does anyone know about xanax?
Question:
i was taking .5 mg four times daily and yesterday i started taking .5 once a day prescribed by my doctor.
Answers:
I AM ON XANAX TOO (PEACH 0.5MG 5 TIMES A DAY) AND I HAVE
BEEN ON THEM SINCE I WAS 18 NOW I AM 26. YOU CAN'T UP AND STOP TAKING THEM CAUSE YOU CAN HAVE SEIZURES AND DIE.
YOUR DOCTOR SHOULD HAVE KNOCKED YOU DOWN TO TAKING 3 A DAY THEN THE NEXT MONTH 2 A DAY THEN ONE A DAY.
YOU WILL BE WANTING MORE THAN 1 PER DAY TRUST ME I KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE.
WHATEVER U DO DON'T STOP TAKING THEN COLD TURKEY-TAPER OFF BUT IF YOU ARE LIKE ME YOU WILL BE ON THEM FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
I HAVE SEVERE ANXIETY, NERVOUSNESS AND PANIC ATTACKS.
Do not stop taking Xanax or lower the dose, without first checking with your doctor.
Stopping this medicine suddenly may cause some unwanted effects. You and your doctor will slowly reduce your dose of Xanax before you can stop taking it completely..
Tapering: Knowing how to stop Xanax is as important as knowing how to prescribe it. The Stephen Cox protocol was pretty much the only thing written on this subject and was the guideline I initially followed. He proposes a gradual but rigid tapering schedule. What I found when I tried to follow this was that the initial reduction seemed to work pretty well. However as people moved towards the lower doses they became very uncomfortable. The concept was to stay at a dose and wait for the discomfort to recede before lowering the dose further. Unfortunately it seems that at the doses of 0.5 mg or less per 24 hours patients remain very uncomfortable and waiting longer only seems to prolong the agony. Adaptation did not seem to happen and originally we assumed that lowering the dose further or stopping would result in intolerable discomfort. This was not the case. At the lower dosage one does not wait to become comfortable before stopping the dose. It is only after stopping completely that the discomfort goes away (counterintuitive).
As far as the speed of the tapering, I have found it to be so highly variable that I have no one schedule. I usually suggest cutting the dose in half over a month and then dropping by either .25 mg or .125 mg a week after that (see sample schedule). Almost all drug-tapering schedules are designed for addicts. With an addict, it seems that taking any extra drug during the weaning process results in a return of the full addiction. For example, if an alcoholic gets even a single shot glass of liquor during withdrawal it is almost a foregone conclusion that they will return to prior full tilt drinking habits. In patients who are taking Xanax as I prescribe it, at fixed doses at regular times of day, taking an extra .25mg or .125 mg to reduce withdrawal symptoms (usually for irritability, insomnia, muscle aches or shakiness) does not interfere with the weaning process. So, if in the tapering schedule, a person needs an extra dose to relieve excessive discomfort, this is not a problem. After taking the extra dose one resumes the schedule. If this is a persistent problem the schedule is revised. As part of the tapering process (which is very fluid) it is important not only to reduce the quantity of medication at the fixed dosage, but also to stretch out the time between dosages. For example, if the dosage is .25 mg three times a day, one might wait as long as possible before taking the midday dosage. Eventually the midday dosage will be moved back so close to the last dose that it can be dropped out entirely.
Critical to the weaning process is the patient. I have never forced anyone to wean, as that is doomed to failure. Placebo expectations are very powerful in the withdrawal experience. When I prescribe I discuss weaning from the drug at the time of the first prescription. Relapse of the original condition has not yet happened in my practice. I suspect that the concept of withdrawal relapse was merely the drug company’’s way of distracting attention from withdrawal (much the way Paxil is marketed –– I guess GlaxoSKB learned from Upjohn). Most patients feel sure that they will relapse if they stop Xanax. This seems to be a part of the collective unconscious in PNE and needs to be discussed in detail. I mention it frequently, but I wait until the patient feels good enough that they express an interest in stopping medication.
