![]() This variation in binding can, in some patients, cause them to go into withdrawal should their benzodiazepine be switched to a different type. While all benzodiazepines are pharmacologically similar, some of them bind to different benzodiazepine receptors (e.g., Klonopin binds tightly to central-type benzodiazepine receptors) than others. Withdrawal symptoms from Klonopin also increase markedly with accumulation of the drug, much of which is due to action of the inactive metabolites as well as the parent drug. And Klonopin (clonazepam), one of the nitro-benzodiazepines, has actually the highest incidence of adverse effects in the benzodiazepine-harmed community. In fact, of all the benzodiazepines, Ativan carries the strongest language in the FDA’s Prescribing Guidelines, warning against the following: prescribing past 2-4 weeks, about withdrawal symptoms, and against abrupt cessation. No real scientifically sound rationale exists behind demonizing one benzodiazepine while still prescribing the other. Xanax concerns tend to be centered around its short half life, which could also be said about Ativan, as well as Xanax’s popularity in both the mainstream media and with illicit drug users. ![]() Many patients seek Valium to taper, as it is required to follow the Ashton Manual, which is one method of safer benzodiazepine cessation. Rather than produce legislation to head off the growing crisis, the hearings were dominated by an industry narrative in which Valium played the fall guy - the “scary tranquilizer” - while the new and rebranded benzodiazepines coming onto market (Xanax, Klonopin, Ativan) were heralded as “good anxiolytics.” Ironically, Valium’s growing notoriety helped ensure the hearings failed. In 1979, Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy led a Senate hearing into the dangers of benzodiazepines, of which Valium was still the best known. Their lower dosages, meanwhile, masked the new drugs’ dramatically increased potency: 1 milligram of clonazepam (Klonopin) and alprazolam (Xanax) equals roughly 20 milligrams of Valium. But the new drugs’ similarities with Valium were more important than the differences accentuated by the drug makers, who now eschewed the old label “tranquilizer” altogether, in favor of the new umbrella-term “anxiolytic.” This new rubric falsely suggested an entirely new class of drugs, with a fundamentally different neurochemistry. In 1975, La-Roche began marketing clonazepam (brand name, Klonopin) two years later, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals released lorazepam (brand name, Ativan).īoth drugs were marketed to doctors and the public as “different” from Valium - safer, faster-acting, requiring much lower dosages, and carrying less risk. As explained in A Brief History of Benzodiazepines : The reason for Valium’s poor reputation today is due to its early success in the market. ![]() These “safety profiles” are the result of deceptive pharmaceutical marketing strategies in the 1970s and 1980s. ![]() Prescribers frequently demonize one benzodiazepine like Xanax (alprazolam) or Valium (diazepam), while still heralding the safety profile of another benzodiazepine like Klonopin (clonazepam) and Ativan (lorazepam). The issue of forced benzodiazepine switching is common. Even with safe, patient led methods, some patients will still become disabled long term, harmed or even die from switching or stopping their prescribed benzodiazepine. Most prescribers are not adequately trained in safe benzodiazepine practices, forcing overrapid switching, tapers or sudden cessation. This response by prescribers is very dangerous as benzodiazepine cessation is unpredictable, with potential damage lasting for years. Beyond this, some prescribers force their physically dependent patients to switch their benzodiazepine to a different one they deem “safer”.
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