Posted by ed_uk on April 7, 2005, at 9:47:41
In reply to Re: Abilify vs. Seroqueled_uk, posted by anodyne on April 6, 2005, at 21:35:52
Hi Dan!
>Thought about giving diazapam a try but I'm not sure it will be any better than the clonazepam.
In terms of sexual side effects, diazepam may be better. Whether diazepam is more or less sedating than clonazepam seems to be very individual. Chlordiazepoxide (Librium) is another benzo which you could try, it has much in common with diazepam. Diazepam is *possibly* a more powerful muscle relaxant than chlordiazepoxide. I have a theory that you might find chlordiazepoxide less physically tiring than diazepam- just a guess.
>Any thoughts on the Provigil?
I think it might improve your energy but probably not your sex life. Before going down the Provigil route, I think it would be best to try diazepam or chlordiazepoxide.
>It seems like a anticonvulsant might be the way to go.
Gabapentin (Neurontin) can be useful for anxiety.
>I thought Seroquel might do the same but I hated Abilify.
In practice, Seroquel and Abilify are more different than you might expect. Seroquel does occasionally cause restlessness but not often.
>1mg clonazepam = how much diazepam........
It various from person to person, probably 10-20mg/day for most people- the majority of charts say 20mg. Occasionally, as little as 5mg might be adequate. You will have to try a range of doses to get the best effect.
>1mg clonazepam = how much chlordiazepoxide........
This is a very difficult question to answer, accurate data is not available. Most charts say 60mg. In reality, you could end up taking anywhere from 15 to 100mg a day!
Remember that with diazepam and chlordiazepoxide, the maximum anti-anxiety effects can take a couple of weeks to develop at any given dose. Both drugs have long-acting active metabolites, it can take a long time to reach steady state.
It might be useful for you to do a cross taper from clonazepam to your 'new' benzo ie. instead of taking 1mg clonazepam you could take 0.5mg clonazepam and x mg of the 'new' benzo. A few weeks later you could stop the clonazepam completely and increase the dose of your 'new' benzo. You might need to do quite a bit of 'trial and error' in order to find the best dose of diazepam or chlordiazepoxide. Because the maximum effect of any given dose of diazepam or chlordiazepoxide can take a week or two to develop, finding a suitable 'maintenance' dose can be a rather time consuming process- it shouldn't be difficult though :-)
Kind regards,
Ed.
poster:ed_uk
thread:480813
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050404/msgs/481091.html