Xanax Alone?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:40 am

I am not telling you not to take Xanax because obviously it gives some people much success, but I just want to let you know of my horrible experience with it not to scare you or tell you not to take it, but just so you'll know if you have problems with it that it is not just you. No matter what you get from my story, just know that I think it is probably safe for you to try, and then have no guilt about discontinuing if you start to have problems.
I was originally prescribed both Paxil and Xanax in 1995 before I got married. I am obviously extremely sensitive to medications because the Paxil that I wasn't afraid of at the time hindered me from urinating and I had to be catheterized for a day for it to get out of my system. Not life or death, but I couldn't take it. I am extremely sensitive to anti-cholinergic effects which dries out the fluid in your body. Xanax has some of those properties, especially for a sensitive person. The Xanax was just too large of a dose for me, and I did become depressed, but we lowered the dose and I just took it as needed. I was on Xanax when I got married:). It did seem to help, and I slowly weened myself off of it with no major withdrawal symptoms, etc after the wedding.
I moved in 1997, and the community mental health center at the place I moved to wouldn't prescribe Xanax because they considered it to be highly addictive. My son was born in 1997, and after that from 1998 to 1999, I started to have severe anxiety. My son was eventually diagnosed with autism, so there were a lot of factors that went into me having anxiety including hormones.
In 2000, we moved again. I had a horrible anxiety attack when we moved, and was given Xanax at the ER I went to. I loved it! I just wanted Xanax and was afraid of anti-depressants after the Paxil experience. I went to a psychiatrist (who wasn't very good and that's just the consensus in the place I live now-poor mental health care) and she prescribed celexa and xanax after I told her about the xanax sometimes making me depressed when the dose wore off. I found that just having the bottle of xanax helped me though, but she didn't like that. She wanted me to take it, and didn't buy that anxiety could be cured from anything but medication. I kept the xanax and took it when we had tornado warnings. We had a huge tornado on Dec. 16, 2000, and people died, and I took Xanax during it and I thought it helped. However, I felt that shortly after I took the dose, I seemed to have one of my depressive episodes again. I blew it off because I had such a small dose and didn't think I could have any problems that fast. That was a sign that I was going to have rebound attacks and effects from the xanax.
That was the beginning of a hellish nightmare. Keep in mind that several really bad things had happened to me which included the tornado and my son's diagnosis. I clearly had a traumatic reaction, and I wasn't give the proper help with PTSD at the time. However, the medication clearly had a severe effect on me, too. At low doses, I would have severe withdrawal symptoms when the medication even left my body for a second. These side effects included going diarrhea on myself, high blood pressure(not stroke level but high for me who normally has excellent blood pressure), and an extremely high heart rate. The only time I would feel good was when the initial dose of xanax kicked in, but my body was so sensitive that I was in hell after that. Like I said, the medical care here is horrible, so these doctors who didn't know my premorbid functioning just kept saying it was my anxiety. I promise you, and I finally found a counselor who validated that it was the xanax. At one point after an ER visit, they just kept increasing the dose of xanax, and I went home thinking I would sleep. I literally jumped out of bed because I was having what are known as hypnogogic auditory hallucinations (these are not pyschotic, occuring between awake and asleep), but no one told me that at the time so I just thought I was really going crazy. I was very hyper, and had the opposite reaction the more the dose was increased. The answer from the doctor was to give me more and more, and my intuition finally kicked in and I knew that no matter what the doctors said, I needed to get the xanax out of my system. I actually had a severe stomach virus, and at the time, I just felt like God was purging my system of the Xanax. While on the Xanax, my body burned, and I couldn't eat, sleep, or drink. I was basically like a drug user going through detox with no doctor there to validate what I was going through. This just made it so much worse.
Now, the new doctors I'm around, and now that time has passed, I really do get medical validation for what happened to me.
I know that this all sounds scary, but I do want anyone considering xanax to know that bad reactions are possible, but I don't think they occur suddenly or are even necessarily life threatening. It was just horrible psychologically and physically that made me think I was going to die. I know there are so many on here who are afraid of medication, and I really am not trying to scare you or say you shouldn't do xanax alone. I went through this horrible experience, and I promise I am not saying that. I am saying that you can know pretty soon after starting xanax if it is for you before you get to the point that I was at. I don't think taking it for a few days and seeing if it works for you will hurt you at all. It takes a while to get to the point that I was at, and I think if I would have had a good doctor that this would have been avoided.
I just wish there was some way to tell of my experience without you taking it and constantly being on alert or afraid. You will really know if you have a depressive episode pretty fast, and you would be able to stop it. I mean the depressive episodes involve crying spells, and you would know. You would also know if it helps you pretty fast. I hope something in here helped, and doesn't scare anyone. Xanax is the shortest acting medication. We like that because it works fast, and gets out of our systems fast. This is fine, but that also means that you can have withdrawal symptoms fast(not major ones right away). No medication is perfect, and you just have to find what works for you.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:47 am

