december_brigette Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Hi All, I realize I may be asking this question way too early. My pdoc just switched me from 3mgs of xanax to 4mgs of klonopin (2mgs tabs to be taken twice a day). So far, I feel like hot anger. I was angry before I took the klonopin but Im now hot-blooded angry. My head is screaming. and I pretty much hate everyone. with xanax I would get a quick and cool quiet. there would be some peace in my brain. not now. so far from then. db Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpladybug Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 man, that sounds terrible DB I would my doctor, do you have any Xanax left? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzoman Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Your doctor probably wanted to switch you to a longer lasting benzo like konopin because it lasts about 5 times longer than xanax and didn't want to up your xanax any more. Xanax can be highly addictive because of its short half life and so people end up taking more of it more often. that being said a med change is probably in order once more. I'd inquire with your pdoc about valium instead, because it also has a somewhat long duration but you probably won't get the anger. I'd also research mood stabalizers such as gabapentin and see if its something that interests you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlamelessCandle Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Wow - I've been on clonazepam for a long time (and will be tapering down ...... and potentially off this year)...and I've never had the anger experience you describe. A few years ago, I was switched to xanax for a short time (a couple of months) and then we switched back to clonazepam. I was having severe panic attacks and the Klonopin wasn't kicking in fast enough, so my pdoc tried xanax. It was great for the quick onset of relief from anxiety, but then it wore off so quicklyfor me that I found myself needing (or more honestly, wanting) to take it every one-two hours and that wasn't OK since I was on a fairly high dose, and I was also getting in a pattern of addictive behavior that my doc (and I) didn't feel comfortable with. With the klonopin, I simply took one with my morning pills and one before bed and I wasn't "craving" it. Also I kept getting breakthrough anxiety and felt like it was wearing off. But I did not experience the anger that you describe in your post. So I don't have much experience to offer you. If it persists for more than a few days, this would (in my opinion) justify a call to the p-docs office. Or perhaps to the pharmacy . . . a good pharmacist knows a lot about drug change-overs, interactions, side effects, etc). I'd want to know if the anger is something they've seen before when switching someone over to Klonopin (clonazepam). For what it's worth between these two benzodiazapines I vastly prefer Klonopin because it lasts longer and seems to produce a more "even" anti-anxiety effec in my case. Keep us posted - - I am really interested in what you find out. I do get angry at times, but I don't think it's the Klonopin. I attribute it to my husband and/or co-workers. (THEY need to take a benzodiazapine and then I would be fine!) (LOL). Sue Oh - and one more thing between the two meds, ( I know you weren't asking for a comparison), but if I was EVER late on getting a xanax script filled (I try not to be late with my scripts, but sometimes life happens) I can go a couple of days without clonazepam and still feel "OK". With xanax, no way........ With xanax, the onset of withdrawal is extremely quick. Once, I was a day late in filling my script and I didn't have anything extra from an earlier month. By 10am.that day (having had a dose the evening before).... I was vomiting, needing to rush to the bashroom for um, other reasons.....sweating, shaking... you name it. And I was teaching, so I was at the university. Arrgggh! It was awful. Classic benzo withdrawal symptoms but really quick onset. So that pretty much turned me off to Xanax although I know some people swear by it. My doctor wants me on something throughout the day, with constant levels in my system, so at least right now, I'm NOT taking the clonazepam PRN, which is a big discussion between me and the p-doc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimpmaster Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 It could be withdrawal from the xanax; it could also be a paradoxical reaction to the the clonazepam. The latter is quite rare. I would get sone medical advice if i were you. Are you also experiencing other withdrawal symptoms? I took 3mg of xanax a day for around 2 years and when I stopped taking It I experienced classic migraines (with the auras) and even a seizure - I'm not prone to either, and never had either of those symptoms before in my life. Fortunately they havent recurred. I also had the sweats, the shakes and all that other shit you get with withdrawal. Not fun. I was cross tapered onto valium, and this made a huge difference. Now I just take 10-15mg prn. I loved xanax but I would be unlikely to go back to it due to its really short half life, ease of building tolerance etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crtclms Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I had this paradoxical reaction form klonopin, I went into rages exactly two hours after I took it. It was terrifying. Your doctor probably wanted to switch you to a longer lasting benzo like konopin because it lasts about 5 times longer than xanax and didn't want to up your xanax any more. Xanax can be highly addictive because of its short half life and so people end up taking more of it more often Benzoman, we have been over this again and again. Dependence is not the same as addiction. And everyone who takes Xanax does NOT go up in dosage, I have been on the exact same dosage for 6 years. Other people on crazyboards also use Xanax the same way, and have remained at a stable dosage for years. Everyone is different, and to make a sweeping assertion, based on just your or someone else's experience is silly. PLEASE read the pinned explanation that distinguishes dependence from addiction. With a name like benzoman, you should know better. Flameless Candle exhibits the type of response to Xanax that indicates it might be addictive for her, for instance "wanting" more and more of it. But that experience does not extrapolate to all people who use the medication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimpmaster Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I think we need to clear up dependence vs addiction also. Whilst Aurochs has posted on this, I don't feel the separation between the two is clear. And if its not clear to me as a mod, I don't think it is going to be clear to the average joe either. A quick google search and access to wikipedia shows an interesting definition: - Addiction is the physical and psychological (concurrent) dependence on psychoactive drugs, whether they be caffeine, alcohol, illicit drugs or prescribed drugs, like benzos. What do benzos have in common with other psychoactive drugs? - You build up tolerance to them. You become dependent on them. Arguably, with benzos in particular you quickly build up tolerance to the sedative effects, but not so much to the anti-anxiety effects. Of course this is arguably wrong with drugs like xanax which if used multiple times per day are renowned for causing withdrawal symptoms in between doses, because the half life does become shorter over a period of time. Im not saying that every user of xanax becomes addicted. But if you take it several time per day, every day, well you know the rest. I just ask a few things of the crazy boards community: 1) Accept that there is some lack of understanding of the difference between addiction and dependence, not just in the crazy boards community but in the wider medical community. I have a p-doc who uses the words interchangeably when talking about drugs like diazepam and alprazolam, and alcohol. 2) Be patient with new board members as they learn to grasp the definitions, which if at all, are not that important. Benzoman, I have no trouble with what you posted. Yes you used the term addiction rather than tolerance or dependence. 3) There is definitely an x factor with benzos and addiction. Some people get hooked on them worse than others, and some don't get hooked at all. Some drs, like my p-doc don't like prescribing benzos for long term use. Others like my GP, are fine with it. But thats another story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
water Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 My head is screaming. and I pretty much hate everyone. I had the exact same reaction last month. Immediate extreme anger. When I found myself yelling at my daughter for no reason I went straight back to my old benzo, did not pass go. (This also happened to me with Ativian btw.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzoman Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I was kinda lumping dependance and addiction together i guess. My mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I am on Klonopin also. Last Monday, my pdoc switched me from 4 mg. and 2 PRN to 6 mandatory. I have been having some severe anxiety lately. I don't get any anger from it though. Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinktee18 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I'm having the same problem I'm a total raging biatch when I take my klonpin. I snap at everyone and have the urge to go break something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan77 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I took Klonopin 2mg daily for several months as an adjuntive medication to take the edge off when I was manic and found it very beneficial. However all benzodiazapines carry the risk of causing a paradoxical reaction, meaning they have the opposite effect to that which would normally be expected, eg causing rage instead of calmness and relaxation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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