# Serepax, Oxazepam Any good? General discussion



## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

*Generic Name: Oxazepam
Product Name: Serepax*

*Used for*
Anxiety
Short term treatment of insomnia

*Advice of Serepax:*
_Mild to moderate anxiety:_
7.5-15 mg 3-4 times daily
_Severe anxiety:_
15-30mg 3-4 times daily

Source

So i was wondering if anyone here has tried it for anxiety? 
By the looks of things, its low potency and you need a high amount to acheive the same effects you would with a standard benzodiazepine like Klonopin, lorazepam or Xanax.

My friend in Australia has been given 30MG twice a day for anxiety and Sun downers syndrome, which is an anxiety/depression that builds up in the afternoon and does not lift until night fall, around dinner time (i have experienced it, its awful)

My doctor here shook his head at the mere thought of prescribing it for sleep and said Zopiclone was better, but surely a drug that helps anxiety AND insomnia would be better than a hypnotic sedative on its own?

Does anyone have any experience with this drug?

MY friend says its a god send and the best Benzo she has ever tried and she has been on a lot but currently takes 10X5MG Valium per day, totaling 50MG per day plus the 60MG of serepax.

She saw a private doctor who gave her whatever she requested and it still only cost 35.00 for each script including a months worth of repeats

I guess valium in high doses would work but i am asking about Serepax and if its general response is positive, i mean is it new? old? great or pretty ineffective?

Could the only reason it be working for my mate kaz is that she is on a high amount of Diazepam (Valium) at the same time?

Anyone?

Thanks :roll:roll


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## meyaj (Sep 5, 2009)

It's old, like pretty much all the benzos. Not very popular in much of the world but I know it's more widely prescribed in Australia/NZ. And zopiclone is not just a sedative/hypnotic, it still has anxiolytic, muscle-relaxant, amnesic, and anti-convulsant properties like any benzo would. It just has a stronger balance towards hypnotic properties similar to benzos commonly used for sleep such as Temazepam, Triazolam, or Nitrazepam.

Also...

"Oxazepam is listed as a possible carcinogen (Group 2b) by the IARC."

Although I should add pretty much _any_ hypnotic (which, as mentioned just previously, includes ALL the benzos) is thought to slightly increase the likelihood of cancer, possibly by affecting the immune system, but oxazepam in particular seems to stand out among them.


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

REALLY? i did not know that
thanks for the tip

il steer clear of them then, i mean if they are an old drug too the side effects will probably be worse and the fact you need a high amount to feel relaxed is also a worry

So zopiclone is similar to Triazolam?
only in zopiclone you get 7.5MG and it does leave an awful taste in your mouth, even if you take it with water, coca cola, coffee, tea, orange juice, anything really, you can't escape that metallic taste 

what would you say is better long term?
Zopiclone or Nitrazepam or Triazolam???
which is the lesser of the three evils so to speak?


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## meyaj (Sep 5, 2009)

Zopiclone. It typically affects the sleep cycle a bit less and has an ideal duration for sleep. Nitrazepam is quite long-acting and can leave you sleepy and groggy when waking up, and triazolam is very short-acting and can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night, as well as create intense rebound anxiety in the morning, especially, but not limited to, long-term use.

Since you didn't mention it, I'm guessing you have already tried temazepam then? It is overall much more ideal for this purpose, really being an issue of preference between it and zopiclone than anything else.

And yeah, zopiclone tastes terrible, especially with sweet stuff. Breaking a pill in half is really gross because you end up getting the direct taste in your mouth. But over time I've actually gotten used to it and there are a few things I even find more pleasant, after taking zopiclone.

Personally, I would use temazepam if I could, which I have used in the past, but my psychiatrist much prefers to prescribe zopiclone.


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

Yeah i have tried temazepam and it honestly did nothing, except give me a rather bad headache, i did not sleep though
i seem to be prone to headaches where most people can avoid them on certain medications so temazepam and seroquel were really bad for me in that respect, i would wake up with migraines when i finally did get some sleep on the Temazepam.

