# Clonazepam and Diazepam VS Xanax and Lorazepam



## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

So which do you all think is stronger and faster acting when it comes to these four benzos?

I put Xanax (alprazolam) in with Lorazepam as they are both fast acting 
Clonazepam (klonopin) and Diazepam (Vallium) seem to be the psychiatrists choice as they have a longer half life and supposedly Klonopin is stronger but it can make you feel lethargic and depressed.

Personally i would choose Xanax and Lorazepam if you need to go to something social like a party, wedding, social gathering, school or whatever because they work better, but then again they are said to be more addictive, although i find myself only wanting to hang around the house on clonazepam and high dose clonazepam makes it even worse. I am like a vegetable, calm but not interested in watching tv or going outside or writing or anything.

Lorazepam gives me motivation and social help, Xanax i do want to try because its the most potent well except for triazolam and midazolam but i will not try them after i was given triazolam as a pre med, it was so good i had terrible withdrawals from it, worse than zopiclone and i had only had one dose of 0.25MG of triazolam so thats pretty bad.

Yeah so please tell me your feedback

I would rather my doc switch me to Lorazepam as i find them more useful and less sedating, they perk me up and also make me sleepy at the end of the day......

Xanax may be too strong, i do not know. I read that you only take it once a day, unlike lorazepam and clonazepam and with diazepam its so weak you need a lot but its useful in people coming off Xanax and lorazepam.

Anyway whats your verdict?
I know it depends on the dosage but there are equivalencies

Alprazolam ( *Xanax* )	*Half life* 6-12 hrs
*Dosage equivalency * 0.5MG

Clonazepam ( Klonopin, Rivotril ) *Half life* 18-50 hrs 
*Dosage equivalency* 0.5

Diazepam ( Valium )*Half life* 20-100 OR 36-200 hrs depending on the individual.	
*Dosage equivalency*10MG

Lorazepam ( Ativan )*Half life*10-20 hrs 
*Dosage equivalency* 1MG

So it would seem that the least potent out of these four would be the Diazepam
The fastest acting would be Alprazolam
The longest half life per pill would be Clonazepam 
And overall fast acting, potent benzo with less side effects would be lorazepam

What would you choose?
or have you been on them all?









also would the effects vary depending on the sex of the person taking them aswell as other things like physical and mental health? Chemical absorption and heart rate. I have noticed a few males on here who dislike lorazepam but females seem to prefer it over klonopin. I know i do


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## rustybob (Nov 19, 2009)

Ativan's half-life is that long? It seems to only work for about 4 hours for me. I like Ativan, but not the sublinguals. A .5 sublingual is placebo to me, 1mg like a .5 in regular pill form. Ativan seems to energize me, and it is good for both social and generalized anxiety for me. Especially when I first start taking it, it does seem to affect my memory.

I LOVE Valium. 5mg works really well for me, and the effect seems to last an entire day. It energizes, and I'd say it completely kills my social anxiety. Alcohol tolerance isn't affected. No noticeable side effects either.

I've only taken Xanax once. 1mg knocked me out for 12 hours. I felt awesome when I finally woke up.

Never taken clonazepam.


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## Raptors (Aug 3, 2009)

Taken all 4. 

Xanax is with a doubt, my favourite....but man does it wear out quick!


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## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

It's weird. Xanax never worked for me. I kept upping the dose all the way to 4mg at a time, and it felt like I was taking a sugar pill!?! I didn't understand why it's so "good" for some people. However, my doctor said that I do react unusually to medicine. Like some low dosages of SSRI's caused rare physical symptoms.
However, I can feel the effects of Klonopin in just 30 minutes.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

I prefer to have Xanax and Klonopin. I hate Ativan.


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

Dr House said:


> I prefer to have Xanax and Klonopin. I hate Ativan.


yeah a lot of males seem to dislike ativan whereas i felt clonazepam (klonopin) did not work, well it took ages too work and the effects it gave were too sedating, they were not stimulating like Lorazepam


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## Akane (Jan 2, 2008)

Lorazepam followed by xanax then temazepam, then diazepam,and only if hell freezes over will I take klonopin again. Lorazepam and xanax have no withdrawal symptoms for me even if I get up to a really high dose. Lorazepam works as more of a muscle relaxant and I take around 1mg right now for sleep. I was up to 2mg when my doctor refused to prescribe a higher dose and after I build tolerance there is little difference to me between those 2 doses so I figured there was no reason to take more than 1mg. It also means if I keep refilling my 2mg prescription on time I can occasionally take 4-5mg when needed like now when it's 2:40 am and I do not feel at all like sleep. Both of those also stop me from crying within minutes of taking them.

