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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Paul on December 28, 1998, at 9:17:09
It is my understanding that benzodiazepines differ from one another primarily in their half-lives and time in which they take effect. Are drugs such as temazepam, which is indicated for the treatment of insomnia (and not anxiety), indicated as such because of their relatively duration (which obviously makes it a good choice because it wears off by morning), or are there other specific effects, apart from duration of action, which are more sedating and hypnotic as opposed to anxiolytic effects? In other words, can temazepam be taken for anxiety?
Posted by Paul on December 28, 1998, at 9:29:48
In reply to temazepam and iother benzodiazepines, posted by Paul on December 28, 1998, at 9:17:09
> It is my understanding that benzodiazepines differ from one another primarily in their half-lives and time in which they take effect. Are drugs such as temazepam, which is indicated for the treatment of insomnia (and not anxiety), indicated as such because of their relatively SHORT duration (which obviously makes them a good choice because they wear off by morning), or are there other specific effects, apart from duration of action, which are more sedating and hypnotic as opposed to anxiolytic? In other words, can temazepam be taken for anxiety?
Sorry for the typos...
Posted by Peter on December 29, 1998, at 14:03:26
In reply to temazepam and iother benzodiazepines, posted by Paul on December 28, 1998, at 9:17:09
Paul,
All benzodiazepines are CNS depressants. If you are on Temazepam for sleep, then your Insomnia is (or should be) caused by anxiety. You would be helped by taking any other benzodiazepine. Why Temazepam is one of those benzos that doctors prescribe for night time, I don't know for a sure, but it is very possible that duration of its action is the reason.
I'm on Temazepam also. Haven't tryed to take it during the day, and doubt there is more sedative action then from other benzos. I had 2 different benzos before (Diazepam, Flurazepam), and I can't tell the difference.
> It is my understanding that benzodiazepines differ from one another primarily in their half-lives and time in which they take effect. Are drugs such as temazepam, which is indicated for the treatment of insomnia (and not anxiety), indicated as such because of their relatively duration (which obviously makes it a good choice because it wears off by morning), or are there other specific effects, apart from duration of action, which are more sedating and hypnotic as opposed to anxiolytic effects? In other words, can temazepam be taken for anxiety?
Posted by saint james on December 29, 1998, at 20:15:09
In reply to temazepam and iother benzodiazepines, posted by Paul on December 28, 1998, at 9:17:09
> It is my understanding that benzodiazepines differ from one another primarily in their half-lives and time in which they take effect.
James here...Yes you are correct. There are short acting (atavin, Xanax, Halcion) and long acting (Val, Klonipin, ) I cammot remember if Tamazpam in a long acting; if it is short acting it has one of the longer 1/2 lifes of a short acting ones. if you take a long acting one always have a benzodiazepine in your system.
The long acting ones are used for sleep when there is a problem with early morning waking.
Posted by Donna G. Gonzlez on May 3, 1999, at 22:17:27
In reply to Re: temazepam and iother benzodiazepines, posted by saint james on December 29, 1998, at 20:15:09
I am on klonipin for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrom. I just started Friday April 30, 1999. I hope it will work. The doctor explained that I need to have the medication in my bloodstream at all times to avoid panic attacks and anger and depression that follows. Are you familiar with this treatment? So far so good for me. I just increased dose a couple of hours ago. I see my doctor Friday. He will be monitoring me. I actually got taken to a psych hospital Thursday because of panic. I hate this confusion I experience. I hope this medication will calm down my mind Sincerely, Donna
Posted by Louise on May 4, 1999, at 18:24:09
In reply to Re: temazepam and iother benzodiazepines, posted by Donna G. Gonzlez on May 3, 1999, at 22:17:27
Donna
I'm sorry I don't know anything about the medication you're taking, but I hope it's helping now that your dose is increased, Louise
Posted by Mark on May 10, 1999, at 5:27:09
In reply to temazepam and iother benzodiazepines, posted by Paul on December 28, 1998, at 9:17:09
Paul--you are absolutely right--they differ in
how fast they work, how long they last, and
(slightly) how much they are metabolized by the
liver versus the kidney (which is only important
if you have liver damage and require a benzo
that is metabolized more by the kidney).Benzo's that start quickly and last a short time
are good for sleep (but can lead to rebound
insomnia in the middle of the night) and are
safer for morning driving.> It is my understanding that benzodiazepines differ from one another primarily in their half-lives and time in which they take effect. Are drugs such as temazepam, which is indicated for the treatment of insomnia (and not anxiety), indicated as such because of their relatively duration (which obviously makes it a good choice because it wears off by morning), or are there other specific effects, apart from duration of action, which are more sedating and hypnotic as opposed to anxiolytic effects? In other words, can temazepam be taken for anxiety?
