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Benzos Did Xanax Cure my Severe GI Issues?

D

DexyDevil

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 20, 2012
Messages
186
For over two months I have had extremely uncomfortable stomach cramping and ceaseless, daily diarrhea. Thank God I've been living in a care facility with easy access to my bathroom at all times or my precious underwear collection would be ruined by now! I submitted numerous stool samples, had every non-invasive test in the book, and am now scheduled to have a colonoscopy.
The doctors couldn't seem to find the slightest thing wrong with my stomach, and kept asking me if I had been feeling nervous. I thought my anxiety was very well managed and felt the calmest I had in years. My 27 years have passed with endless stress and trauma. Apparently, this has created a rather high tolerance for anxiety.
You see, three days ago I finally agreed to take a very low dose of Xanax (.25mg 3x daily)... and I haven't had a single episode of diarrhea since! Not one! And I am not exaggerating when I say that I had been hurrying to the bathroom twenty or more times a day and eating Imodium by handful with no relief. I thought I was anxiety free simply because I was experiencing less anxiety than I am accustomed to (I'm accustomed to A LOT).

So was it simply the anxiolytic effects of the alprazolam that cured my GI issues or is there some more biological mechanism of action responsible?
 
I'm not very familiar with this topic but i think the xanax may actually be helping substantially. I think this because my grandma had IBS and is prescribed Librium/Clinidium for it. The librium is a benzo and the clinidium helps abdominal and stomach cramps.
 
Your thing was probably psychosomatic and the benzo cured it that way.

I can hardly think of another reason.
 
i don't see how or why; however in withdrawal from benzodiazepines you get massive diarrhea and stomach cramping issues, so perhaps they may have an effect in treating GI issues but i don't know by what mechanism this would occur and have never read of the use of benzodiazepines in treating GI issues, then again i'm not a Dr, nor have GI issues so yeah, if it works, even if it's placebo, well that's better than before at least, except for the whole dependency issue you face if taking them long term.

psychosomatic? i doubt it with GI issues, you can placebo yourself into happiness or even euphoria, however powerful the mind is, placebo will wear off quite quickly, so if Xanax stops working then you know it was placebo. In essence, i have no idea but am interested in more knowledgeable responses on the topic as well.
 
I highly doubt it was a placebo effect. I was taking tons of Imodium and at on point even hydrocodone (had to have a root canal) and nothing helped. From my first dose of Xanax... POOF! the problem vanished.
 
My stomach problems subsided when I started Klonopin. Anxiety manifests itself in many ways and mine was bad stomach cramps, diarrhea. I was convinced at one time my liver was failing. So yes I believe what you are saying is true. Be careful with the Xanax I think it's one of the more addicting benzos with a short half life. Good luck to you.
 
Well, I've had diarrhea once in the five days I have been taking the Xanax compared with the dozen or so times a day before I started taking it. I would think .25mg would be practically a placebo dose (I take it 3x a day) but the effect on my GI issues just goes to show how potent this benzo is.
 
Entirely possible. Anxiety often manifests in GI issues like IBS and similar stomach problems. My father who suffers from anxiety, worry and stress suffers bouts of IBS like problems.
There are also benzodiazepine receptors in the gut. From a purely physical point of view they could have chemically altered your stomach in such a way as to eliminate the problems you were experiencing. In benzo withdrawal I suffered IBS like symptoms for months afterwards.

Why dont you stop taking the xanax for a day or two. Xanax has a short half life and you havent been taking it for long. It shouldnt take more than a day or two for the drug to completely leave your system. If the GI issues return then the xanax is the cure for you.

Try not to increase the dose. tolerance is a tricky subject and if you start to increase dosage your tolerance will continue to rise. you may have to take benzos in one form or another for all your life. this is ok if you have a problem that detracts from your quality of life. a low dosage like that will not have long term detrimental effects. one thing i will say however is benzo withdrawal is not pleasant and your stomach problems will return ten fold during this long drawn out process.

good luck friend,
 
klonopin for stomach issues ?

I agree ...klonopin 1mg has helped my stomach issued as well. I thought it was my imagination. but apparently not after reading this :)
 
I wonder if any benzodiazepine would clear up my GI issues, or if alprazolam specifically is doing the trick. I don't see a need to switch in order to find out though. Many benzodiazepines have paradoxical effects when I take them. Clonazepam makes me very dysphoric. Also, it seems alprazolam is more effective for me than equipotent doses of other benzos. .25mg of alprazolam is more effective than .5mg of clonazepam, even though the clonazepam should be twice as strong at that dose.
 
if its effectve no need to switch. perhaps one with a longer half life would be preferable if you are going to maintain on them for a long term basis. but xanax is fine, all benzos have a similar pharmacological profile but are different in overall effects.
 
