GABA powder VS. benzos
Question:
Gaba doesn’t seem to pass the giggle test
Response:
I hope someone knowledgeable answers
(yes, i was so honored to have the "acronym link" presented to me with a lil’ more than a modicum of a subliminal "tanya, yer a dumbass" message.) but i saved it so i’m not as smart as i thunk, cuz i didn’t memorize tha dang thang ! (as our Philip so eloquently pointed out the fact that even his benzobrain could remember them)… but then agin.. maybe his brain can hold more stuff.. the less furniture, the more crap ya can fit in yer house, yanno… disclaimer: the above was in no way even passively aggressively or otherwise directed at Vic !!!!! (i love doin’ disclaimers.. i feel all important) … and HERE HIT GO: Acronym Server Simplified this one because I don’t know what GABA powder is.
GABA: THE SWEDISH SUPERGROUP TWO HIT WONDER, MAKING THEIR FIRST DEBUT AT #1 WITH "TAKE A CHANCE ON ME", AFTER 4 STEADY WEEKS EARNING THEM A TOP 10 BULLET, TOPPIN’ THE CHARTS IN 1976. IT WAS A CONTINUED SUCCESS FOR THE VOCAL STYLISTS, YOU" THE PREVIOUS YEAR. AT NUMBER 22 IN 1977, THE SUPERGROUP’S NOT QUITE SO COMMERCIALLY SUCCESSFUL TUNE IS STILL….. THE SUMMATION OF THE PHENOMENON KNOWN TO ALL AS ‘GABA’… "Thank You For the Music"… and GABA? we DO thank you for the music. KEEP YOUR FEET ON THE GROUND AND KEEP REACHING FOR THE STARS, I’m Casey Casem, American Top 40. oh yeah, and GABA "powder" is what that blonde haired chick used ta get that dang shine off her face. (that was the dumbest post, i vote it should be moderated the hell outta here.) and i ain’t backspackin…. soooooo… BAM ! ~tanya ~tanya
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – First: GABA and benzodiazepines do not do the same thing inside the body, and cannot be substituted for each other. Second: Klonopin is generally not an especially good medicine for use "as needed", because of it’s relatively long onset time. If you are having rebound interdose anxiety symptoms on Klonopin, which has a half-life of about 19 to 39 hours, I don’t think you’ll do any better on Xanax, unless you were to use the XR version. You state that your physician is a little benzophobic, which makes me think that he has probably written less than ten Xanax prescriptions in his entire career (for new patients, and to taper them off it). If you CAN get off benzos, I agree with your doctor – get off them. There is no cogent argument to be made for taking a drug one doesn’t need. In the case of Klonopin, you’d cut 0.25 mgs every three days (from whatever amount you’re taking now). If you get really anxious at any given point in the taper, bump the dose up by 0.25 mgs and hold it there two weeks before reducing it again. Bottom line: take the same amount of Klonopin every day, and divide the doses evenly in terms of time. E.G. if you take 0.5 mg twice a day, take one at 8 A.M. and one at 8 P.M. Having a blood level that fluctuates is likely to cause anxiety, so it’s just not the way to go with this medicine, as is the case with "as needed" dosing. If you strongly feel that your anxiety cannot be controlled any other way besides using benzodiazepines, and your doctor isn’t willing to work with you, you simply fire him (by not making further appointments) and get another one. Never fire your doctor if you are ON a daily dose of benzodiazepines, for obvious reasons! In that event, you hire the new one first. I know this sounds incredibly condescending, but you’d be surprised how many people alienate (in fascinating ways) their physician and have not made prior arrangements for replacement. Gary-the nurse from hell
Hey Gary, I didn’t know you were a nurse. RN or LPN? My best friend is a nurse and I thought she held the Nurse from Hell title. HEHE You may have mentioned it in a previous post but I don’t always get to read all posts. Have a good day, Vicki
Response:
Hi Vicki: I’m an RN (been one for about 20 years now). The "nurse from hell" title always amuses me because I have worked with some serious contenders for the world-class title! :-)) Gary
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – First: GABA and benzodiazepines do not do the same thing inside the body, and cannot be substituted for each other. Second: Klonopin is generally not an especially good medicine for use "as needed", because of it’s relatively long onset time. If you are having rebound interdose anxiety symptoms on Klonopin, which has a half-life of about 19 to 39 hours, I don’t think you’ll do any better on Xanax, unless you were to use the XR version. You state that your physician is a little benzophobic, which makes me think that he has probably written less than ten Xanax prescriptions in his entire career (for new patients, and to taper them off it). If you CAN get off benzos, I agree with your doctor – get off them. There is no cogent argument to be made for taking a drug one doesn’t need. In the case of Klonopin, you’d cut 0.25 mgs every three days (from whatever amount you’re taking now). If you get really anxious at any given point in the taper, bump the dose up by 0.25 mgs and hold it there two weeks before reducing it again. Bottom line: take the same amount of Klonopin every day, and divide the doses evenly in terms of time. E.G. if you take 0.5 mg twice a day, take one at 8 A.M. and one at 8 P.M. Having a blood level that fluctuates is likely to cause anxiety, so it’s just not the way to go with this medicine, as is the case with "as needed" dosing. If you strongly feel that your anxiety cannot be controlled any other way besides using benzodiazepines, and your doctor isn’t willing to work with you, you simply fire him (by not making further appointments) and get another one. Never fire your doctor if you are ON a daily dose of benzodiazepines, for obvious reasons! In that event, you hire the new one first. I know this sounds incredibly condescending, but you’d be surprised how many people alienate (in fascinating ways) their physician and have not made prior arrangements for replacement. Gary-the nurse from hell Hey Gary, I didn’t know you were a nurse. RN or LPN? My best friend is a nurse and I thought she held the Nurse from Hell title. HEHE You may have mentioned it in a previous post but I don’t always get to read all posts. Have a good day, Vicki
Response:
Hi Vicki: I’m an RN (been one for about 20 years now). The "nurse from hell" title always amuses me because I have worked with some serious contenders for the world-class title! :-)) Gary
So have I, Gary. I have also worked with some and I have wondered how on earth they made it through nursing school. Absolutely clueless!! It’s sort of scary when you think about it. So glad there are mostly good ones though. Vicki
Response:
Bob S HEY TANYA….. didn’t I sound just like Philip????
