A WARNING FOR XANAX USERS!!! IMPORTANT!! - Panic Disorders Message Board

heavenisnevaeh · 03-31-2003, 07:33 PM

I need to let people know about my situation with xanax and my research about this medication used to reduce the symptoms of anxiety and other causes.

THIS MEDICATION IS HIGHLY ADDICTIVE!!!!
I need to send this warning out to every xanax user. This med works terrific to get rid of those anxiety of panick attacks. But this just masks the problem and doesn't correct it. If your dr. prescribes you this med, please ask for something else that is not addictive.
I have been struggling with xanax for almost 5 months now. Started at .25mg, my body grew a tolerace to it and the dosage was increased to 1mg a day. Then my body wanted more and more to the point where I was taking 3mg a day.
The withdrawl symptoms are bad! Headaches, feeling of floating, dizzy, tremor and muscle jerks and shaking, irritability and blurred vision are just a few of the withdraws symptoms. Those are just the physical withdrawls. Most people that are like me can become psycologically addicted and have psycological withdrawls such as depression also, which is worse.

Getting off this medication is harder than you probably think. You CANNOT stop this medication when you wish. It needs to be tappered off. If you are addicted to this med then tappering off can be worse. I just started to taper off a few days ago. I am suffering withdrawl symptoms and have to deal with it everyday for the next 4-6 months!
My dr. started me on a new med called effexor to fix the chemical imbalance that xanax did to my body.

XANAX DOES NOT FIX THE CHEMICAL IMBALANCE IN YOUR BODY, IT WILL MAKE IT WORSE WITHOUT THE RIGHT TREATMENT!!!!!!

Please be aware of this an pass this on. I am not a Dr. but I am a person who has been through this horrible experience and am still suffering.

Small dosages are fine and when taken as needed, but it will get out of hand and you will most likely be addicted! Please watch out for those warning signs!! and talk to your dr about being prescribed another med that is not addictive.

I would like to hear your response to this warning. Please respond with your comments. Thank you.

Graciecat · 03-31-2003, 08:11 PM

I posted this in response to another question, but I guess it fits in here too.
Fist of all, the first thing out of my Doctor's mouth when he gave me Xanax was, that it was very addictive.
I have to add...I don't work for the company that makes Xanax!
I've taken it for years and have had no problems at all with it...here's my story.

I've taken Xanax twice in my life, the first time I took it everyday for almost six years.
I took two pills everyday.
Then one day I woke up and the panic attacks were gone.
My Doctor helped me get off them by SLOWLY cutting my dosage down over time.
We did it so slowly that I had no withdrawel symptoms.
I didn't have a panic attack for years.
Then one night they came back.
I tried to fight them off by myself, but eventually I went back on the Xanax.
I started out that time with the two pills everyday again.
They started to go away again...I was back down to only half a pill a day.
Then I had some other health problems...I have severe arthritis in both my knees and couldn't walk or stand for more than 15 to 20 minutes at a time.
My Doctor wouldn't let me work anymore.
Needless to say there were money problems.
That got to me big time, but I was still only taking half a pill a day.
I was finally left with no choice but to file for SSI...I can't have my knee's replaced because I'm allergic to certain kinds of plastic..one of which they use in making the replacment knees.
I was lucky, it only took six months for my SSI to be approved.
I guess with my knees, panic disorder, OCD and being slightly bi-polar, they thought I was a real mess!!!
During this time my panic got so much worse, that with my Doctor's approval I went back up to one pill a day.

I was doing great until Christmas day...I don't have a clue in the world what happened, but the panic attacks started getting worse again.

I know how addictive Xanax is and I didn't want to take more, so I called my Doctor and made an appointment.
I tired Zoloft, but had an allergic reaction to it.
Then tried Paxil, same allergic reaction.
I went back to my Doctor and we talked about the fact that I knew how addictive it is and the fact that I didn't want to up the dosage.
But the one pill a day just wasn't doing it.
So my Doctor said that he didn't think that the medication was staying in my system long enough.
I'm now on a lower dosage, but I take it twice a day.
Even though I take two a day, my dosage didn't increase, the ones I take now are just fewer millgrams.
This is working great for me, same amount just spread out over the day.

So yes, I know it's very addictive, I knew that going into it almost twenty years ago.
But, I refused to ever let myself let the dosage be raised.

I guess maybe the best thing to do is to make sure you have a Doctor that you trust, to know going in that it's a very addictive drug and if at anytime you feel that you need to take more, pick up the phone and call your Doctor for an appointment.

boxerlover · 04-01-2003, 10:07 AM

Yes, it is very addictive. I believe that was the first thing my doctors said to me, but he wasn't concerned about it because I was not recovering from any type of addiction. I used it and continue to use it very infrequently if I experience a panic attack. I think it's more like a drug that should be used while you are waiting for your anti-depressant to kick in. That's how I used it. And, I always have some with me just incase I experience a panic attack. I am sorry your doctor let you go on for so long taking only Xanax. If you are seeing your primary care doctor for psy. treatment you should consider switching to a psyciatrist. Good luck, and try to hang in there.

MSH · 04-01-2003, 03:39 PM

You are right on the money heaven. My doctor prescribed xanax to me and he warned me right away that I would have to see him before I stopped taking it as otherwise I would end up in the insane asylum. However, he gave me a prescription for 400 pills to take 4 times a day. That wasn't too comforting. After the first week of taking them, I told my friend who also was suffering from panic attacks about what the doctor gave me. He could not believe it, and told me that xanax should only be used occasionally if you feel a "big one" coming on. He said he was only on it for 4 weeks on an as needed basis as his docyor said the withdrawals are worse than the original panic. I've only taken about 30 pills of xanax over the course of a couple of months, but last week took it every day. I stopped for three days straight, and just off of that I suffered, what I believe was caused by the xanax: unbearable tension headaches, tremors, uncomfortable, and a feeling of complete anxiety 24/7. A true torture. Today, I'm just starting to feel normal again. If you can avoid it, do not take Xanax on a daily basis unless you are willing to go through specific tapering off treatment and potentially suffering of horrible withdrawals. In my opinion, Xanax should only be used as a safety blanket.

hry33 · 04-02-2003, 02:53 PM

theres so much nonsesne and mass hysteria around about xanax, used sensibly, its a safe and helpful med