So zopiclone is the safest option?
my doctor seems to advise it over an actual benzodiazepine even though zopiclone does work the same way as certain benzo's do i just no he is anti Triazolam, and i would be hard pushed to find anyone i know taking that, well maybe in an elderly persons hospice or something but my grandad was on heavy amounts of valium, zopiclone and clonazepam since he had grade 5 dementia and was basically dying

otherwise it seems in this country benzodiazepines are a no no


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

From what I hear zopiclone or eszopiclone seem to be about the best meds for sleep due to their optimal duration of action as meyaj has already mentioned, aswell as their lower side effect profile when compared with most sleep meds. So long as you can stick to the recommended dose as I think he's also mentioned in another thread, and not sky rocket the dose as soon as some tolerance is noticed (actually I believe this school of thought should go for all benzos/ atypical benzos (z drugs) really, which is why I've been on the same dose of klonopin for a year.)


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

I've never tried that benzo. I've used Valium, Ativan, Klonopin, and Xanax, which probably account for 95%+ of all the benzos used in the US.

One rarely hears of any American using a benzo other than those top four. It seems other nations have their own favorites that top their list.

Yesterday I was looking at my account at drugstore.com counting how many times I've filled Xanax with them. I counted 60 fills with them, so 9,000 pills x 2mg. Damn that's a lot.


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## meyaj (Sep 5, 2009)

"High dose abusers of benzodiazepines have shown enlarged cerebrospinal fluid spaces with associated brain shrinkage.[67] Neuropsychological function can be permanently affected in chronic high dose abusers of benzodiazepines, with brain damage similar to alcoholic brain damage, as was shown in a 4 to 6 year follow-up study of benzodiazepine abusers by Borg and others of the Karolinska Institute. The CT scan abnormalities showed dilatation of the ventricular system. However, unlike alcoholics, sedative hypnotic abusers showed no evidence of widened cortical sulci. The study concluded that, when cerebral disorder is diagnosed in sedative hypnotic benzodiazepine abusers, it is often permanent.[68] An earlier study by Borg et al. found evidence of cerebral disorder in those that exclusively abused benzodiazepines, suggesting that cerebral disorder was not the result of other substances of abuse.[69] Withdrawal from high dose abuse of nitrazepam have caused severe hypoperfusion of the whole brain with diffuse slow activity on EEG. After withdrawal, abnormalities in hypofrontal brain wave patterns persist beyond the withdrawal syndrome which suggested organic brain damage occurs from chronic high dose abuse of benzodiazepines.[70] Some studies have demonstrated brain damage in therapeutic dose users whereas other studies have refuted that benzodiazepines caused structural brain damage. The evidence seems to suggest some form of brain damage but whether the long term effects of benzodiazepines are due to structural brain damage or functional brain damage remains to be determined conclusively. Two publications have suggested that lorazepam is more toxic than diazepam.[71][72] Permanent brain damage may result from chronic use of benzodiazepines similar to alcohol related brain damage.[73] The brain damage reported is similar to but less severe than that seen in chronic alcoholics.[74]"


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## jarrod2279 (Feb 4, 2010)

Tried oxazepam a couple of years ago because my psychiatrist didn't want to prescribe xanax. Now having chewed thru a bottle of xanax in the last 3 weeks I can kind of understand why.

However, oxazepam has a similar half-life to xanax or even shorter and I was every bit as irritable and anxious coming down off the oxazepam as the xanax.

Valium works better for me because of its long half-life. On the downside I get muscle aches from the valium and not from xanax and can't remember if I did on oxazepam.


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

jarrod2279 said:


> Tried oxazepam a couple of years ago because my psychiatrist didn't want to prescribe xanax. Now having chewed thru a bottle of xanax in the last 3 weeks I can kind of understand why.
> 
> However, oxazepam has a similar half-life to xanax or even shorter and I was every bit as irritable and anxious coming down off the oxazepam as the xanax.
> 
> Valium works better for me because of its long half-life. On the downside I get muscle aches from the valium and not from xanax and can't remember if I did on oxazepam.


Interesting, thanks for the info :yes
It doesn't sound as great as my friend makes it out to be so i am thinking its the 50MG of valium she is on per day thats lifting her up a bit, rather than the serepax.

I thought serepax would last longer wow thanks, i know to stay away from it :no


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