/c they are the ONLY frickin' med that controls my overwhelming anxiety. I've also taken Seroquel and found it to be an inferior substitute for me. I wish I could get by with Seroquel, it seems a "cleaner" choice. But it just ain't in the cards.

I'm not sure what you're getting at with Lamictal and Lithium, except to further scare the willies out of me. I have taken these meds together for over 7 years, always under the direction of a pdoc.

Look, Kimberly, none of us wants to be taking these meds. They have side effects ranging from trembling to losing all your hair (check). But the sad, hard truth is that we have to take them if we want to lead any sort of "normal" life.

I always hesitate to post about benzos b/c of this sort of reaction. I know there are people that have had horrible withdrawals (as have I), I know they're addictive and I know that they have really screwed some people's lives up. Your need to direct people away from benzos highlights the rough time you had with them.

But they haven't screwed my life up. They have made it possible to get out of bed and go about my day. Benzos should be used with extreme caution....and that's exactly what I'm doing.

You don't need to "save" me by telling me what a horrible mistake I'm making.

To the rest of my fellow nutjobs, thank you for your encouragement and support.

Peaceful Reflection,
Phoenix