Posted by yxibow on September 2, 2008, at 6:07:45
In reply to Valium or Xanax safest to combine with other meds?, posted by theo on September 1, 2008, at 9:54:40
> Overall, which benzo is safest across the board with other meds, Valium or Xanax?
Unless you're taking Clozaril, benzodiazepines generally work with most all medications.
Just be aware that stacking CNS depressants (if you have other AEDs) on board may make you more drowsy and affect reflex time with "heavy machinery" until you are used to it (or it may be that way all the time).
As noted by others, for longer term management the best is to use well tested benzodiazepines with long half lives, which would be Valium or Klonopin, depending which works for you. Klonopin tends to be more subtle.
This is so you can maximize a period of time when you don't habituate as Xanax has a very short half life and that sometimes contributes to a benzodiazepine becoming useless quicker if taken 24/7. Similarly Ativan though it has a longer half life than Xanax.
All will though, depending on your body and how you metabolize things and how lipophilic [fat absorbing] (I forget which ones, I think Xanax is more ?) the agent is, eventually cause habituation. Its an unknown amount of time -- it could be weeks or months or years.
In the end, there are better solutions for long term use if you can tolerate them for anxiety such as Paxil for example or if you respond to Lyrica or Neurontin, etc, and other medications.
I'm not against benzodiazepines, I just am talking (perhaps projecting) from personal experience, one I pitched [didnt dial down properly] when I didnt know that you do NOT do that if you've been on one for 24/7 use (Tranxene, I still have odd muscle dystonias more than 10 years later), and the other (Valium, which had a use at high dose) I am wrestling with after 4 years.
-- best wishes- Jay
poster:yxibow
thread:849678
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080822/msgs/849848.html