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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Shame on April 21, 2005, at 12:20:46
I'm in the midst of changing meds... Dropping the Prozac and the Welbutrin in favor of Lamical. I’m BP2, and get anxious and agitated at times. Now that my prozac/Welbutrin blood levels are dropping, I'm getting more agitated, and I go through periods of rage (nothing physical, I'm just "Oh-My-God-Holy-Cow pissed at everything). My psychiatrist didn’t seem to worried, but when I went to see my GP, he thought that cutting me a script for alprozalm would take the edge off. He gave me 60 1mg tabs to use 2-3 times a day or 'as needed' with refills. Now I DO have panic attacks, but usually 1/4 or 1/2 mg is sufficient if I catch it early.How much does it take to develop a dependency? What are the symptoms? I don’t take more than a couple a week when I get really bad just because I’m too worried to take it any more than that. Anyone have any input?
Posted by chemist on April 21, 2005, at 18:15:52
In reply to Alprozalam addiction. Whats it take?, posted by Shame on April 21, 2005, at 12:20:46
>
> I'm in the midst of changing meds... Dropping the Prozac and the Welbutrin in favor of Lamical. I’m BP2, and get anxious and agitated at times. Now that my prozac/Welbutrin blood levels are dropping, I'm getting more agitated, and I go through periods of rage (nothing physical, I'm just "Oh-My-God-Holy-Cow pissed at everything). My psychiatrist didn’t seem to worried, but when I went to see my GP, he thought that cutting me a script for alprozalm would take the edge off. He gave me 60 1mg tabs to use 2-3 times a day or 'as needed' with refills. Now I DO have panic attacks, but usually 1/4 or 1/2 mg is sufficient if I catch it early.
>
> How much does it take to develop a dependency? What are the symptoms? I don’t take more than a couple a week when I get really bad just because I’m too worried to take it any more than that. Anyone have any input?
>hello there, chemist here...your intake of alprazolam to date is truly p.r.n. and not likely to lead to a problem...the issue of a GP vs. a psychiatrist is troubling, to me: your GP is not as qualified to monitor your intake of a drug used in psychiatric medicine (for the most part), and if 0.25/0.5 mg p.r.n. is what it takes to ease you from a panic attack, then stick with a dose in that range. i can assure that 2 to 3 mg of alprazolam will indeed ``take the edge off.'' you are switching medications, and it is common for one to experience the unpleasant effects during tapering and titration. if you need to take a bit more than your usual dose, do so, and keep your psychiatrist in the loop. when your allergies kick up or a nasty cold manifests itself, see your GP: leave the psychiatry to the psychiatrist...and the dependence issue will not appear in the short time and with a small dose you indicate....all the best, chemist
Posted by Mr.Scott on April 21, 2005, at 21:04:44
In reply to Alprozalam addiction. Whats it take?, posted by Shame on April 21, 2005, at 12:20:46
My advice is to use as little as possible for as short a period as possible. Everyone's dependence threshold is different, but it can be surprisingly low in many particularly if xanax brings quick relief but then has a rebound of increased anxiety. Then one begins to need the stuff just to avoid panic attacks. This was my experience anyways 13 years ago using .25mg xanax PRN. I slowly began to take it regularly and never stopped for longer than 6 months although now I take clonazepam .75mg daily. Again this was merely my personal experience. But if I could do anything to be off the stuff I would. I think it eventually makes life worse for almost every long-term user I ever met who can be honest and not defensive about taking the stuff.
Scott
Posted by Phillipa on April 21, 2005, at 21:17:49
In reply to Re: Alprozalam addiction. Whats it take? » Shame, posted by Mr.Scott on April 21, 2005, at 21:04:44
Listen to chemist. Trust me he really does know his stuff! Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by chess on April 23, 2005, at 21:11:16
In reply to Re: Alprozalam addiction. Whats it take? » Shame, posted by Mr.Scott on April 21, 2005, at 21:04:44
Are you both saying that you started getting panic attacks AFTER you started taking Xanax?
Because I started taking Xanax for some anxiety and then I started having terrible panic attacks but I'm not sure if it was from stress or from Xanax rebound.
Posted by Mr.Scott on April 24, 2005, at 2:03:08
In reply to MrScott and Shame, posted by chess on April 23, 2005, at 21:11:16
yes.
I had anxiety and depression and when I began to use xanax as needed I developed full scale panic attacks. Probably from rebound anxiety after it wore off. Only once I began taking it regularly did the panic go away and was the anxiety muted. However...There is no doubt that the benzos (I now have switched to klonopin make my depression worse).
Scott
Posted by chess on April 24, 2005, at 7:15:12
In reply to Re: MrScott and Shame » chess, posted by Mr.Scott on April 24, 2005, at 2:03:08
MrScott
did you ever try tapering off Xanax?that's what i'm trying to do right now, it's scary (the withdrawal or rebound is pretty intense, alot of weird sensations), i went to see my primary doc and he reassured me that i'm in no physical danger and my psych doc says "it's just anxiety" and she wants me to take Xanax more regularly to get my anxiety under control but i'm afraid of getting dependent on it so i'm trying to tough it out right now and see if i can do it on my own (i've also been taking Lexapro for 9 weeks now at 20mg and i'd like to see what it's doing for me without the Xanax)
> yes.
>
> I had anxiety and depression and when I began to use xanax as needed I developed full scale panic attacks. Probably from rebound anxiety after it wore off. Only once I began taking it regularly did the panic go away and was the anxiety muted. However...There is no doubt that the benzos (I now have switched to klonopin make my depression worse).
>
> Scott
Posted by Mr.Scott on April 24, 2005, at 9:58:39
In reply to Re: MrScott and Shame » Mr.Scott, posted by chess on April 24, 2005, at 7:15:12
Yes. I tapered xanax once my freshman year in college. I stepped down .5mg every 14 days, so basically I went through 6 weeks of hell. It was rough but I did feel better afterwards. I should have ended it there. Even though xanax withdrawal is a bitch, it didn't linger for me like with longer acting compounds. Basically after 10-14 days each step down was totally over. More intense, but quick to the finish. I'd rather suffer harder but for a shorter period of time and get it over with.
6-9 months later I was depressed, but already on the then wonder drug prozac. I figured I could not possibly be depressed and so asked for clonazepam thinking I was suffering anxiety again. Mistake!
Scott
Posted by Shame on May 2, 2005, at 13:57:16
In reply to MrScott and Shame, posted by chess on April 23, 2005, at 21:11:16
Sorry. I have been out of town :/To answer your question, yes I have had panic attacks while taking Alprozalam. I don't take it every day, I only use it as I need to (ie when Im really extremely adgitated, or I have a panic attack). The script says to take 1mg 3-4 times a day, but I don't think I need that. Since I have been taking the Alprozalam I have had strings of panic attacks, mainly in my sleep. About the 3rd time I woke up screaming and terrified out of my mind, I stopped taking it all together. I have a few with me at all time in case I have a serious freak out in public, but thats all I am going to use them for.
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