Posted by Elizabeth on December 13, 2001, at 20:34:31
In reply to Re: klonapin 0.5 » undead, posted by Cam W. on December 13, 2001, at 16:22:56
> By crushing the tablets you are increasing the surface area, making the drug easier to absorb.
Duh! Thank you for explaining this. I should have been able to figure it out myself (really, I think I should have known it from somewhere or other), but it's always nice when someone who has a real grasp of this stuff intervenes with the answer!
> You will notice a quicker effect by doing this, but the effect may not last as long.
Because the AUC remains fixed, right?
> This may just be a matter of symantics though, since the half-life of Klonopin is fairly long anyway (18h to 80h, depending on how your body pharmacokinetically handles the drug - ie. rate of absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion).
My understanding is that the duration of action doesn't depend only on the half-life, but also on other factors such as volume of distribution. Still, clonazepam is a long-acting benzo (possibly the longest -- what do you think?) and even if you increase the rate of absorption, it's liable to be long-acting still.
> I know of people who are taking a quarter of a 0.5mg tablet daily for anxiety related to bipolar disorder, and this is enough for them.
0.125 mg? That's too weird. 1 mg is at typical daytime dose for me, 2 mg at bedtime; but for panic attacks, I need 2 mg of *Xanax* (and this is on an empty stomach) to get full relief. I knew that 0.5 wasn't that unusual, but when I hear of people taking 0.125 that just falls short of shocking.
> Benzodiazepine doses are very individualized
Isn't that the truth?!
> You want the drug to ease the anxiety; this does not mean that you necessarily have to "feel it", as in giving you a buzz, or in any way altering your perception. Ideally, a benzo should take the edge off without having you feel otherwise different.
Thank you -- this is what I was trying to say, but you said it much better.
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:86777
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011213/msgs/86846.html