Tryptamite said:
if its effectve no need to switch. perhaps one with a longer half life would be preferable if you are going to maintain on them for a long term basis. but xanax is fine, all benzos have a similar pharmacological profile but are different in overall effects.
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OK, I'm starting to get rebound anxiety and diarrhea an hour and a half before each dose. Is Xanax XR worthwhile? I don't respond as well to any of the other benzos as I do alprazolam but the therapeutic effect is so brief. .5mg is a good dose for me I think I'll either need to take it 4x daily (which seems a bit much) or get the XR.
 
benzos definitely have their place within helping remedy GI tract problems.

i have GI problems time to time and my prescribed valium fixes it up. if i take a day or two break the problems resurface until i dose. then clear up.

you may find trialing xr xanax may be more effective. alternatively a longer acting bzd may be more effective; diazepam or clonazepam would be my suggestions.

in bzd wds my stomach turns to shit and not even my morphine, codiene or oxy scripts help.

best of luck.
 
tentram said:
benzos definitely have their place within helping remedy GI tract problems.

i have GI problems time to time and my prescribed valium fixes it up. if i take a day or two break the problems resurface until i dose. then clear up.

you may find trialing xr xanax may be more effective. alternatively a longer acting bzd may be more effective; diazepam or clonazepam would be my suggestions.

in bzd wds my stomach turns to shit and not even my morphine, codiene or oxy scripts help.

best of luck.
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If I don't adjust to this rebound anxiety soon I'll just go with 10mg diazepam three times daily.
 
yeah beta blockers are another resolution to anxiety issues. they, being atenolol, were effective for myself, secondary to being a blood pressure med, until it soon lost efficiency unfortunately.
 
L-lysine supplementation can be very useful in treating anxiety-induced GI issues. The amino acid has been found to work as a 5-HTP4 antagonist and this can reduce or eliminate anxiety-induced diarrhea in rats and is theorizes to do the same in humans although I am unfamiliar with any in vivo research.

I used lysine supplementation to prevent and reduce the symptoms of cold sores and found that it had an anxiolytic effect especially regarding GI issues. Most of the over the counter lysine supplements I've seen contain 500mg or 1g capsules and I've read research quote safe and effective doses (for cold sores and GI issues) at maximum doses between 4 and 9g/day. Be careful not to exceed 9g/day (less if you are smaller than average) because problems such as kidney stones can result.

Lysine may not completely replace benzodiazepines for you, but supplementation may be useful and reduce the doses you have to take.
 
I've read pretty unfavorable reviews of ER alprazolam so I think I will stick with the IR. I think my issues have more to do with the way the dosing is scheduled. I'm autistic and live in a psychiatric care facility so my medications are administered to me at specific times. Right now the alprazolam is scheduled for 7 am, 2 pm, and 7 pm. That means there is seven hours between my first and second dose, and five hours between my second and third. Wouldn't it make a lot more sense to take it at 7, 1 and 7 so that there are six hours between each dose? It seems that would be more balanced.

Today I've taken the Xanax WITH loperamide and haven't had any diarrhea yet.
 
DexyDevil said:
I'm autistic and live in a psychiatric care facility so my medications are administered to me at specific times. Right now the alprazolam is scheduled for 7 am, 2 pm, and 7 pm. That means there is seven hours between my first and second dose, and five hours between my second and third. Wouldn't it make a lot more sense to take it at 7, 1 and 7 so that there are six hours between each dose? It seems that would be more balanced.
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Well, this issue was very easily remedied after a chat with the RN. I now take my Xanax at breakfast, lunch and dinner, with five hours between each dose.

This is the first time I've ever been prescribed Xanax for daily use and I'm quite impressed with it. Klonopin gives me nothing but paradoxical reactions. I am dysphoric, agitated, uninhibited... but swear I feel no sedative, muscle relaxant or anxyolitic effects. Ativan is better but too weak and dirty feeling for my taste. Valium is my second favorite, but it accumulates so much over time that I begin to feel dazed and dissociated all day every day.

Xanax, ironically enough, makes me feel clear-headed and alert, yet relaxed. I had no idea how much my thoughts raced until I started on this pill. I'm curious though; every other benzo I've taken daily had become ineffective in as little as four days. Every dose of Xanax feels as potent and fresh as the first one after three weeks of use. Could this be because I take it with Lyrica, or is Xanax just an especially forgiving benzo for me?
 
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