Posted by Dave1 on March 2, 2004, at 23:14:29
In reply to Re: withdrawl from Klonopin, posted by MSTROU1 on March 2, 2004, at 18:08:12
Hi,
I copied some information to the bottom of this post from a site called benzo.org.uk
(Note to the person needing to get off Klonopin:
Maybe you should look into Tegretol. This was also suggested on the above website for helpt with BZ. withdrawal. I know nothing about it)
Good night, good luck, good bye - DAVE
QUOTE
" WHAT IS A "HALF-LIFE", AND HOW IS THE CONCEPT IMPORTANT TO BENZODIAZEPINE DEPENDENCE?
Half-life is a numerical expression of how long it takes for a drug to leave your body. Technically, the "half-life," expressed as a range, is the time it takes for half of the amount consumed to be eliminated from your body, and so on. There is some controversy as to how long benzodiazepines may actually remain in your body after you have discontinued them entirely. Benzodiazepines are fat soluble and can persist in fatty tissues. However, benzodiazepines no longer show up in blood screenings beyond 30 days after discontinuance. This either means they are totally eliminated by that time, or that they persist in amounts too small to have any long term effect.
The importance of half-life is that a longer half-life generally makes for an easier withdrawal because your blood levels remain relatively constant, as opposed to the up and down roller coaster that you experience with short half life benzodiazepines. Furthermore, longer half-life benzodiazepines require less dose micro-management. For example, Valium can be taken once every 12 hours, or in some cases, once every 24 hours. Xanax, however, must be taken once every 4-6 hours to maintain constant blood levels. This is a practical impossibility for some people.
The following is a list of benzodiazepines with their corresponding half-lives, expressed as a range in hours:
Alprazolam 9 - 20
Bromazepam 8 - 30
Chlordiazepoxide 24 - 100
Clonazepam 19 - 60
Clorazepate 1.3 - 120
Diazepam 30 - 200
Estazolam 8 - 24
Flunitrazepam 18 - 26
Flurazepam 40 - 250
Halazepam 30 - 96
Ketazolam 30 - 200
Lorazepam 8 - 24
Lormetazepam 10 - 12
Nitrazepam 15 - 48
Oxazepam 3 - 25
Prazepam 30 - 100
Quazepam 39 - 120
Temazepam 3 - 25
Triazolam 1.5 - 5There is a misconception that longer half-life benzodiazepines prolong the withdrawal recovery process by remaining in your body tissues for longer. However, there is no evidence that longer half-life benzodiazepines represent any greater risk for Protracted Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Syndrome (see below) than shorter half-life benzodiazepines. This method of using a longer half-life equivalent is well understood in addiction medicine circles, and is employed with other classes of drugs as well. For example, people who are experiencing withdrawal symptoms from an antidepressant such as Paxil (Seroxat, paroxetine) are often given Prozac (fluoxetine) as a substitute for purposes of withdrawal, because Prozac has a longer half-life. Perhaps a more typical example is the use of the drug Methadone in heroin detoxification, which is employed in part because of its relatively long half-life. "
poster:Dave1
thread:253823
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040228/msgs/319557.html