uhhhh yeah…. binds it with niacin so that
it does penetrate the BBB to make it more effective the Better Business Bureau ain’t that effetive anyway.. i dunno niacin would help. ~tanya
Response:
RN
RN DMC…. ::rappin’ in scrubs’n latex gloves:: ~tanya
Response:
Withdrawal symptoms occur when stopping clonazepam
(WHOOOOOOOOA, Einstein !)
Response:
Can’t touch a benzo though, IMO. HEY TANYA….. didn’t I sound just like Philip????
nah, he’d'ah said "CAN touch a benzo, but you must swallow it tho". (he’s in a pointin’ out tha obvious mode) hey Bob? are you cute? single? married? live within 8,234 miles of alabama? DESPERATE? got more’n $4.23 in da bank? are ya bald? got all yer teeth (and not in yer pocket)? pass a random drug test on any given day? ever seen a grown man naked? (wait.. that was Timmy… nebbermind) if you answer yes to one or more of the above questions, you are the proud owner of a vintage (ok… old), experienced… (ok… wo’ down from a flo’ down)… semi-intelligent (ok… dumb as a bag’ah hair) but FUN redneck, PBR drankin’, bakker spittin’.. beehive primpin’ chick, sportin’ a double-wide appraisin’ in da double digits, could you BE more fortunate, this is yer lucky day. OOOOH, good god… JUMP BACK ! (kiss muhself)… let’s marry, k? (ok… so i had a james brown moment… it happens.) ~tanya
Response:
Which is better for anxiety? Ive been taking clonazepam (klonopin) for about a month and find that im now experiencing heavy withdrawal symptoms and need to constantly take more to feel normal, so ive stopped it all together. Would taking an external gaba source like a powder or pill work better?
GABA doesn’t cross the blood-brain-barrier very well. Presumably a "nootropic" called picamilone (google it) binds it with niacin so that it does penetrate the BBB to make it more effective. Can’t touch a benzo though, IMO. HEY TANYA….. didn’t I sound just like Philip???? Bob
Response:
First: GABA and benzodiazepines do not do the same thing inside the body, and cannot be substituted for each other. Second: Klonopin is generally not an especially good medicine for use "as needed", because of it’s relatively long onset time. If you are having rebound interdose anxiety symptoms on Klonopin, which has a half-life of about 19 to 39 hours, I don’t think you’ll do any better on Xanax, unless you were to use the XR version. You state that your physician is a little benzophobic, which makes me think that he has probably written less than ten Xanax prescriptions in his entire career (for new patients, and to taper them off it). If you CAN get off benzos, I agree with your doctor – get off them. There is no cogent argument to be made for taking a drug one doesn’t need. In the case of Klonopin, you’d cut 0.25 mgs every three days (from whatever amount you’re taking now). If you get really anxious at any given point in the taper, bump the dose up by 0.25 mgs and hold it there two weeks before reducing it again. Bottom line: take the same amount of Klonopin every day, and divide the doses evenly in terms of time. E.G. if you take 0.5 mg twice a day, take one at 8 A.M. and one at 8 P.M. Having a blood level that fluctuates is likely to cause anxiety, so it’s just not the way to go with this medicine, as is the case with "as needed" dosing. If you strongly feel that your anxiety cannot be controlled any other way besides using benzodiazepines, and your doctor isn’t willing to work with you, you simply fire him (by not making further appointments) and get another one. Never fire your doctor if you are ON a daily dose of benzodiazepines, for obvious reasons! In that event, you hire the new one first. I know this sounds incredibly condescending, but you’d be surprised how many people alienate (in fascinating ways) their physician and have not made prior arrangements for replacement. Gary-the nurse from hell
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My psychiatrist prescribed 0.5 mg taken as needed for a maximum of 3 times a day. He doesnt like the idea of benzos and told me that eventually I should get off them completely, not sure what he is thinking there. So I doubt asking him to increase the dosage would be of much help. I find that on the days when I take 3 pills, if for some reason I delay the next dosage, my anxiety level is much worse than before I started. Which is better for anxiety? Ive been taking clonazepam (klonopin) for about a month and find that im now experiencing heavy withdrawal symptoms and need to constantly take more to feel normal, so ive stopped it all together. Would taking an external gaba source like a powder or pill work better? Gaba doesn’t work for anxietyy/panic. Benzodiazepines like clonazepam do and are first choice meds but if you have to take more all the time to achieve the same effect (which is exceedingly rare among anxiety sufferers) clonazepam may be the wrong med for you. I’m not totally convinced yet because I’d need a bit more info: – At what dose did you start clonazepam and how much are you taking now (how often did you raise the dose)? – Do you take it twice daily or *as needed*? Withdrawal symptoms occur when stopping clonazepam (which is why it should be stopped by way of a slow taper) but can also be *interdose* anxiety. Philip