For a person on 0.5 mg three times a day a typical suggested tapering would be:
0.50 mg 0.50 mg 0.50 mg to start
0.50 mg 0.25mg 0.50 mg at first drop and revisit in a week:
0.25 mg 0.25 mg 0.50 mg (assumes sx worse at night) for a week stretch mid dose until it drops off at night dose
0.25 mg 0.50mg one week at comfort
0.25mg 0.25 mg (beyond comfort) one or two weeks
0.125 mg 0.25 mg (one week –– some stop here)
0.125 mg 0.125 mg (one week –– more stop here)
0.125 mg (a few days)
I am reluctant to say that there is a curative effect of taking Xanax because that is what they say about the SSRIs (although nobody with a positive response seems to go off a SSRI until they are in poop out which is usually called relapse). Still, the patients who have gone off of Xanax are doing as well or better than they did when still on Xanax.
A BDZ (benzodiazepam) is not a life sentence (although some people are better off taking them indefinitely). Still, those who withdraw from regular use of Xanax often continue to use it sporadically (once a week or less) when insomnia, tension and irritability are building. Most people have a sense of when they are building towards panic attacks and can prevent them entirely. As a chronic and relapsing problem, people may need to return to regular dosing from time to time.
good luck
Other Answers:
"Alprazolam, trade name Xanax, is a short-acting drug in the benzodiazepine class used to treat anxiety disorders and as an adjunctive treatment for depression.
Alprazolam was invented by Pfizer and was initially marketed under the trade name Xanax. Its patent expired in 1992."
"Common side effects of alprazolam can include:
Somnolence (drowsiness)
Impaired motor functions
Dizziness
Clumsiness
Less common side effects can include:
Fatigue
Headache
Rare side effects can include:
Sleep apnea
Hypoventilation (Respiratory depression)
Blurred vision
Difficulty in depth perception
Slurred speech or dysarthria
Changes in personality
Confusion
Disorientation
Amnesia (memory impairment)
Vivid dreams and/or nightmares
Jaundice
Tachycardia
Bradycardia
Changes in plasma cortisol and ACTH levels
Blood dyscrasias
Decreased salivation
Increased salivation
Diarrhea
Constipation
Nausea
Elevated hepatic (liver) enzymes
Incontinence
Rare paradoxical side effects can include:
Nervousness
Anxiety
Agitation
Rage
Insomnia
Muscle spasms and rigidity
Paradoxical side effects are usually a result of too high a dose (sometimes deliberate) and/or combination with alcohol. Adjusting the dosage usually causes them to cease.
Long-term treatment with alprazolam may lead to physical and/or psychological dependence. Users often develop a tolerance to the drug's sedative effects, Tolerance to its' anxiolytic efficacy rarely develops when used at theraputic dosage levels.
There is now a general consensus among many psychiatrists that alprazolam (a so-called 'high-potency' benzodiazepine) poses a particularly high risk for misuse, abuse and dependence. Withdrawal after long-term treatment should be done slowly over a period of weeks (or even months) to avoid serious withdrawal symptoms such as agitation, panic attacks, rebound anxiety, muscle cramps and seizures. Some patients may benefit from a substitution with diazepam.
[edit]
Contraindications
Use of alprazolam should be avoided in individuals with the following conditions:
Myasthenia gravis
Acute intoxication with alcohol, narcotics, or other psychoactive substances
Ataxia
Severe hypoventilation
Acute narrow-angle glaucoma
Severe liver deficiencies (e.g. hepatitis and cirrhosis)
Severe sleep apnea
Hypersensitivity or allergy to any drug in the benzodiazepine class
[edit]
Patients at a High Risk for Abuse and Dependence
At a particularly high risk for misuse, abuse, and dependence are:
Patients with a history of alcohol or drug abuse and/or dependence
Emotionally unstable patients
Patients with severe personality disorders
Patients with chronic pain or other physical disorders
Patients from the aforementioned group should be monitored very closely during therapy for signs of abuse and development of dependence. Discontinue therapy if any of these signs are noted. Long-term therapy in these patients is not recommended."
All I want to advice you in brief and I am very serious about it..:DO NOT PROCEED WITH XANAX! Go to see some other shrink and maybe he'll prescribe you a bettr remedy according to your diagnosis and symptoms.XAnax devepops an easy dependancy and must be prescribed only for a short-period trial..Don't postpone your visit to a specialist!!
report me i didnt do nothing wrong
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