Xanax 0.5 mg VS Clonazepam 1Mg?

Question

i need to take meds for my sleep , becasue of my stress and depression , i have cnahged from xanax to Clonazepam , and i think its giving me better sleep , may i know what is Clonazepam and why it helps me in sleep ,what does taht mean, that Clonazepam is helping me.

Bbecaseu i was having nighmares , but afternoon nightmares are bad
Thankyou

Additional Details

Ambian , my doctor gave me that , but in long term , i read its dangerous is it true . here it is avalable by the name stillnox.
pls help me can u email me ur direct email , i really need some one , i am in to lot of social phobia too

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

The easy answer is ....Xanax is a short acting benzodiazepine and Clonazepam is a long lasting one. Xanax peaks in your bloodstream in a hour and is gone in about 4 hours. Clonazepam peaks in 3-4 hours and last 8 to 10 hours. If you don't sleep at all in the daytime you'll get better/deeper sleep at night. The problem with benzo's as a class of medicine for anything is that they are highly addictive and very hard to get off of. Also, the down side is ....you need increasing dosages, over time to get the same effect. I would be asking for Ambien CR or Lunesta for sleep. They get you to sleep and keep you asleep and you don't need a larger dosage over time. They can cause some rebound insomnia if you take them for a long time and then stop. BUT no where near the addiction problems benzo's can cause over time. Thaey also can make people MORE depressed. So if you're going to take benzo's ....just don't do it for long.

You can buy regular ambien/stilnox (without the Continous Release part ) and Lunesta (zipiclone) from online pharmacies. I don't rec. it . Talk to your prescriber about it and just tell them you don't want to hooked on benzo's just for sleep. Anxiety in the daytime can be handled by prescribing any of the regular SSRI based anti-deppressants IF (big IF) you have had no manic episodes and been DX with any BiPolar problems. (reg. SSRI= Selective Seritonin Reuptake inhibitors)

I see someone rec. Trazadone also. That is an old school anti-depressant that is used for off label for a sleep aide BUT it has a potentially problematic side effect for males....priapism. (A sustained painful erection that a male would need immediate medical attention for.)It also can cause some people nightmares at night.

I see someone else rec. Cognitive behavioral Therapy ...which is really great for teaching you and giving you tools to help you deal with things, check it out!

Source(s):

Too many years in psychiatry...

Answer 2

http://health.yahoo.com/drug/d00197a1#d0… Thats for Clonazapam

This is for Xanax

http://health.yahoo.com/drug/d00168a1

Answer 3

Clonazepam (marketed by Roche under the trade-names Klonopin in the United States and Rivotril in Europe, South America, Canada, and Australia) is a drug which is a benzodiazepine derivative. It is a highly potent anticonvulsant, amnestic, and anxiolytic.

Okay, that's the explanation however, from personal experience I've just got to tell you that Xanax is terrifically better. The only problem with Xanax is that:

you can lose your live functions, become addicted to it, have to go on suicide watch when you come off it and then experience deliriums.

BUT THAT IS NOT THE SAME FOR EVERYONE..well for a lot of people. Better go with your doctor. Xanax is not recommended to take longer than 1 year...not the 15 yrs. I took it. Just make sure to have your liver functions checked frequently if you go back to it.

For me? Lunesta!.

Answer 4

read your post and can partialy relate to your situation. Before I lost my health insurance and was still seeing my old doctor, she suddenly switched me to Klonopin after being on .05mg Xanax for almost 3 years.

All I can really tell you about it from my experience is that it did not work at all for my anxiety and it actually caused me to have insomnia. I was also terrified of having an attack in public, and to make it worse, I was out of work because of a work related injury. I became severely depressed, and the only time I left my house was to go to doctor's appointments and physical therapy. I think that the lack of social interaction that I was used to made my depression worse, but Klonopin was not effective enough for me to be able to motivate myself into going "out there" and doing the things I needed to do. Prior to taking Klonopin, I had also never had a major depressive episode or disorder. I was being treated for anxiety disorder and panic attacks only.

I do remember feeling like I was in a foggy state while I was on them, and oddly enough, I began to develop problems with impulse control. I wound up almost draining my savings account and maxing out my credit cards buying a bunch of things off an online auction website that I really didn't need. This was definitely not normal for me, considering that before I was switched to Klonopin, I never had any problems maintaining a budget. Talk about weird adverse side-effects?

But my situation aside, if you feel as if you're at the point where you're fearing an anxiety or panic attack 5 months from now, you should try to schedule an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible and ask to be switched back to Xanax. Explain to him or her that you are fearing future attacks and that you know already that Xanax works for your condition. Just be honest about how you feel.

I was fortunate enough to have an open-minded doctor, and she switched me back to Xanax after I explained to her how the Klonopin was affecting me. If your doctor is sympathetic to your condition he or she should have no reason not to prescribe you a medication you both know works. Good luck, and don't stress out. Try to enjoy your summer, first!!

Take care,

Answer 5

Both Xanax (Alprazolam) and Klonopin (Clonazepam) are benzodiazepenes (tranquilizers) so they both will have a relaxing or calming effect on you for a while. I'm not sure how long clonazepam works vs. xanax.

I was prescribed Xanax for anxiety symptoms, as well. Honestly, the best thing I ever did was go through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. I am so much better able to control my anxiety and the physical reactions, panic attacks, etc., that it causes. I rarely have to take Xanax any longer (maybe once every couple of months) as opposed to the three doses a day I was taking.

When I started on Xanax, I, too, had extremely vivid dreams and nightmares. I hear this is common. I would think the same would be true with clonazepam because of their similarities.

I also noticed that on Xanax, my insomnia became worse. I would sleep for a few hours right after I took it but I would wake up and not be able to sleep until I took it again. I also noticed that as the meds wore off my anxiety was worse than it was prior to taking it. For once in a blue moon usage, I think these meds are fine. I think the side effects and the chance of addiction just don't make taking these meds on a regular basis the answer to anxiety issues.

Both of these meds are also highly addictive and the longer you take them, you will find that you need more and more of the dosage to maintain the effects.

Seriously, the best thing you can do is find a therapist and work on relaxation techniques and different ways to handle whatever it is that's causing you so much stress.

Answer 6

Clonazepam and Xanax are actually the same "family" of medication, called benzodiazepine (diazepam). Xanax is a much milder form of the medication, but it acts immediately. Clonazepam (commonly called Klonopin) is the strongest of the benzodiazepines, but it is longer-acting. Its effects set in somewhat more slowly and last longer. It is used to treat chronic anxiety or long-term sleeplessness due to anxiety or mental instability.

Generally if Clonazepam works for you better than Xanax, it could mean that your anxiety is chronic (less severe, but happens frequently and for a long period of time) rather than acute (extremely distressing, upsetting, infrequent "attacks"). Clonazepam treats both acute and chronic forms of anxiety, whereas Xanax is meant to be used occasionally in acute situations.

Your doctor probably switched you to Clonazepam because your anxiety or insomnia was such that you would have to take a whole lot of Xanax or take it often; one dose of Clonazepam eliminates the need for you to keep loading up on benzodiazepine medication by giving it to you in one effective, long-lasting dose.

Source(s):

Experience