Temazepam I can tolerate but it does not actually make me feel good and sometimes I feel a little worse several hours after taking it. Klonopin made me forget 2 weeks of my life except for the absolute horrible crashes right around time to take the next dose which usually had me hyperventilating from crying so hard and panicking at everything. It was also horrible to get off of but I just stopped cold since the day or so of withdrawal was better than the couple hours every day I had to go through as it was.


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## Rbk (Aug 5, 2010)

wjc75225 said:


> It's weird. Xanax never worked for me. I kept upping the dose all the way to 4mg at a time, and it felt like I was taking a sugar pill!?! I didn't understand why it's so "good" for some people. However, my doctor said that I do react unusually to medicine.


I had the same situation. And my doc didn't want to believe me. And we are not the only ones - alprazolam is not working for many people. I don't know why, but I think it can be related to mechanism of action - mayby alprazolam is targeting other GABA A receptors than rest of benzos.

I was taking three of that four - diazepam, alprazolam and lorazepam. Alprazolam was not working like I said before. Diazepam is not bad and lorazepam is very good as anxiolytic  
Now I have 23 pills of lorazepam(1mg). The simple pill is good enough for most of the social situations. Sometimes I'm taking 2mg.

There are two problems with lorazepam - it is addictive and second - it makes me wanna drink alcohol.


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## euphoria (Jan 21, 2009)

Xanax and Klonopin. Xanax is by far the most euphoric of all I've tried, but too short-acting for my needs. Klonopin is good for anxiety, quite long-lasting and although not as good for mood as Xanax, isn't too depressing. Valium is extremely fast-acting but I found it too sedating and quite depressing. Ativan was kind of "blah" and took ages to kick in, but I don't remember it that well.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

I've been on Klonopin, Xanax and Temazepam in the past and all felt pretty much the same to me overall tbh.


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## ThePolyfather (Sep 7, 2010)

Sadly I've only tried Xanax, although I plan to try diazepam very soon.
It essentially makes me feel as if my conscious mind is on vacation. I don't really pay attention to things or remember what goes on. Things don't seem real, and provided I don't end up arbitrarily falling asleep on it (which has happened before) I feel pretty lethargic. Strangely, I recently reduced my dose from .5mg/day (at *least*) to under 1mg a week and have noticed no withdrawal effects. *shrug*
I'll give it this though, it definitely made me feel less anxious. Of course, it's hard to feel much of any emotion when it feels like you're sleepwalking...


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## styler5 (Oct 7, 2006)

wjc75225 said:


> It's weird. Xanax never worked for me. I kept upping the dose all the way to 4mg at a time, and it felt like I was taking a sugar pill!?! I didn't understand why it's so "good" for some people. However, my doctor said that I do react unusually to medicine. Like some low dosages of SSRI's caused rare physical symptoms.
> However, I can feel the effects of Klonopin in just 30 minutes.


I'm the opposite. I tried klonopin up to 4mg. I too thought I was taking a placebo, especially considering the pleasant taste.

Valium didn't do **** for me, either. Ativan on the other hand completely cured my anxiety...for 2 weeks. Then tolerance built up.

Xanax is the only drug that even remotely helps me now.


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## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

akstylish said:


> I'm the opposite. I tried klonopin up to 4mg. I too thought I was taking a placebo, especially considering the pleasant taste.
> 
> Valium didn't do **** for me, either. Ativan on the other hand completely cured my anxiety...for 2 weeks. Then tolerance built up.
> 
> Xanax is the only drug that even remotely helps me now.


Interesting. I think 4mg of Klonopin at one time would make me feel drunk. Xanax and Klonopin are the only benzo's I've taken, and Klonopin is the only one I feel the effects of. I really had no need to try the others out there because Klonopin works for me. I used to take the Klonopin that tastes like sugar (I know what you mean haha!). The ones I take now have an outer shell, so I don't get that pleasant taste anymore =/.


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## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

Rbk said:


> I had the same situation. And my doc didn't want to believe me. And we are not the only ones - alprazolam is not working for many people. I don't know why, but I think it can be related to mechanism of action - mayby alprazolam is targeting other GABA A receptors than rest of benzos.
> 
> I was taking three of that four - diazepam, alprazolam and lorazepam. Alprazolam was not working like I said before. Diazepam is not bad and lorazepam is very good as anxiolytic
> Now I have 23 pills of lorazepam(1mg). The simple pill is good enough for most of the social situations. Sometimes I'm taking 2mg.
> ...


