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Xanax Use - Need Opinion


[ga...]

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My doctor has me trying various anti-depressants over the last 4 months that have been stimulating and causing anxiety so I have been taking Xanax when it happens.  Been taking Desipramine, Imipramine and now trying Nortriptyline.  They all have caused me agitation that turns into anxiety.

 

I started at .25 Xanax a couple times a day, now after 4 months I am up to 1.0mg to get through the day. 

 

My doctor is fine with me taking Xanax now until we get my anti-depressant right.

 

Should I be worried after 4 months of Xanax use, now up to 1.0mg a day.    If I decide to go off Xanax at this point, how should I taper?

 

Thanks!

 

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Hi garywi,

I ended up having challenges with anti-depressants causing anxiety as well. Even the ones that weren't supposed to at all --sheer panic on some. I had the best luck with lexapro but eventually weaned off that as the xanax I was taking at the same time was actually sufficient in itself to help with some depression problems I had. My challenge was prominently anxiety though.

 

As for the Xanax taper, I wouldn't say to be worried, but definitely thoughtful and glad you're asking about taper. I'm just trying to figure out how to start tapering at lower doses (low for me) so I don't have advice on that yet, but wish you the best!

 

 

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[02...]

Hello garywi,

 

I can't tell you if you should go off the Xanax. If it's helping you at this dose, it's helping you. However, if you should decide to taper, I would recommend tapering very slowly. I would suggest .125 mg (1/2 of a .25mg tab) for two weeks and then hold for two to see how you respond. If you respond with no major withdrawals then you can either continue with that or taper at 5% to 10% reduction every two weeks and hold for two weeks.  And of course ask your Dr. this is not a substitute for medical advice but I know Xanax. It's a part of my DNA. :(

 

Best of luck to you, Alison

 

 

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Thank you for the replies!

 

Thank you EmpathicGirl.  Are you considering going back on Lexipro for your anxiety or what are you going to treat your anxiety with now that you are getting off the benzos.  Thanks!

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[9b...]

I'm sorry but I am going to disagree with your doctor and with the earlier replies. If you get yourself addicted to Xanax in order to counter the anxiety produced by an antidepressant (also addictive although not as much so as benzos), then you are creating problems far worse than the original ones the antidepressant was supposed to solve. If an antidepressant causes anxiety such that it requires a benzo, it is *not* the "right" drug. 4 months of Xanax use is  enough to get addicted. Official guidelines recommend a maximum of 2 weeks use of benzos. If your doctor is saying otherwise he is in violation of guidelines and you should run the other way and find another doctor. *Maybe* you'll be one of the lucky ones who can stop benzos easily, but there's a good chance you'll find yourself facing a hellish time getting off, even with a slow taper. Take the time to read some of the stories here. Also go over to www.survivingantidepressants.org and read some of the stories there. You might also want to read Robert Whitaker's "Anatomy of an Epidemic". Your doctor may be "fine" with you taking psych drugs, but most of us here had our lives ruined by trusting psych doctors who are more than happy to hand out addictive drugs that ruin people's lives. That's how psychiatrists make their living.

 

There are natural ways to treat depression and anxiety - you'd be better off finding a natural healer who does not resort to psych drugs.

 

You asked for opinions...

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Thank you for the replies!

 

Thank you EmpathicGirl.  Are you considering going back on Lexipro for your anxiety or what are you going to treat your anxiety with now that you are getting off the benzos.  Thanks!

 

I've been off Lexapro since 2009 and don't plan to go back on. That was a breeze to get off compared to xanax but at the time I planned on staying on Xanax for life if needed.  The "good" thing about how badly things got for me in terms of Xanax seemingly stopped working, is that I buckled down and tried every type of self-care technique I could find... many alternative and requiring a very open mind. I learned better self -care and that I had already done a lot of the healing required underneath the Xanax. I know that's not the case for all, but my plan is to live med free.

 

Message me anytime. Best of luck to you!

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Thank you for the replies!