Response:
My psychiatrist prescribed 0.5 mg taken as needed for a maximum of 3 times a day. He doesnt like the idea of benzos and told me that eventually I should get off them completely, not sure what he is thinking there. So I doubt asking him to increase the dosage would be of much help. I find that on the days when I take 3 pills, if for some reason I delay the next dosage, my anxiety level is much worse than before I started.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Which is better for anxiety? Ive been taking clonazepam (klonopin) for about a month and find that im now experiencing heavy withdrawal symptoms and need to constantly take more to feel normal, so ive stopped it all together. Would taking an external gaba source like a powder or pill work better? Gaba doesn’t work for anxietyy/panic. Benzodiazepines like clonazepam do and are first choice meds but if you have to take more all the time to achieve the same effect (which is exceedingly rare among anxiety sufferers) clonazepam may be the wrong med for you. I’m not totally convinced yet because I’d need a bit more info: – At what dose did you start clonazepam and how much are you taking now (how often did you raise the dose)? – Do you take it twice daily or *as needed*? Withdrawal symptoms occur when stopping clonazepam (which is why it should be stopped by way of a slow taper) but can also be *interdose* anxiety. Philip
Response:
Which is better for anxiety? Ive been taking clonazepam (klonopin) for about a month and find that im now experiencing heavy withdrawal symptoms and need to constantly take more to feel normal, so ive stopped it all together. Would taking an external gaba source like a powder or pill work better?
Response:
Which is better for anxiety? Ive been taking clonazepam (klonopin) for about a month and find that im now experiencing heavy withdrawal symptoms and need to constantly take more to feel normal, so ive stopped it all together. Would taking an external gaba source like a powder or pill work better?
I hope someone knowledgeable answers this one because I don’t know what GABA powder is. Vicki
Response:
Which is better for anxiety? Ive been taking clonazepam (klonopin) for about a month and find that im now experiencing heavy withdrawal symptoms and need to constantly take more to feel normal, so ive stopped it all together. Would taking an external gaba source like a powder or pill work better?
Gaba doesn’t work for anxietyy/panic. Benzodiazepines like clonazepam do and are first choice meds but if you have to take more all the time to achieve the same effect (which is exceedingly rare among anxiety sufferers) clonazepam may be the wrong med for you. I’m not totally convinced yet because I’d need a bit more info: – At what dose did you start clonazepam and how much are you taking now (how often did you raise the dose)? – Do you take it twice daily or *as needed*? Withdrawal symptoms occur when stopping clonazepam (which is why it should be stopped by way of a slow taper) but can also be *interdose* anxiety. Philip
Response:
Ive been taking clonazepam (klonopin) for about a month and find that im now experiencing heavy withdrawal symptoms and need to constantly take more to feel normal, so ive stopped it all together.
This site tells about Xanax, but it’s quite the same for Klonopin. It explains why, in most cases, a bit more may be needed to begin with. There’s also the possibility that the dose you were taking was too small to begin with. Of course, the medication may not agree with you – or there may be other reasons it’s not right for you. You might gain some information from this site that may help. http://lexington-on-line.com/naf_xanax.html Would taking an external gaba source like a powder or pill work better?
It’s been noted that a gaba pill or powder (supplement) doesn’t pass the blood-brain barrier, which Klonopin does, of course. If it does, very little gets through. Most don’t find much help from gaba. I’d personally consider it a huge waste of time and money in trying to treat an anxiety ‘disorder’. There’s certainly no comparison between gaba and a benzodiazepine for treating such a disorder, panic or generalized….. Gaba doesn’t seem to pass the giggle test, from what I’ve researched in the past, and from what others have said of their experiences. — Elliott http://home.earthlink.net/~ejk2/
