Tell me about Xanax...

[PhotobearSam]

Do you take it?

Have you had complications?

Do you take it everyday?

What does it do?

Thanks for any and all info.

 

[MoniqueU]

I take it.
No complications.
I take it everyday.
It relaxes me and takes the edge off my anxiety. I still have the anziety, like a constant feeling like you are almost ready to go into the bosses office to get fired that just doesn't go away. And I have extreme trouble dealing with shopping, dining out, dealing with going anywhere. It lets me get out of the house. But it wears off after a bit so i have to time my outings just right.
I will say it works better then valium,ativan and others for me.

 

[SandraVB79]

I take it once in a while, when I'm extremely upset about something. It helps me to relax and to stop freak out. Also, for example when I had serious problems with someone at work, it made sure I wouldn't yell at her or do something like that.
Also, the past couple of days, when I worried way too much about the appartment, I took it to be able to sleep.

I don't take it every day, which is good, because it makes me somewhat feel like a zombie. I take the lightest dose, higher makes me unable to "operate" normal.

 

[Jennasis]

I take it for night time anxiety. Just took one night before last when i woke up about an hour after falling asleep feeling an anxiety attack coming on. Took one and after about 15 minutes, felt the calm and fell asleep! Good stuff. Drawback there is morning grogginess. I HAVE taken it during the day and I don't get the grog then, but I only take .25 mg if I need to awake but relaxed. If I need to sleep its .5mg for me!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I take buspar, which is non-addictive, but helps with general anxiety. I take it twice a day.

 

[lemondog]

Do you take it? When needed for panic attacks

Have you had complications? No

Do you take it everyday? No

What does it do? Pulls me out of panic, returns my pulse to normal, calms me enough to function

I take the lowest dose, .25mg, and it relaxes me in almost the exact same way a glass of wine would. I only take 1 every few months, as needed for panic attacks. I take Cymbalta 90mg daily to treat my overall Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

 

[Aisling]

Do you take it? I take it as needed, when I feel anxious and can't shake it.

Have you had complications? Never had complications.

Do you take it everyday? I started taking it every day, and it helped me get into a calm mode so that I could think clearly without the feeling of "something's wrong, something's going to happen, I'm so nervous", ect. After about 2 weeks, my Cymbalta kicked in (for Generalized Anxiety Disorder), and so now I only take Xanax when I get breakthrough anxiety, which isn't too often. I always take it when I fly.

What does it do? It takes the edge off, makes me feel calm, makes me able to function without worrying about everything.

I have to say Xanax was a life-saver for me. I suffered for years with anxiety before I got help.

There's a risk of dependency, but I personally don't take it often enough for that. I know others who take it every day, and will probably do so for the rest of their lives, because they'd rather be dependent on Xanax than going through each day with anxiety, which can really make life hell.

Some people need it for situational reasons, like losing a loved one, going through a divorce, ect, and some people have a chemical imbalance that pre-disposes them to rushing adrenalin, and so they need the Xanax to counteract that. Adrenalin being pumped into your system everyday is dangerous for your health.

HTH

 

[dcentity2000]

From my archives:

Brand names Xanax and Xanor. Its half life is approximately 6 to 12 hours and is primarily used to battle anxiety and to treat (secondarily) depression. The patent for this drug expired in 1992. The medication can also be used to relieve symptoms of borderline personality disorder, although effectiveness in this capacity is still debated. It is the most addictive benzodiazepine available.

Rich::

 

[PhotobearSam]

Does anyone take something they think is better?

I take Lorazepam for my panic attacks but I don't like taking it during the day...and most times, I feel like it's not a full blown attack so I feel like I should not take it for general anxiety. I am one of those people who hates taking meds so I put off taking one until it's a full blown attack.

I had 30 pills prescribed in November and still have 23 left...I really am worried about addiction so I would not be willy nilly with them.