Ya, it's interesting how everyone's brain reacts differently! It make psychiatry really difficult! My pdoc believed me when I said Xanax did nothing, so I switched to Klonopin like I said above. Those are the only two benzo's I've tried because Klonopin works for me. I didn't see a need to try anything else once I found one that helps.


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

Personally i found 4MG of klonopin made me dizzy and 6MG had me lying on the bed like a vegetable. Lorazepam is a good anxiolytic RBK is right there 
Personally i do not find klonopin helpful, they do sedate and calm you down but its not stimulating and with lorazepam i never wanted to drink, and i was able to come off them when given a prescription easier than clonazepam which is crazy since the doc told me ativan was more addictive than clonazepam.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

I disagree with above equivalency, since I in no way believe that the 10 mg of Xanax I take in a day equals 200 mg (20 tablets) of Valium.


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

UltraShy said:


> I disagree with above equivalency, since I in no way believe that the 10 mg of Xanax I take in a day equals 200 mg (20 tablets) of Valium.


Have u taken over 100MG of valium? 
i have, and it made me very very sleepy 
Personally i would say Xanax would be much stronger, then again they say that 5MG of klonopin is the same as 100Mg of valium and its not
Clonazepam seems to me to be a placebo


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## Canadian4Life (Sep 27, 2010)

Ativan - no effects (up to 6mg a day)
Valium - helped with anxiety but made me groggy, irritable and depressed. (30mg a day)
Xanax - made me tired, zombie-like and slow. Couldn't function on it (1-3mg a day)
Clonazepam - works well for my social anxiety, panic and anxiety. It also doesn't make me depressed like EVERY other benzo. Very minor sexual side effects (others didnt cause any besides xanax) but that's when I use over 2mg. I take 1-2mg a day now and find it the best for me by a long shot. Only benzo I can take at all.
Bromazepam - not mentioned in your title but I tried 3mg and 6mg tablets. Bromazepam is very unpopular and rare to find but I found it to be as good as clonazepam if not more. Effects are like valium without the depressed and down feeling. It wears off quick tho and although it is potent to me for anxiety clonazepam is more potent for panic but each are equally effective for my social anxiety though. I took bromazepam 3 times a day and with clonazepam I take it once which is a major help.


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## Hulgil (Oct 4, 2010)

I got all the way to 6mg at once with clonazepam before I gave up. Not any conscious changes at all, and no unconscious ones visible to anyone else, at least. Alprazolam has a noticeable effect with as little as 1mg. I had no idea there were people with the opposite affliction.


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## MBL (Oct 5, 2010)

I find oxazepam is strong.

Xanax doesn't faze me.
Ativan is mild, but effective. 
I find clonazepam (Klonopin) is decent but I seem to need large doses.


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

MBL said:


> I find oxazepam is strong.
> 
> Xanax doesn't faze me.
> Ativan is mild, but effective.
> I find clonazepam (Klonopin) is decent but I seem to need large doses.


Really? oxazepam, thats serepax right?
don't u need about 30Mg of it to work though?
i know someone on it and she says its good but very sedating and its supposed to be bad for the liver and make u gain weight but thats just according to some online information i read on various websites. I do know the equivalencies compared to klonopin or xanax are weaker, i mean 30MG is equal to 0.5MG of both xanax and klonopin however it works for some, my friend prefers it as she said klonopin did nothing and xanax made her feel crazy.

Yeah u need a high dose of klonopin even then its not that great
anything over 5-6MG works but the dizziness and nausea is gross plus it does not kill social anxiety or make u more sociable, which i found a decent dose of lorazepam did, even diazepam in a high dosage got rid of the anxiety but klonopin does nothing.:sus


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## BostonMike (Oct 6, 2010)

Xanax 2mg otem poles, work the best for me. I also have a script of 1mg Klonopin that seems to supplement it perfectly. No anxiety!


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

BostonMike said:


> Xanax 2mg otem poles, work the best for me. I also have a script of 1mg Klonopin that seems to supplement it perfectly. No anxiety!


