anti-anxiety meds when needed only?
 

hi all....my therapist wants me to start taking xanax for periodic panic/anxiety attacks.....Honestly,i am alittle nervous about taking another drug...i am on effexor now,for depression and anxiety,but the anxiety issues are still there for me....is there any drug i can take when i feel a panic attack coming on? i don't want to take another daily medication......any advice?thanks KT

Hi, Karrotop;

I have 1/4 mg xanax for anxiety as needed.
I do not take it everyday.
It's actually rare when I do take it today.
But, I have it when I need it. Periodically.

What are your doctor's orders for taking it?
I take mine EXACTLY as my doc says...never ever more than prescribed and ONLY as needed.

Shalom!

i have to take one in the morning sometimes, I have no choice. I find doing some running or working out first thing helps out a lot, but some days without my meds I would definately kill myself. Just use it in moderation.

I would talk to an MD about this one and the effect of the combination of drugs

seeing doc on monday for xanax
 

good morning all....haven't seen my doctor yet.....going on monday.....my therapist thinks i should have xanax,for the times i feel overly anxious,only when neccessary.i have an out of state wedding next weekend,a four day,"celebration".....and i am going to try and do it all sober,but I fear crowds of people,and especially people i do not know......so,she thought the xanax might put me more at ease withe the whole,"situation"and i won't feel the NEED to drink...will let you know what the doctor says on monday...thanks...have a great weekend,and thanks for the input.KT

Hi KT,

My doc did it the other way round!!! He prescribed me 5mg of valium to take as and when needed. Mixed opinions about it to be honest, sometimes I feel like it works quite quickly ( he told me to crunch it if very anxious as gets into system quiker) but I often feel like the effects wear off quite quickly and by then I am in middle of a situation I find anxious!! So he has recently prescribed me effexor (though I don't really like them so I am taking 5-HTP instead with his knowledge!) I am not sure of the great differences between xanax and valium, but I believe they work in similar ways.. But like all drugs I guess you just have to see what works for you. Symapthies here though I know how much anxiety sucks.
Good luck at docs

my dr. put me on wellbutrin along with my effexor xr.

I am a mess....
 

hi all and thanks for the input..my doc gave me .25mg of Xanax,to take as needed,but i find it does nothing for my anxiety...i am chewing the inside of my mouth,and making a meal out of my fingers.......gross,i know,but i can't stop it...i chew until i bleed....doc increased my effexor to 225 mg daily also.Now he thinks I have IBS,irritable bowel syndrome,because of my anxiety issues...I just feel like a mess..i thought i'd feel so much better when i quit drinking....I guess i was medicating myself with alchohol...now i have to rely on psychiatric meds?ugh....how everyone is feeling good today...thanks KT

I second HistoryTeach only I use klonopin. I also take meds for bipolar disorder and migraines. No adverse interaction.

I also use klonopin on an 'as needed' basis. The good thing about it is it lasts about 8 hours, but as long as you only take one dose per day or less, the likelihood of becoming hooked on them is slim (of course, I'm also on clonazepam, another benzo, for maintenance, so I'm already hooked, but since I don't get 'high' off of them, I'm okay with that and it makes my life so much better).

Today I will likely be taking my klonopin as I'm flying out on vacation and for some reason, airports give me the worst kinds of panic attacks. (not airplanes - airports).

As for IBS, it is very very common for IBS and anxiety to go hand in hand. Significant moderation of my diet has helped a lot with the IBS on a regular daily basis, but during a panic attack, nothing helps except drugs. I want to live as normal a life as I can, so I use the drugs.

You can take these benzodiazepines as needed but you may build up a tolerance and feel some withdrawal if you don't take them. Benzos are dangereous and hard to get off of. If you don't NEED to take them I would advice you not to. Benzos have screwed up my whole central nervous systom. I don't mean to scare you at all. I would just listen to your dr and ask questions if you feel you have to.

Best of Luck,

Liz

As needed ? I''m an alkie, that would would be always ! :) (Before recovery, at least)

It's really funny, but klonopin has never done that for me. I've never ever gone over my prescription, or scrounged around because I ran short, and I have never gotten "high" from them. I just feel my muscles loosen up and I don't worry so much anymore.

But everyone is different and only your doctor knows what best.

not another AD..............
 

hi all...just an update...the Xanax works great....when i feel,"over the edge" with anxiety,or feel like having a drink...I take one,and relax for an hour or so,i feel so much better.
Went to the doctor again on tuesday,to get new Rx,and he wrote me a Rx for Paxil,to take in addition to my 225 mg of Effexor...He doesn't want me to feel like I need to take a Xanax occasionally..makes no sense to me..and i don't want to take another daily medication.I'd rather take the Xanax only when i need to.
going to talk to my therapist about it today.I know i still suffer from anxiety,but i'd rather do it with less(vs more) medication and more therapy.My doc has always been too quick to write prescriptions anyway...hope you all are well today.KT

I have been taking either Klonopin or xanax, currently taking xanax for about 4 years and I also have an alcohol problem which the xanax helps me to not drink , but and form of benzo such as xanax is very hard to get off of, My advice would be to not take it and ask if the Doctor can give you something else.

Lizrox, you are completely right you build up a tolerance after a long period of time as has happened with me , too and I believe it has screwed my nervous system just from experiencing a few times I ran out and could'nt get any and the withdrawals were so bad it was like hell.

*not medical advice.....just my own musings, take with a grain of salt*

Yikes. Your PD probably should have known better about the xanax, it is VERY problematic to get off of, and is usually ruled out when there is a history of substance abuse (all benzos should be nixed, at least for the first couple of options, they have all sorts of issues when you get past the 'they work really well!' part).

There have been some great research to support a Klonopin taper vs a Xanax taper, so it is a less abrupt withdrawal).

Benzos act on the same channel, which is why it helps you not to drink....bc you get the same basic response on the chloride channel. Unfortunately it is quite reinforcing (much like the drinking), so you have the physical dependence + psychological dependence.

So yeah....benzos, definitely have some concerns.

-p

my therapist says NO to Paxil...and YES to Xanax...
 

hi ...and thanks for the advice.....my therapist told me NOT to take the Paxil too...since i am having a hard time at work these days,and am chewing the inside of my mouth to shreds,as well as the skin on my fingers,she wants me to try taking a Xanax before i go to work....up until now,I've been afraid of taking the Xanax too often.my therapist said that because i am nervous about too many meds,there's really no concern about me becoming dependent on them like i was with alchohol.Once i get things worked out at work,i can calm down and hopefully i won't feel the need to chew or take the Xanax....I HATE taking pills of any kind,even cold medicine!
thanks for the input.....KT

You may want to consult a psychiatrist, because what s/he told you is not very accurate at all. Paxil is your typically SSRI, which can have some positive secondary effects on anxiety. At first you may get more anxious, but it will even out. As for the xanax not being addictive...see my above post. I don't understand why docs continue to hand that stuff out like candy, it is an 'easy' fix on the front end...but can have quite a bite on the back end.

-p

I'm currently wondering about some 'as needed' anxiety meds. Was thinking about asking for some valium, but I don't want to get hooked..only for a week or two, I recently relapsed, fairly badly, and went on a bender, and now my nerves are fairly shot.

I don't want to lay awake with anxiety/be afraid of panic attacks and thus keep cooped up in my house for a week, but I also don't want to trade one addiction for another, and from what I've read in here, maybe I should stay away from Xanax.

I tried OTC sleeping pills, but they ended up making me more jittery because I didn't fall asleep within like a half hour or so after taking them.

Anyone have any good ideas, or should I just ask a doctor what they think?