Discussions that mention xanax

Barbara,

I also quit multiple different antidepressants cold turkey with no problems at all. However, it depends on how long you have been on them. If you have been on them for a long time then it may be wise to taper, but if you just started and are finding the side effects hard to swallow, you should be fine just stopping. A quick call to your doctor wouldn't hurt either. I personally can't take any of those types of drugs because they cause incredible increases in anxiety, so I take Xanax regularly and it virtually eliminates my anxiety. I love it.

Take care.

I take xanax also but my doctor seems to be more eager to prescribe the anti-depressants then xanax. She rations the prescriptions to me. That in it's self kinda makes me panicky.

I do better if I think if I just have the xanax handy (.5mg) and usually only need 1 or 1 1/2 a day if that.

I don't have the anxiety as much that much but am prone to panic attacks.

ocdengineer - how do you get your doctor to keep you with the xanax?

I know they need to control the amount we are prescribed and how often we can refill etc. but it drives me nuts having to call in and worry if they'll ok refil.

Barbara,

i go to a guy who specializes in just anxiety dissorders. He was a professor for many years at UT and now has his own practice and has been doing this type of work for over 20 years. He just understands what works and what doesn't. He says some people respond better to just the Xanax. The problem with Xanax is that it can be abused. It rarely ever is by one who suffers from anxiety dissorder because we are too obsessed to take extra meds in fact most times we take half of what is prescribed. Anyway, he believes that for severe anxiety and panic attacks Xanax or Klonopin are by far the best drugs out there. If you do some reading on this board or a search you will find that that class of drugs really does help quite a bit.

The only problem is the withdrawl. I experienced it first hand when I decided to stop cold turkey from the Xanax. I was feeling better and though I may not need it anymore. It was horrible, so the moral of the story is only take these types of drugs if you understand you will be on them for a long time and that if you do decide to stop, you will need to taper off very slowly and this can take a long time to do.

I hope this helps. Look for an older doctor. Lots of the P-docs fresh out of college have been told about all of the horrible addicts to Xanax and feel very reluctant to prescirbe them. I gotta tell you though, since I have been taking mine I am a new person.

Take care.

Thanks ocdengineer;

I'm not taking the anti-depressants anymore - took the zoloft yesterday and woke up middle of night grinding my teeth, having horrible dreams and yesterday afternoon and morning with that anxious feeling. I don't like my brain being messed with like that.

I've only been on these things about 5 months. When originally put on them I was supersensitive and blue but the doctor even said that my thyroid being low was causing most of that. I don't believe I have depression or the type that needs to be treated with drugs. I'm not a drug advocate and never have been.

My mother took celexa for about a year after my younger sis passed away and stopped cold turkey said she had no problem (she was 79 at the time) - that was 6 years ago. Now she's back on it since my dad passed away.

As far as the xanax I really just take that in a limited fashion to either head off or during a panic attack. Have a very low dosage of that.

Thanks for your reply:wave: