
Anxiety Support Group
Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...
Hang in there buddy we are all in the same boat, it gets better... :) HUGS! Sam
I started off taking alprazola (xanax) in 1995 with a dos. of .5mg 3x daily....I went up and up as a tolerance does build up. I was switched to clonazepam (klonopin) because it has a longer "half-life". I found I wasn't as tired as I was with xanax and it sure did help me not only in a time of need, but toward one of addiction. I couldn't get enough of it. I was stable on a dose of about 40 mgs a day. It wasn't what the doctor ordered. I would never ever ever admit that I was addicted to it. Please don't fool yourself as I did. The reality is that your anxiety does increase...panic attacks increase at a greater rate an you just find a way to take more and more. Let me tell you...it was a SOB getting off of it. I took the route of 5 days of detox and 60 days of inpatient rehab. I hated it! I wanted my klonopin to settle my nerves. No matter how much I asked, I knew I would never be given any in the rehab. I went 12 years of being with it to going cold turkey. You talk about freakin out! Well as of this date, I have been off of benzos since Aug 11. And I am still craving it. Taking them so long not only builds up a resistance physically, but you start relying on it psychologically too. On that note...please beleive in what they say...that benzos are for short term use. Sometime in your life you will hit the wall like I did...(and I never thought I would) and you will have to come to grips that you can't live your life with them. Believe me...I know how tough it is...I have to try and live in the "now" and quit worrying so much which presipitates my anxiety and panic....there are non- narcotic ways to go about life as I'm finding out. I don't like the other ways...I truelly believe that I was better off taking the klonopin than not. So from what I know, try and wean yourself off of them in the near future. It's a hell of a road if you you end up doing it abruptly. If you ever need help or have any questions..I'd be happy to tell you more. Hang tough.
There is no need to increase your dose due to tolerability. There is if your a *drug addict* and/or are abusing your medications. (Not meant in a derogatory way, either. ) It can happen.
BUT... and a big but...
Most of us use these medications because we need help, and there is no need to suffer needlessly when, yes we can take a benzodiazepine. Even for long term use. (or short-term, even better)
This is not to say that one shouldn't be in therapy and or some kind of self-help program to find out what can best help them get back on track.
Unfortunatly, some people have to stay on these medications all of their lives.
It is *their* CHOICE to abuse that option and end up backed into a corner.
According to the PDR for mental heath professionals, the reccomended dose for anxiety/panic disorder is from 4-10 mgs a day.
40 mgs of Klonopin is clearly abuse. And a death wish. If you know your popping a pill to ease yoour pain every time you get the chance then in all likilyhood, you're becoming an addict and you should seek help.
This isn't a narcotic.
Be smart, take what the Doctor prescribes. If you need more due to a certain circumstance, then by all means you can titrate back down. I have done it several times during crisis situations. And not because of tolerability reasons.
I was up to 10 mgs a day when I was agoraphobic. Now I am down to 2 1/2 a day. No problems whatsoever going down in dose. None. Period.
I'd prefer to see my fellow suffers drug free altogether. And, for some it can happen. I've seen many happy endings. And gladly so. But I also speak for those not so happy endings, those who are still trying and having difficulty.
We are all in this together.
Hope20z, you hang in there. It does get better.
All my best to you.
I used to take Xanax, but that seemed like it was just a sugar pill. Didn't do a damn thing for me! So then they switched me to Valium. That was the only one that really helped, but I felt like I was a zombie. Sometimes I wish I could get that zombie feeling back.
There are those who need the upper limit of a med for it to be effective.
I JUST WENT FROM ATIVAN TO KLONOPIN. I WAS GIVEN 2 MG, 3 TIMES A DAY BUT I ONLY TAKE HALF AND ONLY WHEN I NEED IT. I HOPE YOU WORK THIS OUT BECAUSE ANXIETY IS SCARY WHEN IT'S NOT UNDERSTOOD. GOOD LUCK.