Can you have withdrawal from switching from one benzodiazepine to another?

[Guest [...]]

I have been switched from Lorazepam/Ativan 2 mg daily to Clonazepam/Klonopin 2 mg daily. I had been taking the Lorazepam for approximately 8 months, will I have withdrawal when I make the switch? Or does withdrawal only come when you stop taking completely? Thank you very much.

[[Bu...]]

Hello @[By...],

Welcome to Benzobuddies.

Some people have issues when switching from one benzo to another and other people don't.  Unfortunately it isn't really possible to predict how a person will react until they try it. 

May I ask what the reason is for the switch?  

We're glad you're here and we'll do our best to help you with this.

 

 

[Guest [...]]

1 minute ago, [[B...] said:

Hello @[By...],

Welcome to Benzobuddies.

Some people have issues when switching from one benzo to another and other people don't.  Unfortunately it isn't really possible to predict how a person will react until they try it. 

May I ask what the reason is for the switch?  

We're glad you're here and we'll do our best to help you with this.

 

Hello and thank you very much for the welcome.

The reason for the change is because I asked my psychiatrist for it, as I had a lot of social phobia in the street and they gave me Rivotril 2mg once and it took away all my fears so I decided to change benzodiazepine as the Lorazepam was not doing anything for me

 

 

[Guest [...]]

Just now, [[B...] said:

1 minute ago, [[B...] said:

Hello @[By...],

Welcome to Benzobuddies.

Some people have issues when switching from one benzo to another and other people don't.  Unfortunately it isn't really possible to predict how a person will react until they try it. 

May I ask what the reason is for the switch?  

We're glad you're here and we'll do our best to help you with this.

 

Hello and thank you very much for the welcome.

The reason for the change is because I asked my psychiatrist for it, as I had a lot of social phobia in the street and they gave me Rivotril 2mg once and it took away all my fears so I decided to change benzodiazepine as the Lorazepam was not doing anything for me

 

[[Bu...]]

@[By...],

Ok, I understand.  Just a word of caution, though.  Often times it seems that when folks change from one benzo to  another for this reason, the new one quits working after a little while, too.  Many people find themselves with a revolving door of symptoms and changing drugs and doses, which can get very complicated.  I'm not telling you what to do, I just want you to be aware of the potential risks involved.

There are other options besides benzos for dealing with anxiety, panic and phobias that might be better in the long run:  other medicatiion, CBT, talk therapy, etc.  I just wanted to give you a few other options, that you may not have been informed of.

 

[Guest [...]]

23 minutes ago, [[B...] said:

@[By...],

Ok, I understand.  Just a word of caution, though.  Often times it seems that when folks change from one benzo to  another for this reason, the new one quits working after a little while, too.  Many people find themselves with a revolving door of symptoms and changing drugs and doses, which can get very complicated.  I'm not telling you what to do, I just want you to be aware of the potential risks involved.

There are other options besides benzos for dealing with anxiety, panic and phobias that might be better in the long run:  other medicatiion, CBT, talk therapy, etc.  I just wanted to give you a few other options, that you may not have been informed of.

What other medication I could try? Pregabalin for example? I don't like SSRIs.

[[Bu...]]

@[By...],

Regarding other medication options specifically, this would be a question best asked of your doctor.  Has he/she ever mentioned any other options to you? 

[[PE...]]

Hi @[By...] 

I don't think there is other meds helping you with social fobia..as benzos just putting a thick blanket on everything. 

I had that social fobia as a kid. I decided to get rid of it and paced up and down our city's main street. It worked

[[Nu...]]

Your doctor can say for sure, but I doubt you will experience withdrawal symptoms from this switch. Clonazepam has a much longer half-life than lorazepam, so it'll provide longer coverage. Info approved by the FDA states the half-life of clonazepam is 30 to 40 hours while the half-life of lorazepam is 12 hours.

Please know that the equivalency between these meds is quite large. Depending on what you read, 1mg of lorazepam is equal to about 0.5mg of clonazepam. If you were on 2mg of lorazepam, that equates to 1mg of clonazepam. But... you're on 2mg of clonazepam which equals 4mg of lorazepam.

In essence, you've doubled your benzo dose while also transitioning to a much longer half life. This may alleviate your symptoms, but may be harder to withdraw from when the time comes. Wishing you the best on this journey...

[[Re...]]

11 hours ago, [[B...] said:

I have been switched from Lorazepam/Ativan 2 mg daily to Clonazepam/Klonopin 2 mg daily. I had been taking the Lorazepam for approximately 8 months, will I have withdrawal when I make the switch? Or does withdrawal only come when you stop taking completely? Thank you very much.

@[By...], Welcome to BB. Each pill you take has its own individual side effect profile that you subject yourself to with any changes. You can read the manufacturer's pamphlets carefully and thoroughly to inform yourself. Also, many people are finding the newly released tapering and psych drug information book The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines: Antidepressants, Benzodiazepines, Gabapentinoids and Z-drugs by Dr. Mark Horowitz informative and helpful. You can give a copy to your prescribing physician if they will listen. Believe it or not, the majority of doctors are not educated in psych med withdrawal, tapering, or prescribing so we have to protect ourselves by doing our own research. They can be very dismissive of patients going through this and it leads to trauma and also misdiagnoses. 

[[...]]

12 hours ago, [[B...] said:

I have been switched from Lorazepam/Ativan 2 mg daily to Clonazepam/Klonopin 2 mg daily. I had been taking the Lorazepam for approximately 8 months, will I have withdrawal when I make the switch? Or does withdrawal only come when you stop taking completely? Thank you very much.

I did lots of the switching and always just overnight. Didn't know anything about benzo then... I definitely felt the change but  no comparison to the actual benzo WD. 

Hope you'll find some other ways to tame your social phobia. A benzo is too risky. Not worth it.

Good luck!) 

Edited April 10 by [...]