Mental Health Doctors f!cked me up with xanax

[matt1162]

I've had anxiety most of my life going back to when I was 10 years old. When I was 17 I started having panic attacks. They weren't just occasional panic attacks either. They became a problem all day long. I went a while suffering without telling anyone anything was wrong. I was certain I had a heart problem. Eventually I was diagnosed with panic disorder after requiring a visit to the ER. The ER doctor gave me .5 mg of xanax which calmed me down quick. Later I went to a psychiatrist. Keep in mind this was in 1990 and there wasn't the hysteria surrounding RX drug abuse so doctors prescribing habits were much different. This psychiatrist insisted that every time I had a single panic attack it set my "cure" back by a year. I don't know where he got that idea. Basically every month when I went to see him and I told him I had a panic attack, he would bump my dose up by 2mg/day. I reached a point where I was taking 24mg/day. Yes, you read that right, 12 xanax bars a day. I was at college and the drugs were causing me to have trouble thinking. Somehow I ended up making an "A" in Freshman calculus. I eventually switched doctors and started working to lower my xanax dose. I got down to 7mg/day. Then I lost my job and had to go on Medicaid. My doctor that was prescribing 7mg did not take medicaid so I had to switch doctors. This doctor just dropped me dose from 7mg to 4mg at once. It's left me not doing so well. That was way too much to drop all at one time. I have a friend who has a xanax RX but he doesn't use all of his so I'm supplementing using his leftovers. I know that's not good but at the same time I cannot function on 4mg. I don't know how to end this cycle. Why would this doctor have thought 24mg/day was OK to give me? I was just a teen when this was going on and it was before the internet so patients didn't have the information about the problems of these drugs or what the normal doses should be. I just blindly followed this psychiatrist's word because I didn't know better. Now 26 years later and most doctors refuse to prescribe xanax and the ones that do will not prescribe high doses. I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place.

 

[mymomluvs]

Matt I lost 2 years of memory of my life on that. Do you remember any of it? (When you were on 12 a day). I used to take 6 a day. You should go taper down at a detox center and stick to some good ol' valium...well maybe not stick to it... but it has a longer half life and you won't be feeling as shitty and getting rebound anxiety.

 

[matt1162]

I recently switched to klonopin at 4mg/day. It does seem to last longer but if I'm in a heavy panic attack it's worthless as it takes 2 hours to have an effect. Xanax could knock out a panic attack in 20 minutes on an empty stomach, 30 minutes if full stomach. I've brought up valium before but doctors in my area refuse to switch benzos. They also act like they are doing you a favor by continuing to prescribe any of them to you even though it was their profession that started you on them. The attitudes of doctors are horrible. They fuck you up on their drugs and then act like the patient is the problem.

 

[Moreaux]

I'm sorry you're going through that - I can't imagine. Unfortunately doctors probably won't help you taper down which is terrible imo. I had a ten year run with Xanax and was ultimately cut off cold turkey and had to learn to manage on my own. This is what worked for me:

1. Learn how to manage your anxiety without medication - it's difficult to do but it is possible. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a good method. Learn to identify your triggers and rationally think your way through why you are having an axiety response. There is no other prescription that will be as effective as Xanax, all other benzos are crap comparatively speaking so learning to cope with stress and anxiety is your best option.

2. Get a prescription for Indural (propranolol). It's a beta blocker that is nonaddictive and helps to stop the adrenaline response of an anxiety attack. It helps to make the phisiologically symptoms manageable - I relied heavily on this while going through benzo withdrawal and PAWS. It works best when paired with item 1.

3. Try to switch over to a longer lasting benzo like diazapam. No, it will not touch the anxiety like Xanax but it will keep you from withdrawaling much quicker. I recommend getting the diazapam while you still have some Xanax so the two overlap.

4. Exercise. Aim for an hour a day - this will significantly improve your situation. Force yourself to do this.

5. Eat healthy - meaning eat clean. Stick to fresh whole foods like produce and meats - avoid processed items. Make certain you are eating a balanced diet.

6. Get on a sleep schedule - go to bed early and wake up early - the same time everyday, including weekends.

7. Learn meditation - you absolutely need to learn how to process your world and environment, and this will allow you to find inner peace.

8. Learn breathing techniques and use them during anxiety attacks - they will bring you back to normal much much quicker.

