What is Xanax?
It is among the most prescribed medications
for mental health issues in the United States that help treat anxiety and panic
disorder symptoms. This medicine is available via a doctor’s prescription, as
the DEA considers it a controlled substance due to its potential to be
habit-forming over prolonged use.
What is Ativan?
Ativan, also available under generic namelorazepam, is a sedative medication that helps treat anxiety symptoms, status
epilepticus (seizure), and insomnia. This medicine is a controlled substance in
the United States and only available against a doctor’s prescription. Doctors
often administer this drug before surgery to make the patient sleepy. You can
find this drug in either tablet form or intervenous (IV) injection form.
What is Klonopin?
Klonopin is a prescription medication that
doctors recommend for certain seizure disorders in children and adults, and
panic disorder in adults. This drug is also available under the generic name of
clonazepam. This anti-epileptic drug is only accessible via a prescription in
the United States because the DEA classified it as a controlled substance.
What are the primary differences
between Xanax, Klonopin, and Ativan?
All three of these medications are similar
in their working strategy because they all belong to the same benzodiazepine
class of drugs. While they have a similar operating mechanism, the conditions
they treat usually differ.
The main difference between these drugs
lies in how long they take to start showing their effects and the duration for
which they remain effective.
Xanax is the most popular from the bunch
and available in a short-acting formula that begins to show its effects as soon
as you consume it. The half-life or the time it takes the body to eliminate
half the dosage of this drug is 11 hours. However, its effects subside long
before the completion of half-life.
Klonopin comes in a long-action formula
with a half-life of 30-40 hours, and this medicine reachers its peak efficiency
within one to four hours after consuming it. This drug stays in the system for
longer and prevents seizures from occurring for an extended period.
Ativan is a fast-acting medicine the starts
to show its effects within 20 to 30 minutes from ingestion. This drug’s
tranquilizing effects can last for about 6-8 hours. While this drug is
beneficial, doctors don’t recommend using it for more than four weeks, as
prolonged use can cause more adverse effects than benefits.
Medical issues treated by Ativan,
Xanax, and Klonopin
All these medications are FDA approved to
treat different medical issues in adults and children. Because all three of
these medicines belong to the benzodiazepine category, one everyday use case is
to treat anxiety and panic disorder symptoms.
Xanax’s primary role is to provide relief
from anxiety and panic disorder symptoms, which it does by affecting certain
brain chemicals (neurotransmitters). It alters the brain’s functioning and
induces a calming effect that helps people with anxiety to relax.
Ativan’s sedative qualities make it an
excellent choice for the doctors to treat conditions like seizures, insomnia,
and to some extent, anxiety disorders. Additionally, this medicine helps make a
person sleepy before surgery, which is another use.
Klonopin is an anti-epileptic drug, which
means it is highly effective against various types of seizures. Doctors
prescribe this medicine to both children and adults for its properties to ward off
an epileptic episode.
Which one is more effective?
All three, Xanax, Klonopin, and Ativan, are
the medicines that work by influencing the brain’s functioning to achieve their
desired results. While they treat different conditions, treatment of anxiety and
panic disorder is a shared domain.
All three of these drugs belong to the
benzodiazepine category making their positive and adverse effects similar.
However, which one should you choose depends on what you are trying to treat.
It’s imperative to consult with a doctor before you start using any of these
potent medications for your problems, as these can cause severe harmful effects
if not used with caution.
Before you decide to use these medicines, try
making an appointment with your healthcare provider and discuss the issues you
are facing. They are likely to perform some tests to evaluate your condition
better and prescribe the most suitable medication.
Always remember that though you can buy
these medicines online, even without a prescription, you should not use them
without consulting a medical professional to avoid facing severe side effects.
Side effects of Xanax, Klonopin, and
Ativan
These medicines are of the benzodiazepine
family, so they tend to cause similar side effects. The following are the
adverse effects that a person can experience after consuming any of these
medicines:
·
drowsiness
·
depression
·
dizziness
·
lack of coordination
·
cognitive dysfunction
·
weakness
·
dry mouth
·
memory impairment
·
fatigue
The intensity of the side effects vary from
person to person, and not everyone who consumes these medicine will face these
adverse effects. Try to inform your healthcare provider about the intensity and
duration if you encounter any of these symptoms. Try seeking immediate medical
assistance if you face any of the severe side effects of these drugs.
Drug interactions
Benzodiazepines metabolize in the liver
through the CYP3A4 enzyme. It means any medications that also get metabolized
by CYP3A4 can adversely interact with these drugs’ functioning. Also, using
more than one benzodiazepine can make you overdose on the medicine, which can
be very harmful and even result in death.
These drugs also have CNS depressant
effects, which means they can interact with other medications with similar
properties. Mixing these medicines with opioids and tricyclic antidepressants
can significantly increase the risk of extreme drowsiness, respiratory
depression, and death, especially if you consume these drugs in large amounts.
To avoid the risk of facing the severe
harmful effects of drug interactions, make sure not to take multiple
medications without consulting your healthcare provider.
Important warnings
Benzodiazepines category medications
usually come with the drug label warnings about mixing them with opioids. As
mentioned before, the interaction between these two categories of drugs can
lead to breathing difficulties, sedation, coma, and death. So, try not to take
these medications together.
Medicines in this category are also some of
the most commonly abused drugs in the market, so these are not available
without a doctor’s prescription. People with a history of drug or alcohol abuse
can be at an increased risk of building dependence on these medicines.
These medicines are only suitable for
short-term treatment, as prolonged use can cause addiction. Also, try not to
stop consuming these drugs abruptly, as doing so can result in severe
withdrawal symptoms. So, when terminating the treatment, lower the dosage
gradually over a few weeks.
In rare cases, withdrawal symptoms can be
life-threatening and consist of insomnia, rebound anxiety, and seizures. Short-acting
drugs like Xanax and Ativan tend to cause withdrawal symptoms more frequently
than the long-acting Klonopin.
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