First Post! Simple Alprazolam Medication Question

[PurpleHue]

Hello Bluelighters I have roamed the forums for awhile and decided I would also love asking questions and sharing what short-lived experience I have! So really just a basic question to start with.

First I've gotten a new Psych recently and things have been greatly improved since! I had a huge wave of anxiety and panic, although I've always had both; It got severely worse when a lot of bad things (Lost job, No money, and lost insurance for my car!) And recently I've been prescribed 1mg Alprazolam 3x a day but after Gaining a job and finally things have seemed to get back on the upward path(But having extras is never bad for worst-case scenarios!) Although My psych has told me 90/month would be maximum a month. Which leads me to question one

Would it seem off to ask for a switch to 45 of the 2mgs? Basically I don't like the idea of 90 pills. 45 in which I can take accordingly to the day seems like a nicer way of going. In our last discussion He told me to try an stick to 2mg/day, an doing so I will have saved 1/mg sometimes when I need to use a 4th. (Because originally I told him some days it does seem like I need 4mg if its a very bad day, altough it's not often) And that has been working great so I've came to a good spot where most of the time a single dose of 2mg will combat my usual bout of nightly panic/anxiety. And I'll use another 2mg on days when I have an attack during the morning or afternoon.


Ill post more question(s) Tomorrow. Can't wait for some responses!

 

[Keif' Richards]

Are you asking to switch to a prescription of double the potency per pill, with half of the original quantity of pills? If so, I don't really see any rationale for doing such a thing. If anything, you're only sacrificing the versatility of having 1mg pills.

I'm glad that you're experiencing some reduction in your symptoms of stress and anxiety, but the honest truth is that even 2mg of Alprazolam per day starting off, is on the heavy side. That's not even to mention the fact that sometimes you double that dose. More of the honest truth is that Benzodiazepines are a magic bullet for anxiety in most scenarios. They work amazingly well, which is how people become addicted/dependent upon them.

This is just my opinion man. I normally skip the disclaimers, but you seem particularly vulnerable given your circumstances. I think you should try to use a lower dose of Alprazolam to see if you can use a combination of medication and self-help to address your issues, as opposed to using higher doses to completely alleviate the problem. Especially considering you don't have a tolerance, I would be trying out .5mg twice per day of Alprazolam or Benzodiazepine equivalent or possibly 1mg once per day when you need it the most.

Unfortunately, for someone with essentially no tolerance, 4mg of Alprazolam is approaching an emotionally anesthetizing dose. It's going to work like a charm for a little while, but on the other end, when the Benzodiazepines either run out or lose effectiveness, your anxiety will most likely still be there, potentially worse than before. Benzodiazepines are great, but don't have any illusions about what they are or what they can do.

 

[PurpleHue]

Are you asking to switch to a prescription of double the potency per pill, with half of the original quantity of pills? If so, I don't really see any rationale for doing such a thing. If anything, you're only sacrificing the versatility of having 1mg pills.

I'm glad that you're experiencing some reduction in your symptoms of stress and anxiety, but the honest truth is that even 2mg of Alprazolam per day starting off, is on the heavy side. That's not even to mention the fact that sometimes you double that dose. More of the honest truth is that Benzodiazepines are a magic bullet for anxiety in most scenarios. They work amazingly well, which is how people become addicted/dependent upon them.

This is just my opinion man. I normally skip the disclaimers, but you seem particularly vulnerable given your circumstances. I think you should try to use a lower dose of Alprazolam to see if you can use a combination of medication and self-help to address your issues, as opposed to using higher doses to completely alleviate the problem. Especially considering you don't have a tolerance, I would be trying out .5mg twice per day of Alprazolam or Benzodiazepine equivalent or possibly 1mg once per day when you need it the most.

Unfortunately, for someone with essentially no tolerance, 4mg of Alprazolam is approaching an emotionally anesthetizing dose. It's going to work like a charm for a little while, but on the other end, when the Benzodiazepines either run out or lose effectiveness, your anxiety will most likely still be there, potentially worse than before. Benzodiazepines are great, but don't have any illusions about what they are or what they can do.

Sorry I should've explained a bit more. I was definitely super tired when posting that last night. But I did began with other medications and doses (ie. Lorazepam, and have tried a few other benzos in the past to see if I had a better response.) Before getting to the dose I'm at now. So I would say I have a tolerance and my family history would suggest we generally require a higher dose. I do agree it seems wierd but for me I don't like having so many pills! I would rather have the bars which are easily breakable. Because you are right, sometimes I do only need 1mg, some days I do not take it (i.e my last dosage was last night and before that it had been 4 days before I used it.) But for me to gain the full relief from Alprazalam to combat my night anxiety I do require 2mg, which is probably cooralated to my tolerance build as I have been taking them for approximately three quarters of the year now. Because at first I did need them just to combat my social anxiety and sleeping/night anxietis because of how everything spiworld out of control. I was at a point my anxiety had me beat thinking I was never gone break through it. But the last month I've started taking breaks as I've noticed my anxiety has lowered. I have also started on Adderall xr. Since I've started that medication (it's only been 2 weeks) I have noticed my anxiety has went down even more to where my Xanax is used primarily on nights when I can't sleep as it usually has a nasty panicky feeling to it (feeling like the onset of an attack.) But this isn't everyday. And I'm yet to take any dose during the day. I wouldnt say the Adderall causes the anxiety as some nights, I don't need it.( I haven't needed it for the last 4 nights) But rather I still have some bad days where my anxiety comes from the blue, or something happens causing my anxiety. So I don't need to take the full 3mg prescribed. But if I do need amother dose within the day, it's usually is 2mg needed. But I know with the bars they are easily broken into smaller doses. It seems like a wierd question I know but to me I would feel more comfortable to have less pills that I can manage the doses of in a more effective manner. Because with the 1mg pill I'm prescribed it's hard to get it into smaller then half a mg. And in my mind knowing I had one per day (2mg) with the option of another one (2mg) for 10 days out of the month would be easier for me to keep tapering down. Although I would say my W/D is fairly easy going compared to some people's reports.

Thanks for the quick response!

 

[Keif' Richards]

I understand what you're saying OP. To each his own and if you're more comfortable with the 2mg tablets, that's your perogative and go for it. I understand now that you have a little bit of prior tolerance to Benzodiazepines. I'm still a little confused though. Are you intending to taper down?

 

[PurpleHue]

Fair enough! Sometimes I just feel a sense of doubt in my judgement and like other opinions lol. And not necessarily it has worked in the way I've found efficient.