gb84 Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 I was told in the hospital by the nurse that benzos aren't prescribed for more than three months to anyone just starting on them. And then they have to have a good reason to keep someone on them longer than that. I guess it has to do with how addictive they are. I was also told that they should be rotated every three months just to stay effective. I know I am dependent on Klonopin, I've been on it for ten years. It really doesn't work for anxiety anymore. It just makes me depressed and sometimes more anxious. What would you recommend switching to and how often do you switch, if at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notloki Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Benzos have cross tolerance between themselves so I would guess no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyRedhead Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, gb84 said: I know I am dependent on Klonopin, I've been on it for ten years. It really doesn't work for anxiety anymore. It just makes me depressed and sometimes more anxious. What would you recommend switching to and how often do you switch, if at all? If your Klonopin is not working any longer at the current dose, chances are you've developed a tolerance to that dose..... Unfortunately, as notloki said, switching benzos probably would not work.........The only thing most likely to work would be for your doc to raise your Klonopin dosage a bit......It looks like you are taking a pretty low dose right now, but some docs can be conservative when it comes to benzos. Edited July 11, 2018 by CrazyRedhead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gb84 Posted July 11, 2018 Author Share Posted July 11, 2018 My Dr raised my dosage to 1mg twice a day, but the AM dose makes me flat and depressed. Plus I feel more anxiety on the higher dosage for whatever reason. When I was in the hospital they lowered the AM dosage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyRedhead Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 2 minutes ago, gb84 said: When I was in the hospital they lowered the AM dosage. Did that help at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gb84 Posted July 11, 2018 Author Share Posted July 11, 2018 Yeah, I'm much more productive now and feel less depressed. But by the end of the day I am really anxious and the PM dose isn't helping much anymore. Gabapentin does help, but not the way Klonopin did before I got used to it. I just thought switching to another benzo that isn't so depressing might give me some relief. But if as @notloki said, they all work the same, I guess I'm kinda stuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notloki Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Only the tolerance follows not side effects unrelated to tolerance. I've never heard of rotating benzos. Given they are cross tolerant with tolerance and dependence I don't see why. Nurses are not qualified to give you advice like this, get advice on this from your doctor. Nurses, except some specialties, can not write a script. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceberg Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 I've done it before...but more for the differences in onset/duration time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikl_pls Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 @gb84, I have had the same issues with being depressed from Klonopin. I have had good luck from Valium reducing my anxiety without any issues with depression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gb84 Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 (edited) @notloki it was a nurse practioner, but yeah she wasn't a doctor...she just mentioned that they weren't prescribed for more than three months anymore...outside of the hospital they probably are...hell I've been on Klonopin for 10 years, so that dispels that statement @mikl_pls thanks, I was going to ask to try that or Ativan, idk I guess I will just try what my Dr. recommends... Thanks for all the replies.. Edited July 12, 2018 by gb84 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikl_pls Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 1 hour ago, gb84 said: thanks, I was going to ask to try that or Ativan, idk I guess I will just try what my Dr. recommends... It really depends on whether you want to take a benzo just as needed for when you have a panic attack (in which case Ativan would probably be better) or if you want to take a benzo around the clock to prevent a panic attack from happening in the first place (in which case Valium would probably be better). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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