What you are going through is not pleseant, and will most likely get worse before it gets better. Google excitotoxicity as that is what is physiologically happening to you right now, granted a much milder case than a cold turkey situation. These feelings you have are temporary - it does get better and will. Keep this in the forefront of your brain, especially when experiencing anxiety.

When experiencing anxiety ask yourself if you are physically in danger (from the situation). If you're not in immediate anxiety analyze the situation and try to determine what is triggering your anxiety. Acknowledge that you feel the anxiety but then dismiss it as an over reaction to stimuli and that it will pass. Do not give it any more power as that will keep the reaction going longer. You will not die from an anxiety attack, and the longer you focus on the physical symptoms the worse it will get and the longer the attack will last.

I went through two years of pure hellafter stopping Xanax, and six years later I am about 80% healed (primarily cognitive and memory issues remain), but I feel so much better and am the happiest I have ever been. The situation is brutal, I wish we had legal recourse as its not fair, but we have to manage the best we can.

Again, I am sorry you are going through this but with hard work it will get better, and you will be so much stronger by the time this is over. Feel free to hit me up with questions - good luck!

 

[nuttynutskin]

And I'm somewhat perturbed that my old doctor got me hooked on 2mgs per day knowing what I know now... 24mgs is fucking insane.

 

[Drking]

excellent advise

I'm sorry you're going through that - I can't imagine. Unfortunately doctors probably won't help you taper down which is terrible imo. I had a ten year run with Xanax and was ultimately cut off cold turkey and had to learn to manage on my own. This is what worked for me:

1. Learn how to manage your anxiety without medication - it's difficult to do but it is possible. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a good method. Learn to identify your triggers and rationally think your way through why you are having an axiety response. There is no other prescription that will be as effective as Xanax, all other benzos are crap comparatively speaking so learning to cope with stress and anxiety is your best option.

2. Get a prescription for Indural (propranolol). It's a beta blocker that is nonaddictive and helps to stop the adrenaline response of an anxiety attack. It helps to make the phisiologically symptoms manageable - I relied heavily on this while going through benzo withdrawal and PAWS. It works best when paired with item 1.

3. Try to switch over to a longer lasting benzo like diazapam. No, it will not touch the anxiety like Xanax but it will keep you from withdrawaling much quicker. I recommend getting the diazapam while you still have some Xanax so the two overlap.

4. Exercise. Aim for an hour a day - this will significantly improve your situation. Force yourself to do this.

5. Eat healthy - meaning eat clean. Stick to fresh whole foods like produce and meats - avoid processed items. Make certain you are eating a balanced diet.

6. Get on a sleep schedule - go to bed early and wake up early - the same time everyday, including weekends.

7. Learn meditation - you absolutely need to learn how to process your world and environment, and this will allow you to find inner peace.

8. Learn breathing techniques and use them during anxiety attacks - they will bring you back to normal much much quicker.

What you are going through is not pleseant, and will most likely get worse before it gets better. Google excitotoxicity as that is what is physiologically happening to you right now, granted a much milder case than a cold turkey situation. These feelings you have are temporary - it does get better and will. Keep this in the forefront of your brain, especially when experiencing anxiety.

When experiencing anxiety ask yourself if you are physically in danger (from the situation). If you're not in immediate anxiety analyze the situation and try to determine what is triggering your anxiety. Acknowledge that you feel the anxiety but then dismiss it as an over reaction to stimuli and that it will pass. Do not give it any more power as that will keep the reaction going longer. You will not die from an anxiety attack, and the longer you focus on the physical symptoms the worse it will get and the longer the attack will last.

I went through two years of pure hellafter stopping Xanax, and six years later I am about 80% healed (primarily cognitive and memory issues remain), but I feel so much better and am the happiest I have ever been. The situation is brutal, I wish we had legal recourse as its not fair, but we have to manage the best we can.

Again, I am sorry you are going through this but with hard work it will get better, and you will be so much stronger by the time this is over. Feel free to hit me up with questions - good luck!

 

[herbavore]

OP, were there obvious sources to your childhood anxiety or was it generalized from an extremely sensitive nature?

 

[flakka]

You got xanax when you were ten?cant be serious

 

[sandralarsen]

Like most of the other psychiatrists, I don't like Xanax and will often try to shift long-term Xanax users into other benzodiazepines that have a prolonged half-life and very low liability for producing falling anxiety over the day.