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Anxiety meds

My doc took me off of klonipin 0.5 and put me on ativan 0.5 is this ok to do without weaning one first ugh
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Avatar universal
Again, just because drugs are in the same class does not mean they work the same way.  They may target the same neurotransmitter, but they target different receptors, get to the brain in different ways, are metabolized differently, and affect us differently.  They do not always substitute one of the other or else there would only be one drug in every category.  
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16426782 tn?1447843358
Both drugs belongs to the class of drugs called benzodiazepines and work in the same way. Your doctor put it off due to some reason,take these meds as prescribed. If you experience any side effect, inform immediately to your doctor.
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Avatar universal
No two drugs work exactly the same way -- if they did they wouldn't be able to get a patent.  They target different receptors and work differently.  So what you need to focus on is, how long were you on the klonopin, did you take it every day or just as needed -- in other words, are you likely to suffer a withdrawal from it.  Personally, I would never quit any drug that targets brain neurotransmitters cold turkey -- it's tough enough doing it with a slow taper.  Another problem is, when you switch from one drug right to another you can't tell if you have side effects if they're from the withdrawal or the new drug.  These two drugs also work quite differently -- klonopin lasts a lot longer in the body and takes longer to start working, whereas Ativan is much more short term in how long it works for but works more quickly -- when it works.  It's also seldom a good idea to take any benzo every day, but if you're going to, klonopin is usually the choice because of its duration.  Ativan every day can quickly burn out and then you need to take more.  So it's important to know if you're using this every day or just on an as needed basis.  Klonopin isn't the best drug used that way -- Ativan would work better.  But not for as long.  Now, this could be really easy and you might not notice it, but if it were me, knowing what I know now, I'd stop the one successfully before starting the other.
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Avatar universal
Hello,  I was on 2mg xanax for 5yrs. And at the end I took 180 bars in 2 weeks,  2 months worth. Then I quit cold turkey,  on the 5th day I had a seizure and ended up in hospital for 3.5 weeks with kidney failure.  So as far as I know, if you quit cold turkey there is Definitely the potential for that, and cardiac arrest.  However,  xanax being alot stronger than klonipin,  I will say for the first 2 weeks in hospital, they were injecting me with lorazepam, ie ativan .5mgs... so being that your still taking a benzo you should be okay IMO, you may feel a little worse, but I promise it's better than just quitting, and 5 weeks later (me) still not getting sleep. Every day gets better, and you'll get stronger. But Definitely keep fighting the good fight! Just takes strenght/and hope for a better future!
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