Opinions - Which Benzodiazepine For Different Sorts of Anxiety?

[trptamene]

^^What type of exam is it? Many graduate level exams can be taken more than once.

I really do not think benzo's are the answer to this...maybe take them when one is really feeling anxious (in a non-test setting). This will allow swiy to "feel" what it is like to rid of the anxiety. Benzo's are usually only a temporary solution that simply shows someone how to not be anxious...popping a pill everytime one gets anxious creates a dependency (and a bad one w/ benzos)...popping a pill only when it is necesary and learning to work through the rid oneself of the anxiety in the process is a better solution.

If one did good in the academic courses, they have the knowledge to make good scores on the test. It is a matter of preparing correctly and incorporating good test taking strategies.

I do this too when testing...particularly timed test...sometimes at the beginning my mind goes blank and starts to freak...then sometimes during the middle when the clock is ticking. It is important to remember this is no help at all...a lot of time the body/mind gets anxious so that it will be prepared for the physical work its about to go through (like going and speaking in front of dancing in front of people).

On a test, the body kind of fools itself by doing this...instead of helping it actually hurts. This must be kept in mind. Iwill take a few minutes before the test and just close my eyes and concentrate on taking deep breathes (in through the nose like smelling flowers, out through the mouth like blowing out a candle (softly!)). Do this for a minute and bring the heart rate and breathing rate down. Remind yourself that you DO KNOW the material...it is in YOUR brain, you just gotta fish it out and regurgitate it.

I also will do this in the middle of the test...it sounds crazy but have found it is more harmful to try to work through it with the anxiety than to take 60 seconds and get a little reality check.

In particular, don't get bogged down with a question that one doesnt know...guess or leave it blank and move on. Sometimes these come in multiples (3 or 4 questions one doesnt know in a row). When this happens it can be difficult to remember that you do know the stuff...for written tests its not so bad because you can skip and come back...but on computer tests it can really knock one off track. One needs to simply realize they just hit a patch of a few question they didn't study in the academic setting (probably of nearly the same subject matter).

Also...they usually do not expect you to know every question. Different Universities focus on different things in the field that they feel are important, and nearly all of the Universities don't cover everything broad-spectrum.

Keep these things in mind and prepare adequately for the test and one should do fine.

[piddleton]

This exam is divided upto into several different stations, lasting 5 to 6 minutes each.

Each exam tests a different part of your medical skills. E.g neurological tests, audiometry, CPR, etc.

You perform the procedures on mock patients and at each station an examiner will be present to scrutinise your performance.

It is the most terrifying exam you can encounter because you know how badly or how well you have done at each station and that can either enhance or drain your confidence.

A few bad stations in the beginning can throw your mind into a panic!!

I'm okay with normal examinations, no worries, completely calm and peace with myself. It is being assessed on the spot that I need to work through - where is sigmund freud when you need him

[Jatelka]

From the rules:

• Use descriptive Topic Subject. This will help others find what they want to read. Topics with bad Topic subjects may be deleted! - there's nothing more annoying than looking at all those stupid "A stupid question" subject lines. I mean, I'm damn lazy, but how hard is it to type "A stupid question about (insert something here)"? As a rule of thumb, most thread titles should include the full name of the drug discussed.

A rule many tend to forget will cause a mass of warnings soon...

Thread title edited

[Dead Head Altair]

SWIM has had GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) for the past couple years, and recently went to a shrink to get help. SWIM was prescribed 20 mgs of Prozac each day two months ago, which has done nothing but make the situation worse. He has since stopped taking the Prozac as of two weeks ago and has felt marginally better, but still has lots of anxiety problems.

The next appointment with the shrink is in a couple days, and SWIM wants to know what the best benzodiazepine is for anxiety, in SWIY's opinion. SWIM's shrink has told SWIM that he will prescribe what SWIM thinks is best for himself, but he recommended that SWIM starts out with a 0.5 mg dose of Xanax to start with. So, SWIM's question is: What, in SWIY's opinion, is the most effecive benzo for managing anxiety?

[Matt The Funk]

Clonazepam. 2mg's daily is optimal for SWIM. But SWIM slowly had his dosage raised, and has it built up in his system. SWIM thinks it is best for long term treatment. Alprazolam became far too tempting for SWIM to take as prescribed and ended up abusing it quite a lot. SWIM also has very bad GAD. SWIM takes his clonazepam in combination with a SNRI and a mood stablizer. SWIY should have given a little more time for the prozac.

[Steva]

Agree with Matt but on the other hand their are few dr's willing to script xanax
so SWIM would go for the xanax initailly then a few months later switch over to the Clonazepam if it doesn't work out. They both work well with the clonazepam lasting longer 6 to 8 hrs. Xanax usually only 4 hrs.
Oh and another thing Swim has a feeling you will be getting generic so call a few pharmacies ahead of time to see which generic xanax they carry.
They will be glad to tell you. Greenstone & Purepac are the best in SWIM's opinion.

[fizzle]

Swim is prescribed clonazepam (Klonopin) 0.5mg to be taken once or twice a day if need be. Clonazepam has a long half life which makes it optimal for control of general anxiety or in swim's case social anxiety as it will keep you calm all day without knocking you out which alprazolam has a tendency to do.

[crunchyblack]

SWIM says clonazepam. Lasts long, Makes you feel normal. Bad thing is physical addiction which will suck if you ever want to stop taking the meds.

[cosmicruler]

^^^ALL benzos will cause physical addiction if taken for long enough!!
Swim has taken valium in the past for anxiety disorders and found them to work quite well...

good luck.