Xanax does anyone take it?

Question

whats the highest dose you people took if you dont mine asking because i take this now my 4 years anniversary 2mg 3 time daily

reply if you want

i do not abuse this drug, severe anixtey i have so i take it like my doctor tells me. im tryed ssri 3 other benzo and nothing worked. xanax is the best i think. i been on it in 2001 i had 0.5 then went to withdrawls no problem. xanax is a good choice of General Anixtey Disorder

Answer 1

My name is Christine.

I started life as a very "spoiled" frightened and emotionally scarred child.

I was adopted by a relative of my birth mom at age three. So I had abandonment issues. My new parents were most often verbally and physically abusive to each other...(Great role models huh?)

Fighting physically and emotionally were commonplace in our household.

I remember having episodes of hyperventilation at a young age and feelings of anxiousness.

Growing up and moving away.....these feelings disappeared for awhile. Only to resurface on a bright sunny day.

I remember my first full blown panic attack. It was a gorgeous day and I was with a friend riding around in Madison Wisconsin. Out of what seemed to be nowhere.? I couldn't catch my breath.......I was so dizzy, week and terrified that I thought I would black out. My arms were tingling.......My friend rushed me to an emergency room where it was found that I had been hyperventilating.

This went on for many years as I had developed the fear of having another one. This marked the beginning.

I went to nursing school....to help people and maybe to find the answers about my wild symptoms.....lol after being told for many years that I was fine and nothing was wrong with me. I figured I couldn't do worse in helping myself than the ER docs.

I was a psych nurse for over ten years. But it offer me no protection against a disorder that I remember having since childhood. I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and later with panic disorder. Sometimes associated with or without agoraphobia in my mid 20's.

After many years of using ativan legally and then not. I found this particular drug to be my hero and then the dark, cold, stranger that almost killed me.

My first use of this drug was my first experience with any drugs of this class (Benzodiazepines).

The initial course of tx was with a considerably smaller dose and ordered by a physician.....and I thought that my panics were gone for good. Well after a few months I noticed break through attacks. I took more than prescribed and after this cycle went on for many years.....my tolerance had built up to the point of not only didn't it work anymore ...? But I was taking a dose that was very dangerous ( 80-120 mg per day).

I was also drinking on top of this large dose of medication. Very bad combo...!!! Can kill at much lower does with alcohol or other depressant usage with this drug.

I had many blackouts of which I could have gone into complete respiratory failure and then coma and death........

Now, I still have panic attacks. Much less frequent, I am off the Ativan and on a low dose of xanax ( 1mg TID )3 x per day and SerZone 600 mg per day.

As a former nurse...should I have seen the signs? Maybe...but addiction is so insidious.

Fortunately nobody under my care, during my severe addiction days, were harmed.

I was lucky to have survived several other biggies too.........I escaped death by medication OD and because of heavy drug use I had many many sexual partners.

I was beyond promiscuous. I slept with hundreds of men over 7 years mostly without protection. HIV could have gotten me easily.

But ...I LIVED..!!! D&D Free too......!!

I discovered many things about myself after all of this mess.....sometimes the tx can be worse than the disorder. Sometimes it's OK to feel the symptoms of panic (everyone does at some point) but for people with anxiety or panic disorder( Or both )? And...Life is such gift. I feel varying degree's of remorse for the time lost. But really I have no self pity here...I have made it through and am still alive.

I know how the attacks feel so unbearable........well I tell you this...for me? I have learned that learning to stop fighting the disorder and embracing it can be an amazing solution. Have any of us died yet? ............NO...!!!!!!!!! You have already probably had the worst attack you can have. Your stress hormones can only course through your body in certain amounts and for only so long.

Every time it happens you fear death or many other frightening things but....you don't die, go crazy or whatever you see as the worst case scenario and it leaves you feeling exhausted.

Get off the coaster.......this site is a great place to read about drug effectiveness and see other stories about people in fear.........but all the meds in the world are no cure.....So far that is.

I like this site and belonged under a different name for quite awhile b4 getting married August 10, 2005. I learned something wonderful from this site.

It is good to do the research and it is good to find some of your own answers or even to read other opinions here at this site. To offer our own story....

But is it good for any of us to research this to the point where we have no life at all??

I have had severe panic attacks for 20 plus years.....But I know they will not kill me.

It is better for me to have some anxiety and a few break though panic attacks than to hide from life altogether. I remember what it was to be happy....it is coming back to me now. Will I have this disorder and be on medications the rest of my life? It is quite possible....but so what...!!! Isn't everyone on something these days....the world has become a much faster place and we can't keep up. It's OK..... I have found amazing self help through doing stand up comedy and acting with the local theatre company. It's good to get out all sorts of emotions.

So here it is...Am I an expert...hell no. If I were we would all be cured and this site would shut down or turn into a pickup joint :)

My friendly advice and hope for myself and everyone...?

Find peace anyway you can. And if you have a doctor that doesn't listen well or tells you that you will get no better? Find someone else.

Dear, sweet and frightened people. Please remember you are not alone.

I hope my very personal story helps people...but even if it helps just one person out here ....then it was well worth the time to write it.

My wish is for peace...for me and to all of you who suffer with these disorders.

There is hope..!!

Be Well....

Christine

Answer 2

Occasionally I take .5 at night to help me fall asleep. I don't like to depend on drugs of any sort. My prescription is very old and I make 30 pills last about a year or so.

Answer 3

My ex-BF was addicted to Xanax, vallium, and alcohol. Not a good combo. He was crazy as Hell. Depending on why you take it depends on your dose. It is a very addictive drug and you should try to get off of it.

Answer 4

well i did take for about three yaers everyday. when i got pregnant i stopped taking it it was hard. it took about three weeks before the addiction was gone but i had my baby three months ago and i would not get back to taking it every day because even though i thought i really needed it or i was just going to be absalutly miserable without it and nobody could stop me because i liked it and ect.... but my life really has changed well in so many ways but im a happier and better person without it.

Answer 5

hullo
xanax is a benzodiazepine analytic.used under medical supervision only,it might lead to drug abuse otherwise.
it is the drug of first choice in panic disorder.

Dr.solo

Answer 6

I hear that it makes some people relax and be calm, others have serious deep depressions, mostly that u should be careful with any drugs.

Answer 7

thats a very high dose.....I take 0.5mg maybe 1-2 times a week.

Answer 8

not me...........