[bptoo]

Cam,

Over the last 3 to 4 weeks I have been experiencing increased anxiety especially in the early morning hours (between 1 and 3 am) but in the afternoons as well. My current rx istructions call for one .5 mg tab of Xanax every 12 hours as needed, but I have been exceeding that on a regular basis. I don't really want to increase the Xanax and have been considering talking to my psych about switching to Klonopin because it is longer acting. I'm interested in what you think about the Klonopin as an alternative? Might I expect any cross-over withdrawals going from the shorter acting benzo to the longer acting one?

Just to give you a little history, I currently take 2.5 mgs Zyprexa, 200 mgs Topamax and 10 mgs Ambien all at bedtime for BP II disorder, and the Xanax for anxiety.

I have read all your caveats and promise that I will discuss any and all changes with my doctor I'd just like to get your opinion on this.

Thanks in advance for your help!

bptoo

[CamW]

bptoo - Hi dude, welcome to our little haven. I'm sure that you will like it here, everyone seems really nice and are caring.

Switching from Xanax™ (alprazolam) to Klonodin™ (clonazepam) might be a good option for you. Xanax has a very short half-life (up to 11 hours in some people) and is usually dosed 3 times daily. Klonopin's half-life is approximately 18 to 50 hours, depending upon the body's ability to metabolize it. As for your worries about withdrawl, there should be no problem. Actually Klonopin is successfully used to wean people from Xanax. The longer half-life of Klonopin should cover the times where the Xanax seems to be petering out.

I have found that those who have bipolar II disorder seem to do well taking Klonopin over Xanax. Ask your doctor about this. Klonopin 1mg is approximately equivalent to Xanax 0.5mg in potency. You should be able to get away with taking Klonopin twice daily without the lapses of efficacy seen with the Xanax twice daily.

I hope that this is of some help to you. Good luck and keep us posted. - Cam

[bptoo]

Cam,

Thanks for the welcome and the input. I did discuss this change with my doc some time back but he wasn't very receptive to it at the time. I had some life changes going on that he thought were causing the additional anxiety and he thought it would pass, which it did for the most part.

I have a call in to him now to discuss this again and plan to be a little (well a lot) more persistent about this. I will keep you informed.

Thanks again, I'm glad you're here.

bptoo

[bptoo]

Cam,

Wanted to give you a quick update before leaving for the in-laws. My psych did rx the Klonopin for me, .5 mg 2x daily. I took my first dose yesterday evening, what a difference! With the Xanax I would get a quieting of the mind but my body would still feel jittery leaving me feeling pretty uncomfortable. After taking the Klonopin I started to relax, body and mind, and it lasted for a very long time. I slept thru the night without waking without an anxiety attack for the first time in over a month! I'm hoping that the .5 dose is going to continue to be high enough for me. I have my next appt with him in 3 weeks and will see how I'm doing with it then.

Just wanted to say thanks again for your input. You're a good man Charlie Brown!

BTW, I noticed the dancing bear...you're not a GD fan by any chance, are you?

bptoo

[CamW]

bptoo - Good eye, beep! You must be from the left coast to pick up on that. Yeah, I'm a deadhead from way back, although I didn't follow them and sell grilled cheese sandwiches in the parking lot. I own approximately 70 live concerts on tape and do collect the live concert CDs still being released by . My home page is <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.gratefuldead.com>http://www.gratefuldead.com .

About the dancing bears; I'm not sure where they originated, but one story I had heard was: Q - "What do you do when you meet a bear in the woods?"... A - "Play Dead."

I like their attitude towards helping the environment, setting up soup kitchens and shelters, funding classical musicians who push the limits searching for new types of music, and many other projects. They do this through the Rex Foundation, which was originally set up to help save the culture of the Rex Indians in California.

In 1992, they were on tour and were watching the Olympics on t.v. and noticed that the Lithuanian basketball team did not have matching uniforms. The Grateful Dead sent them matching tie-dye uniforms and warm-up suits. This was the year that the American Dream Team won the gold in basketball, but the Lithuanians won bronze. The same year the Dead sold tie-dye t-shirts honoring this Lithuanian basketball team and the entire proceeds went to the Lithuanian Children's Fund.

The Dead also sold tie-dye t-shirts whose proceeds went to help save portions of the Amazon Rainforest.

I own both of these t-shirts.

Also, one of the drummers (they have two, who play at the same time), Mickey Hart is collecting endangered ethnic music from around the world for the Smithsonian Institute. I have several different CDs of this music including African cafe music, South Seas and Polynesian traditional music, Nubian traditional music, traditional Jewish Wedding music, upper and lower Egyptian music, Sudanese music, etc.

The other drummer, Bill Kreutzmann, an accomplished scuba diver, is active in saving coral reefs around the world.

I think that you have to admire a group who "keeps it real", and gives to legitimate causes. They were also human, as evidenced by their problems with drugs. People say that they were a psychedelic band. This is not true; they were actually a band who played Southern California country rock, traditional blues, and folk music while stoned. The crowd at a Dead show where not passive observers, they were part of the experience. Together, the band and the audience would cause some special experiences to occur. About 2/3 the way through a concert the music would begin to disintegrate and something magical seemed to happen. Music turned to atonal sound, which tuned into the feel of the audience and seemed to flow with a sort of oneness. It is hard to explain, but the band, the music, and the audience became a single entity; much like the entire earth being seen as an organism.

The weird thing about this all is that one didn't need to be stoned to pick this up. The music is very complex, with each musician doing his own thing, but somehow it still sounds cohesive. I think a couple quotes are in order, because what the Dead did is really hard to describe.

"The Grateful Dead aren't the best at what they do, they are the only band who do what they do."

and

"If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand."

Anyway, I've rambled on way too long. Cam

'Sometimes you can see the light, in the strangest of places, if you look at it right.' - Robert Hunter (GD lyricist)