Posted by Elizabeth on April 5, 2002, at 8:35:30
In reply to Benzo Preferences anyone??, posted by colin wallace on April 5, 2002, at 4:41:11
There really isn't much consistent qualitative difference between one benzo and another. For example, some people might find diazepam more sedating than lorazepam, others the reverse. Alprazolam usually has more antidepressant effect than the other benzos, that's the only thing I can think of (triazolam causes more amnesia than the other benzos, IMO, but that one's only used for sleep).
Duration of action is one characteristic that differs from one benzo to the next in a predictable way. Because of differences in volume of distribution, elimination half-life isn't a very good predictor of duration of action. (Diazepam, for example, is rapidly taken up into the CNS, then redistributed throughout the body.) Clonazepam is a good choice if you're looking for something long-acting.
Could you be a little more specific as to what you're looking for in a benzo?
-elizabeth
P.S. 4 mg/day of Xanax isn't a terribly unreasonable dose. I've heard of people taking as much as 10 mg/day (the high-end doses are mostly for panic disorder or anxiety + depression), and I typically need 2 mg at a time (I only take it on a prn basis).
poster:Elizabeth
thread:101944
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020402/msgs/101956.html