 

[CathrynRose]

I take it.
No complications.
I take it everyday.
It relaxes me and takes the edge off my anxiety. I still have the anziety, like a constant feeling like you are almost ready to go into the bosses office to get fired that just doesn't go away. .

Everything she said.

 

[dcentity2000]

Does anyone take something they think is better?

I've always considered Trifluoperazine to be a superior drug when it comes to panic - take 2mg when you need it and hey presto! You start to think much clearer

Of course, there's more of a stigma surrounding it, being a antipsychotic and all (and a TYPICAL antipsychotic at that!)



Rich::

 

[WDW~Lover]

From my archives:





Rich::

What Rich said! I had been on it for 20 something years. The first year I took only .25 mg and when I stopped it, no one told me what I was in for. The WORST 6 month withdrawal I had ever been thru!

Now my stress is so bad, I am on them, BUT I do not take them everyday, and I do not take what is prescribed. I try to take less, and I make sure I have days in between time so my body does not get TO used to them. Sometimes I can go a few weeks even without being able to eat. ( my panic hits my throat).

They work awesome but wether you want it or not, your body will get addicted to them unless, you take them like I do, few and far in between.

I am not posting this to start a debate, it is fact and I have 25 years worth of knowledge with xanax. and have lost well over 10 friends to them.

 

[CathrynRose]

I am not posting this to start a debate, it is fact and I have 25 years worth of knowledge with xanax. and have lost well over 10 friends to them.

What do you mean by this?

 

[WDW~Lover]

What do you mean by this?

died

 

[Aisling]

died

Things like this scare me! Like I need a Xanax because I'm freaking out ovewr someone dying on Xanax. I'm not kidding.

 

[taylor1293]

As long as you take them only "as needed", and no more than once or twice a month, I'm sure you would be fine. However, Xanax is not meant to be used daily.

It's a long story, but Xanax was a life saver for me last year. However, this drug causes long term problems. I realized that when I tried to lower my dosage and encountered horrible insomnia and anxiety. Prior to starting Xanax, I made the mistake of trusting my doctor blindly and only doing limited research about the drug online. I thought that it was only a problem if you were taking higher doses (3 mg or above daily).

Currently, I'm getting ready to cross over to valium (a longer acting benzo) to ween off of my dosage. Which, BTW, is only .375 mg one time a day. A very very low dose.

I suggest doing research before beginning. Here is a good site for those who are trying to ween off of the drug. This will give you an idea of what those people who want to get off of Xanax are going through.

http://benzowithdrawal.com/forum/index.php

 

[Tigger&Belle]

The buspar is a good non-addictive alternative. I take it daily and do not know if it helps when taken only as needed.

 

[CathrynRose]

died

Things like this scare me! Like I need a Xanax because I'm freaking out ovewr someone dying on Xanax. I'm not kidding.

Were these overdoses?

 

[minkydog]

I take Xanax occasionally for work-related anxiety. I have a very stressful job and occasionally I have trouble leaving my work-stress at work. If I'm getting so worked up that i'm having chest pain and can't eat, I need a Xanax. Within 30 min I"m back to normal.

I would never take this every day, too addicting. But when I need it, it's a godsend.

 

[dcentity2000]

The buspar is a good non-addictive alternative. I take it daily and do not know if it helps when taken only as needed.

Buspar (generic name Buspirone) is an excellent drug, IMO.

From my archives, seratis.net:

Buspirone is an anxiolytic drug unrelated to conventional tranquillisers such as benzodiazepines. In terms of efficacy it is roughly equal to the benzodiazepine medication diazepam in the treatment of generalised anxiety disorders but is less effective than benzodiazepines in general. It is also very useful in the treatment of anxious depressive illnesses when mixed with SSRI antidepressants in particular. Unusually for an anxiolytic, buspirone is not sedating and does not interact with alcohol; it is also thought not to be addicting. Unfortunately the drug takes several weeks to take effect so patients are often treated with faster acting tranquillisers initially. Buspirone should not strictly be mixed with RIMA or MAOI antidepressants.

Rich::