I've been on a daily dose of xanax for over a year now...maybe two. I don't think it has caused any depression for me. It helps with my anxiety.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 4:21 am

Perhaps EXTENDED use of Xanax is the problem. It was great when I first took it over 10 years ago. I kept on taking what the doctor told me even though my body was telling me "too much". Immediately after titrating the Xanax my depressive episodes stopped. Too much in one's system causes a very low energy level which obviously worsens depression. I personally believe that Xanax should be taken PRN and not regularly. If you're not feeling particulary anxious on any certain day but take the Xanax anyway, you'll find yourself on the couch depressed because you're tired and don't have any energy.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 4:26 am

I took 1/2 of a .25 last night before bed and it seemed to help. I'm feeling better today.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:00 am

I have been on & off Xanax for as long as I can remember. There were times that I was also on Zoloft. I don't feel at all that xanax makes me depressed. Although I only take it at night to help me sleep. Xanax has become a daily part of my life and I am working on getting a sleeping pill b/c Xanax is what I take to get me to sleep. Sure there have been times where I would need to take one during the day if I was having anxiety but I would not worry about the Xanax making you depressed regardless if you take it daily or just for anxiety - that is what I am hoping for just to take a pill if I am flipping out. But know this Xanax is addictive. Like I said I have been on & off of it for years. Probably on it more than off. I know that I can't sleep with out it and that is a scary thought! My honest opinion if I knew then what I know now - I would not use Xanax the way that I am and I would only use it for a day where anxiety is present and you can't get a grip.... Don't get me wrong - I love the way it takes the edge off and helps me sleep. But I don't want to rely on Xanax forever. Keep up with the program. I am only on week 3 but have been using the tools that I have learned and feel as though it is helping! Good luck!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:05 am

I literally jumped out of bed because I was having what are known as hypnogogic auditory hallucinations (these are not pyschotic, occuring between awake and asleep), but no one told me that at the time so I just thought I was really going crazy.

Can you explain this more? I posted something similiar to this a couple of days ago. I also had one of these dreams and I thought I was going crazy as well. Woke up with diarrhea also.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:01 am

I think the goal of this program is to not be afraid of medication if you need it, but to not be dependant upon it if its not needed. Any medication will eventually become addicting given you are taking it because you're afraid not taking it will lead to pending doom. Reading some of your posts, I can certainly associate with you. I've been on Xanax, but extremely low doses (1/2 of .25 mg) at night to sleep. Often, I am off to dream land well before the high of the medication even kicks in. Since I keep my bottle in my travel bag if I get to a point I can't handle it. What I've found about this program, is there really isn't anything you can't handle if you take the time to STOP--Identify--Cope. For those of you in this post who are on extremely high doses of Xanax I would question your Dr. In one post it mentioned seizures due to withdrawl. If you were to read the fine print of most psycho-neurological medication it will state the warning (all of them). The key folks is to STOP--Idenitfy--Cope and relax. Don't stop medication immediately, but rather gradually and under a Dr.'s supervision.

Find something to do to keep you mind busy. I am hoping week 3 will teach us all how to redirect our worried thoughts in a positive direction. BREATH. Love you all

F

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 3:57 am

I'm only taking 1/2 of a .25 myself. And, in all the years I've taken it, more off of it than on . . I never took high doses. I think at one point I was taking 1/2 of a .25 2-3 times a day. That was sort of a lot, but it was for a short period of time.

I'm in counseling and working on my anxiety so this is not my 'answer' but a tool to help me as I'm getting better.

Thanks for your input.

Gman5256 · Post by **Gman5256** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:47 am

I, too, was on Xanax for avout 4 years, and yes, it is addictive. Well, I'm not certain if addictive is correct... according to my psychiatrist, my body became habituated to a VERY high dosage and it took more and more to eliminate anxiety symptoms.

What I like best about Xanax is that it works IMMEDIATELY! Since changing my Rx, my psych. has, on especially stressful short-term (1-2 days) occasions, prescribed a small amount of Xanax.

Like you, Chris,I know I'm not depressed, but I've been on and off Zoloft for several years and I am scared to go off it (I'm currently taking 1 mg. 2X a day a day of klono).

I read somewhere how a person's body metabolizes diff. meds, and the first one a person is supposed to tapper off is the anti-anxiety, next, sleeping meds, and lastly, anti-depressants. Allegedly, this is so a person doesn't have withdrawl-like symptoms. Has anyone else heard this?

I think I'll ask my pharmacist, because in my case, it would be far easier and more logical to go off Zoloft, then Ambien, and finally klono.

fishcee

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 12:49 pm

When I first had anxiety problems the ER gave me some Xanax. But my Psych suggested changing to lorazapam as it has a lower addictive potential. I'm very sensitive and take a .5 mg and cut it into quarters. I put a piece under my tongue when I have a bad time. If it doesn't help in 10 minutes, I take another piece. But I'd never take it on a regular basis.
Dave