Posted by Steve on December 7, 1999, at 18:48:52
In reply to Re: temazepam and iother benzodiazepines, posted by Donna G. Gonzlez on May 3, 1999, at 22:17:27
> I am on klonipin for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrom. I just started Friday April 30, 1999. I hope it will work. The doctor explained that I need to have the medication in my bloodstream at all times to avoid panic attacks and anger and depression that follows. Are you familiar with this treatment? So far so good for me. I just increased dose a couple of hours ago. I see my doctor Friday. He will be monitoring me. I actually got taken to a psych hospital Thursday because of panic. I hate this confusion I experience. I hope this medication will calm down my mind Sincerely, Donna
Donna, I know it has been a while since you posted your message. I began having panic attacks about 6 years ago. It came out of no where. My heart would start racing, my head would "spin", I would get a cold sweat and general confusion. Sometimes I would feel detached. My Pysch first prescribed Xanax which calmed everything down pretty quickly. I later had another doctor change the medication to Klonopin. Xanax was a 4 times a day med. Klonopin was a lot easier to live with. I have had very little panic problems since. Mostly sleep panics if I took a nap during the day but that has gone away now. The most recent was a couple of months ago I had a night panic which may have been more of a bad dream/sleep walk than anything. Regardless, I have learned to not be so afraid of panic attacks and have even taken a humorous attitude toward it. When it all first started, I became depressed and very phobic. I very quickly developed a morbid fear of just about everything. That's all history now as I am an actor/writer and am getting my MFA in script and screenwriting at Regent University. It is survivable. I hope this helps you and others. Blessings.
Steve
Posted by NHGrandma on December 8, 1999, at 15:17:08
In reply to Re: temazepam and iother benzodiazepines, posted by Steve on December 7, 1999, at 18:48:52
> Donna, I know it has been a while since you posted your message. I began having panic attacks about 6 years ago. It came out of no where. My heart would start racing, my head would "spin", I would get a cold sweat and general confusion. Sometimes I would feel detached. My Pysch first prescribed Xanax which calmed everything down pretty quickly. I later had another doctor change the medication to Klonopin. Xanax was a 4 times a day med. Klonopin was a lot easier to live with. I have had very little panic problems since. Mostly sleep panics if I took a nap during the day but that has gone away now. The most recent was a couple of months ago I had a night panic which may have been more of a bad dream/sleep walk than anything. Regardless, I have learned to not be so afraid of panic attacks and have even taken a humorous attitude toward it. When it all first started, I became depressed and very phobic. I very quickly developed a morbid fear of just about everything. That's all history now as I am an actor/writer and am getting my MFA in script and screenwriting at Regent University. It is survivable. I hope this helps you and others. Blessings.
> Steve
Steve, are you still taking Klonopin? Did you ever discover why panic attacks started? I am getting a lot of night attacks of panic/dreams,etc. Very disturbing and scarey. They are getting worse instead of better. I know they are survivable. But very annoying and disrupting.
Posted by Steve on December 8, 1999, at 18:12:04
In reply to RE:Steve &benzos for panic attacks, posted by NHGrandma on December 8, 1999, at 15:17:08
NHGrandma,
The cause of my panic attacks was not as clear as I would like it to be. At the time I was in a well paying job in a nice atmosphere and working with nice people. Everything was also good at home(I am a husband and father of 1). I do know that I have a genetic predisposition to panic attacks. My Brother, Father and 85 year old Grandmother have had or do have them. The gland that releases adrenaline is basically what's at fault here. It is miss firing. When under normal circumstances, for example, it would only activate when you suddenly had to perform an emergency maneuver to avoid a car accident, with panic, it just goes of any time for no reason. It's not associated with a particular stimulus but will eventually cause many phobias that will become debilitating. So, all that to say that there isn't a clear known reason for why they start but we do know what causes the situation to worsen. I recommend highly that you get to a psychiatrist immediately and tell him/her everything about your panic attacks. It is VERY treatable. I will say that my regular family doctor either misdiagnosed the problem or was unwilling to prescribe the kind of medicines that get it under control. He finally got me to a psychiatrist and that's when things got back to normal very quick. Some things that I have learned since is that being over weight isn't a good thing, to much caffiene and sugar doesn't help either. Getting exercise and controlling weight is high on the recovery list. Panic attacks are also associated with post-traumatic stress...people will often show signs of panic attacks who have PTS. Consider anything of that nature in your life. My Brother does not take medication and he is fine. My Father had them when he was in his twenties and was over them quickly. My Grandmother just recently began having panic attacks and is currently under medication. She also began walking and doing doctor supervised excercises. She is doing very well now and is more fit than I can remember. So, I hope that helps. Anyone showing any signs of panic attacks should go immediately to the doctor and tell them they believe they have panic attacks and describe in as much detail their symptoms. When I first went to the psychiatrist, I described my symtoms to him and he then handed me a pamphlet on panic attacks that I could have writen. So, please, please go to the doc...he can take care of this very quickly. Oh, and yes, I am still taking Klonopin. I could possibly go off of it but it is a controlled substance and therefore going off of it causes some withdrawal symtoms not a whole lot unlike quiting smoking. But, I know it can be done. I'm in grad school right now and just don't feel like I want to deal with it while I'm expected to be clear and ready to go all the time. I guess I could go on and on but I repeat again, don't wait, go to the doc and let him get you back on the road to feeling well. By the way, if you've heard about the herb, Kava Kava I would not suggest it. A consumer reports survey indicated that only 2% of people that take it
actually permanantly stopped their panic attacks. Steve
This is the end of the thread.
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