Xanax

[Some12]

Originally Posted by BlueIsland

Currently taking 2 mgs of Xanax a day. One at 8:00 A.M. & one at 5:00 P.M. Nervous, because I have job interviews coming up this week around 1:00 P.M. for the next three days. Only 33 & never had a panic attack until March of this year. Was drinking too much at the time & have since quit. Wish I never got on this stuff, because of the withdrawals in between doses. Back in March when I had my 1st panic attack my b/p was sky high & the doc. put me on b/p meds. I hate taking all of this stuff. Xanax is the only thing that seems to work.

Have any of you lost weight when taking xanax, or stressful times? Any advice would help.

You may be having problems because you have high blood pressure only during attacks like I do. I always also have high blood pressure when I go to the doctor. This is called white coat syndrome and having high blood pressure during an attack is common. I had to prove that I did not have high blood pressure by buying a wrist tester and checking it 3 times a day for a couple weeks. The other thing that could be causing you problems is if you are taking Toporol or Metatoporol, they can interact with the xanax and cause you a lot of side effects. I was on this at the time and after I proved that I did not have high blood pressure and was taken off the Bp medications, a lot of problems were gone. I was also put on Lotensin at one time and it was lowering my blood pressure to low, causing me problems. When I went to the Doctor, of course my blood pressure was high due to the "White coat syndrome". You might want to see if you really have high blood pressure or just normal rise due to panic or White coat. This can really make a difference if it is the problem. Good luck my Friend

Sickman

[BlueIsland]

My B/P has averaged 118/70 over the last 6 months. I didn't know about the correlation between Toprol & Xanax. Doctor never mentioned anything about that. At 33, I can play 3 sets of tennis & feel great, but when it comes time to go the doctor I do get anxiety & my b/p goes higher then ever before. Do the longer acting benzos like Klonopin work as well as xanax. How long does a usual dose last? I'm going to the hypertension specialist in 2 weeks just to show him that my #'s have been great for the past 6 months (I have kept track). I know that all of these docs are anti-benzo, but it has saved me in this interviewing process. I actually felt normal yesterday. What a concept.

[Some12]

Originally Posted by BlueIsland

My B/P has averaged 118/70 over the last 6 months. I didn't know about the correlation between Toprol & Xanax. Doctor never mentioned anything about that. At 33, I can play 3 sets of tennis & feel great, but when it comes time to go the doctor I do get anxiety & my b/p goes higher then ever before. Do the longer acting benzos like Klonopin work as well as xanax. How long does a usual dose last? I'm going to the hypertension specialist in 2 weeks just to show him that my #'s have been great for the past 6 months (I have kept track). I know that all of these docs are anti-benzo, but it has saved me in this interviewing process. I actually felt normal yesterday. What a concept.

Try the longer acting benzos if you can, because you can take them less frequently, such as once or twice a day. Xanax only lasts about 5-7 hours and it is a pain in the you know what to watch the clock if your condition is that you take them regularly during the day. This can cause anxiety, if in a meeting or something and it is time and you can't excuse yourself. I know, I did this for about 5 years and it is the pitts sneaking around taking medications that co-workers just seem to have to find out what you are taking if they happen to see you doing so. Sometimes, as in my case, Xanax is the only thing that works, so I am stuck. I can say though that after I had been taking xanax for approximately 4 years and my body became adjusted to it, I went all 8 levels on a trendmill test. Did not seem to effect my physical abilities. It does also sound like you do not have high blood pressure and that could be causing all kinds of problems. Good move going to a hypertension specialist and if your numbers show that you do not have high blood pressure except under attack, I personally would rather have a little high blood pressure to find out then dropping blood pressure by being on a medication that you may not need. If you have not been on xanax for a very long time, I would try Klonopin since it is closer to xanax then most benzos. This would be better for you for long term use. If xanax is the only thing that works, you must get the attacks under control or you are just wasting time and your condition will get worse. Just remember that going off the medication to fast, is always more dangerous then the medication itself. I listened to a Doctor that did not know this and now I am sol. Be smart and careful with all medications and do things with your Doctors help but don't be afraid to learn yourself and question them. If they can't take the time to answer your questions, or get upset that you question them, then they are just on a control path with you and you don't need that kind of Doctor. Luck to you

Sickman

[BlueIsland]

What happens is that I take 1 MG at 8:00 A.M. & 1 MG at 5:00 P.M. If I have a meeting or something around 11- 4, I feel extremely nervous from the withdrawals. I hate that. My doc. is the worst. When I went the hypertension specialist my b/p was high as well, but it is all white-coat. I'm just at a crossroads of sorts, because I am going on job interviews, while dealing with that stress along with the stress of making $'s. I have an appointment with the hypertension specialist in 2 weeks. My regular doc. is terrible imo. The hypertension specialist wanted to run all of these blood tests on my kidney function, but it didn't make much sense to me at all. When I am away from that environment I don't feel anxiety. Same goes for the interview process. What side-effect does a combo of Toprol & xanax cause???

[Some12]

Originally Posted by BlueIsland

What happens is that I take 1 MG at 8:00 A.M. & 1 MG at 5:00 P.M. If I have a meeting or something around 11- 4, I feel extremely nervous from the withdrawals. I hate that. My doc. is the worst. When I went the hypertension specialist my b/p was high as well, but it is all white-coat. I'm just at a crossroads of sorts, because I am going on job interviews, while dealing with that stress along with the stress of making $'s. I have an appointment with the hypertension specialist in 2 weeks. My regular doc. is terrible imo. The hypertension specialist wanted to run all of these blood tests on my kidney function, but it didn't make much sense to me at all. When I am away from that environment I don't feel anxiety. Same goes for the interview process. What side-effect does a combo of Toprol & xanax cause???

When I was taking Toprol, I just felt anxiety and could not rest at all. I believe it was causing me to have hypertension symptoms. When I found that I did not have high blood pressure and went off of it I felt totally relieved and my other medication began to start doing its job. This is just my situiation, and I don't know that you don't have high blood pressure. This is something that you have to prove to yourself and the Doctors. I just know that when I was on Toprol or Lotensin for high blood pressure, it made me sicker. Just from taking the two different drugs, I feel that Toprol is more of a hypertension medication and Lotensin is more of just a med to lower high blood pressure. If I had high blood pressure I would be on Lotensin, not Toprol. By the way, Metatoprol is the same thing as Toprol if that is suggested. Just my expreinces, be careful not to make hasty decisions. We all want to be well and it is easy to assume things to quickly without proper tests or proving it first. Good luck

Sickman