Actually thats sounds good, it would seem that klonopin even in small doses like 0.5 to 1MG* mixed* with a faster acting high potency benzo like xanax or ativan works perfectly, it did for me today, I finally got 2MG of lorazepam and took 0.5MG of klonopin with it and i was fine, have not needed any extra klonopin or lorazepam today 

i understand now why doctors in the past have prescribed me diazepam and lorazepam at the same time, because one is stronger than the other and works great for specific situations short term and the other (diazepam) is weaker and helps aide the effects of benzodiazepines :yes


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## RedHare21 (Oct 17, 2012)

Yeah all benzos seem to have some effect on me. I'd say clonazepam and diazepam are the most mild. Claudopins take the longest to hit me and do pretty well for calming me down, but that's all they do. Diazepam makes me down and depressed but I think that's because it's mixed with a muscle relaxer. Why it's probably primarily made for withdrawl symptoms like Alcohol withdrawl. But I am one of those guys that feel energized as well from alprazolam(xanax) and lorazapam(ativan) and get the best results. Xanax being the faster, more potent calming and motivating, while Ativan is a little more mild but with the same effects. So great combo in my experience with Prozac as well which kept me totally uplifted and optimistic and also very peaceful and calm but still energetic enough to enjoy it.


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## yourfavestoner (Jan 14, 2010)

I'm currently on 0.5 mg of Lorazepam. Safe to say, 0.5 does nothing for me. In order to get any degree of relief I have to take two. Just last week I took two Ativan to before work which did calm me down to a degree. I've got an appointment with my psychiatrist tomorrow, and I'm going to request a higher dose.

I was briefly on Klonopin. I was prescribed it with Paxil. When I went to my psychiatrist to whine about the sexual dysfunction accompanying the Paxil, he removed me from Paxil and also decided to switch me from Klonopin to Ativan - not sure why. It's hard for me to judge Klonopin because I only used it several times.

I'm hoping a higher dose of the Ativan does the trick.


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## Seywerd (Oct 28, 2012)

*Lorazepam vs Clonazepam*

I suffered a very serious knee injury tearing both my ACL & LCL ligaments. As a result my tibia rolls out of the socket, dislocates and jams. When this happens, I freak (anxiety at 10, suicidal pain, drop to the fetal position type stuff). The best thing I have is 2ml Lorazepam SL (under the tongue; works in 10 minutes) for the anxiety part. It is also good to stop racing which I do 24 hrs/day. After this injury, I never slept for 17 years until I had a total breakdown. I take 2 zopiclone and a clonazepam at bedtime, but if my knee is out I won't sleep at all.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

Seywerd said:


> I suffered a very serious knee injury tearing both my ACL & LCL ligaments. As a result my tibia rolls out of the socket, dislocates and jams. When this happens, I freak (anxiety at 10, suicidal pain, drop to the fetal position type stuff). The best thing I have is 2ml Lorazepam SL (under the tongue; works in 10 minutes) for the anxiety part. It is also good to stop racing which I do 24 hrs/day. After this injury, I never slept for 17 years until I had a total breakdown. I take 2 zopiclone and a clonazepam at bedtime, but if my knee is out I won't sleep at all.


Oh dude, you just described my worst nightmare. I was actually once in a similar situation before I was on benzos yet and I was home alone. I had to call an ambulance when the EMT;s showed up an put me on a gurney and put in an IV. ONE OF THE GUYS SAI, "PUSH 2 MG OF lorazepam." they did. But it was then that I learned how poorly I respond to Lorazepam because in all they injected 10 mg before I ever so a doctor just so I would stop violently shaking and be legible.


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## Babylon (Dec 11, 2012)

Hello everyone. I am new to this forum, I know this is an old topic but I thought I would chime in. 

I have pretty bad Anxiety ( GAD/Panic ) and I have been self medicating with Bromazepam for the past 6 or 7 years. I take it intermittently depending on how bad my anxiety is from 1.5 MG for mild anxiety or if I feel like im going to start panicing to 3MG, or 6MG for a pretty bad anxiety attack to an absolute maximum 12MG for a full blown horror attack. It works slow but seems to last a long time with no real side effects. It's something very nice to take because the effects are very minimal I can take up to 6MG and just feel normal. I think that's why I like it because I don't feel high, I don't feel drowsy I just feel ... normal.

Until recently, Bromazapam (Local name "Calmupam") and occasionally 5MG Valum were all I had access to as they are super difficult to get in the country where I'm at. I usually took a few pills a week, sometimes I would go weeks and even months without an attack and without taking a single pill, however, recently, I have been having really bad anxiety, panic, depression and stress so I was going through them like candy because they are not very strong. So I got some Xanax sent to me from the States and they are much stronger.

I have however taken almost all the benzos and here's a basic break down of how they worked for me.. 

Ativan - Was my favorite, I took it many years ago and I felt like I was floating on cloud 9, I would go to the emergency room with a severe panic attack so bad I was thought I was dying, they would shoot me up with Ativan and I would walk out half an hour later without a single care in the world. Problem was, I liked it too much and I seemed to lose control of myself on them. 

