scooterb: I also take effexor xr for depression and anxiety. I've been given ativan a few times when I've been in hospital and I've been prescribed clonopin as an outpatient.

Like most have said here, Ive found ativan to be shorter acting. It also gave me "eye shakes", as in a few hours after taking it sometimes my vision would get blurry and everything would seem like it was moving from side-to-side really fast.

Clonopin has worked really well for me, gives me a good night's sleep, I feel relaxed and it's the only thing that lessens the agitation and distress for me when things get too 'bad'. I guess the best way I would describe it from my experience is that ativan is like a strong, short 'hit' whereas clonopin is a smoother, longer lasting med.