Xanax hangover???

KY Cowgirl · Post by **KY Cowgirl** » Sun Feb 14, 2010 2:28 pm

Does anyone else feel depressed the day after taking a xanax at bedtime? I take 1/2 of a .5 occassionally at night but the next day I seem depressed.... I don't take anything else. I suffer from mostly anxiety.. I have been told I also have depression and I have a prozac in the cabinet but an reluctant to take it (tried it 2 x's got a headache both times). I really don't feel like I am depressed on a dailey, but anxiety... YES. Thanks for listening.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Feb 14, 2010 6:12 pm

Hey KYGirl, Zanax is an anti physcotic medicine. Ask you're Doctor about Ativan. Google both meds and you'll see the difference they are in treating different diagnosis. Im no Doctor but I have taken both as well with Prozac. Not all 3 at the same time. Usually a anti-depression medicine takes any where up to 2 weeks to 3 months to start working. I don't know of any that only takes 2 days to work. Like all meds different people have different side effects with all types of theses. Some meds work for some and others not at all. I do know one thing for sure Zanax and Ativan are very addictive. I hope this helps a little but you must consult and tell you're Doctor what's going on and you're exact symptoms. Good Luck....Tigerfan

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Feb 15, 2010 1:42 am

Thanks so much for responding. I do have the prescription for the Prozac but I can't talk myself into taking it. The zanax does help my panic attacks when I have them, which is usually at night (1 or 2 times per month). I just feel so down the next day, but I may do that because of the panic attack anyway.. I over-think everything. I have been thru the program (several yrs ago) and it helped me so much!!! But now I'm having a "growth spurt" brought on by stress... just need to sharpen my skills and get through it. I'll check out the ativan.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Feb 18, 2010 5:59 am

Hi KY Cowgirl,
Xanax is actually a benzodiazipine. It attaches itself to the GABA receptors in the brain to calm you. Be careful with it as you can become dependent on it, and withdrawal takes some work. .25 mg is a small dose. Xanax is very fast acting, but is only effective for a few hours. (it has a short half-life in the body)
I took .5mg of the time release XL for a couple years. My doctor encouraged me to take .25 additional when needed and I noticed a "rebound" effect when it began to wear off, where my anxiety was worse than before, so I did this as little as possible. In this I suspect everyone is different.