Hello Dragonfly. I hope that someone else does write about the pam drug of their preference as sometimes it really does come down to personal choice. Below I will babble on about about a lot of technical data, which doesn't matter. If it were me, I would ask the doctor for some lorazepam and then I would try it, without throwing away my clonazepam prescription. If the lorazepam didn't work as well, then I would go back to the clonazepam. (just don't take them at the same time or the same day). I have a prescription for both. In general I use the lorazepam for short term anxieties and clonazepam when I can't sleep through the night because something is bothering me. Take Care. Paul M
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Hello Everyone. Below is what I have learned about pam medications, however as I am not medically trained, please don't use it as a primary resource. Always talk with a doctor and do your own research. Take Care. paul m
Much has been researched and written about benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines (and most meds) are measured generally in three ways: strength, 1/2 life and time it takes to reach peak concentration. 1/2 life is the amount of time that it takes 1/2 off the medication to be removed from your system. For example if you took 20 mg of a medication that had a 1/2 life of 12 hrs, then 1/2 of it would still be in your system 12 hrs later(10mg) and 1/2 of that after 24 hrs (5mg)
1/2 lives vary from person to person and it depends on how fast we as an individual metabolize a medication. If our kidney of liver function is poor, then the medication will stay with us longer.
There isn't a problem with the relative strengths of lorazepam and clonazepam as the values are well known by doctors. They both reach their peak in about the same length of time(1-4 hrs) although lorazepam is thought to be slightly faster acting. The problem is they have a vastly different 1/2 life.
Lorazepam's varies from 10-20hr, while clonazepam lasts 18-50 hrs. Both have their advantages. If you need something to stop anxiety all of the time, then clonazepam is more likely to always be in your system if you take it each day. If you need a medication to stop attacks or to take when you need to then lorazepam works for some.
One of the problems many people occur with clonazepam is that if taken regularily it can start to lose it's effectiveness. The same goes for lorazepam and all benzo's. If a doctor were to prescribe lorazepam 3 times per day at morning, afternoon and night (and many doctors do) it would almost assuredly not be as effective 6 mths down the road and may even have addictive effects.
Having said all of that Diazepam (valium) is one of the most prescribed medications going and it seems to work for many people over the long run. Take Care. paul sources below
http://www.camh.ca/en/hospital/health_information/a_z_mental_health_and_addiction_information/Benzodiazepines/Pages/default.aspxSources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_benzodiazepines http://www.drugs.com/