I would take a couple pills then the next thing I would remember is it would be a 3 days later my 90 day prescription would be finished and I would have no idea what had happened. I was told by friends and family that I would take a pill every 30 minutes or so. So, while it worked wonderfully, I think that if I had stayed on them I would have overdosed I didn't want to take them like that but I apparently had no real control of myself on them. Ativan rocked my world.

Valium - Helps me with my anxiety, it works fast and seems to last a long time. I usually dissolve 5-10 MG under my tongue and my panic or anxiety is usually gone within 5 - 20 minutes. No side effects, no hangover, no break down I think I like Valium best of them all. Works fast, no side effects, I can function I know what I'm doing and I can live a semi-normal life on them.

Xanax - makes me zombie-like and slow and I always have a bad hangover that can last a couple days. Xanax hangovers sucks bad... headache, tired and worn down but that could be from taking too much. When im in panic mode I just take a whole 2MG bar and it kills any and all panic and anxiety dead but I usually regret it the next day. 
Xanax is by far the strongest on this list and it kills anxiety and panic dead in it's tracks. When I was younger and stupid I lost an entire week of my life on Xanax. 
It's a no joke drug and if you drink you can easily end up accidentally dead. 

Clonazepam - I only took it a few times but it didn't seem to work well at all for me not sure if it was because of the dosage or my body just dosen't seem to like it. 

When I first started having Anxiety problems like 15 years ago I took all the SSRI's there were I tried them all and none of them worked so I quit taking them all. I then started taking Cipralex ( I think its called Lexapro in the States) and it seemed to work but It effected me sexually ( I couldn't finish... ever... ) and as a newly wed it just wasn't going to work so I stopped taking them and just used the Calmupam when I felt bad. 

But recently it's been real bad, so much so much Blood pressure has been getting really high I started taking it again Cipralex and it seems to be working. I am taking it only because I am afraid of getting hooked on the Benzos. I already have a mental addiction to them If I don't have them I get super anxious. Just knowing they are there makes me feel better I don't even need to take them just knowing I have them available helps me. When I run out, I start to panic so I suppose I am mentally addicted but physically I don't NEED to take them. 

Anyhow, Wish me luck with the Cipralex I hope it works. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Babylon


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## 84929 (May 10, 2012)

I've been prescribed clonazepam, only .5mg. Suppose to take it twice a day or as needed. But I find it works very well for me. When I find my mind is racing before I get too worked up. I take clonazepam and it brings me down; I feel a lot better and it helps me sleep. Which I am really happy that the doctor finally prescribe me it! Cause he first stuck me on Abilify. Which sucked and didn't do anything. Plus made me ill. 

I find that this works for me. I remember something my therapist told me that is "Chase the anxiety. Don't let anxiety chase you" so I take my clonazepam even if I don't feel nervous. I use it to keep it at bay. But I do worry about becoming use to it and it being no longer effective. I suppose that it may be goal to try to get rid of my anxiety were I don't have to be dependent on medicine. But I'll get there eventually


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## rick cortez (Dec 23, 2012)

I've tried valium,klonipin and xanax. Klonipin made me to drowsy and valium wasn't strong enough xanax I've found does it for me.


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

rick cortez said:


> I've tried valium,klonipin and xanax. Klonipin made me to drowsy and valium wasn't strong enough xanax I've found does it for me.


Yes, it would seem because its faster acting and does not make you suddenly drowsy like klonopin xanax is probably the best however lorazepam works for me but i need higher doses now, but thats down to severe post natal stuff:afr


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

Arisa1536 said:


> So which do you all think is stronger and faster acting when it comes to these four benzos?
> 
> I put Xanax (alprazolam) in with Lorazepam as they are both fast acting
> Clonazepam (klonopin) and Diazepam (Vallium) seem to be the psychiatrists choice as they have a longer half life and supposedly Klonopin is stronger but it can make you feel lethargic and depressed.
> ...


Just by glancing over your OP. It looks like you've done your home work on the subject. Even though the benzo class specifically targets the GABAa receptors, everyone does have different responses to them respectively, as each does have it's own onset and duration of action. Some you have mentioned:
- The half life and onset of action of each benzo.
- Other medications or drugs you may also be taking or have used in the past.
- Your bodies metabolism, rate of absorption and plasma levels
- The current state of your GABA receptors, factors that include their health, availability, and upregulation or deregulation of GABA producing receptors. Also, the sometimes competitive balance between active glutamate and GABA in the various regions and pathways of the brain.
- And an accurate chart showing the various benzo. half-lives and equivalency/conversions between them.

http://www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm


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## ellespirit (Dec 2, 2012)

I know someone who tried them all and they didn't work for him....


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