 

Thank you EmpathicGirl.  Are you considering going back on Lexipro for your anxiety or what are you going to treat your anxiety with now that you are getting off the benzos.  Thanks!

 

I've been off Lexapro since 2009 and don't plan to go back on. That was a breeze to get off compared to xanax but at the time I planned on staying on Xanax for life if needed.  The "good" thing about how badly things got for me in terms of Xanax seemingly stopped working, is that I buckled down and tried every type of self-care technique I could find... many alternative and requiring a very open mind. I learned better self -care and that I had already done a lot of the healing required underneath the Xanax. I know that's not the case for all, but my plan is to live med free.

 

Message me anytime. Best of luck to you!

 

Hi EmpathicGirl,

 

I think you may be going a little too fast with your taper. Getting from 6mg/day to 3mg/day of Xanax in a short time after being on it for a long time is a huge drop. You may need to hold for some time to let your body adjust to the dose reductions and give it a chance to rest and get a break. :)

 

What frankly stinks about some of these meds is that they do wipe away people's coping skills, so a lot of people have to re-learn them as they're withdrawing from them. It's like learning your place in life again, and it's awful when we've done that before the meds already.

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Thank you for the replies!

 

Thank you EmpathicGirl.  Are you considering going back on Lexipro for your anxiety or what are you going to treat your anxiety with now that you are getting off the benzos.  Thanks!

 

I've been off Lexapro since 2009 and don't plan to go back on. That was a breeze to get off compared to xanax but at the time I planned on staying on Xanax for life if needed.  The "good" thing about how badly things got for me in terms of Xanax seemingly stopped working, is that I buckled down and tried every type of self-care technique I could find... many alternative and requiring a very open mind. I learned better self -care and that I had already done a lot of the healing required underneath the Xanax. I know that's not the case for all, but my plan is to live med free.

 

Message me anytime. Best of luck to you!

 

Hi EmpathicGirl,

 

I think you may be going a little too fast with your taper. Getting from 6mg/day to 3mg/day of Xanax in a short time after being on it for a long time is a huge drop. You may need to hold for some time to let your body adjust to the dose reductions and give it a chance to rest and get a break. :)

 

What frankly stinks about some of these meds is that they do wipe away people's coping skills, so a lot of people have to re-learn them as they're withdrawing from them. It's like learning your place in life again, and it's awful when we've done that before the meds already.

 

I definitely started tapering too fast!! I had little and poor guidance. So, that's why I'm researching so much now and staying steady for a while. I needed to know what stability felt like again, at least to some degree. I wrote out a plan today to take to my doctor that has a taper schedule of no more than 10% cuts. He told me to cut by .5mg "as I see fit" until I get under 1mg so I suspect he doesn't have much experience in tapering. When I get down to the last parts, I'll have to just see where I'm at in how I'm handling things. I hope to not have to add anything back in but I'll be open as I need to function and those tough moments.

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My doctor has me trying various anti-depressants over the last 4 months that have been stimulating and causing anxiety so I have been taking Xanax when it happens.  Been taking Desipramine, Imipramine and now trying Nortriptyline.  They all have caused me agitation that turns into anxiety.

 

I started at .25 Xanax a couple times a day, now after 4 months I am up to 1.0mg to get through the day. 

 

My doctor is fine with me taking Xanax now until we get my anti-depressant right.

 

Should I be worried after 4 months of Xanax use, now up to 1.0mg a day.    If I decide to go off Xanax at this point, how should I taper?

 

Thanks!

 

If I were you, I'd make sure not to increase the dose and stay where you are. Then, I'd do a lot of research on how to taper if that's something I wanted to do. But yes, 4 months is long enough time for someone to develop physical dependence on it. There was a video of a woman on youtube who was on some kind of benzodiazepine for several years and she started feeling weird on it, so she just shaved a little crumb off of her regular dose, and she immediately felt withdrawal...

 

 

Also, I like Will Hall's harm reduction approach:

 

 

 

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