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Mental Health Coffee with my Xanax...

Cautious_Optimist

Cautious_Optimist

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Jan 10, 2014
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Near NYC, USA
I was wondering whether this is chemically self-defeating. I take Xanax PRN for what I call "situational anxiety" (i.e., days I lecture or do public speaking). On the days I use it I take three .25 doses across the day (i.e., 11:00, 2:00, and 5:30) for a 6:00 class time but I also drink coffee throughout the day (3-4 cups * AM til ~ 3PM). Caffeine doesn't make me anxious per se but I do wonder if it adds to the anxiety and offsets the Xanax...
 
Caffeine certainly makes you less sedated... but idk about anxiety. Some people get anxious from caffeine while others don't.
 
During the week, I take my Xanax with caffeine (either tea or coffee) and I have never noticed the effects of the Xanax to be lessened by this. It's all subjective and varies from person to person. Also, caffeine increases my anxiety level and the Xanax helps counteract the anxiety for me.
 
Yeah like ad lib said it really depends on your tolerance to caffeine and xanax, if you have been drinking this amount daily for say years then I couldnt see it affecting the xanax too much as your body is all ready use to that baseline amount of caffeine.
 
Well.... caffeine isn't centrally acting, so it doesn't directly decrease the effectiveness of the xanex, but it does increase heart rate and whatnot, which definitely can trigger panic states, in my experience. Amps and benzos are prescribed together often enough for people who need them, so, therapeutic value isn't entirely lost.

At least you're not smoking. The damn aromatic hydrocarbons in cigarette smoke seriously fucks with the metabolism of a variety of benzos, it's a real bitch!
 
a dream said:
For public speaking have you ever considered propranolol a beta blocker for anxiety? It isn't sedating in the same way as Xanax.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I just Googled this so am admittedly naive. It looks like something I'd need a prescription for, which may also require persuading/educating my doctor on (unless this is a drug most doctors would be knowledgeable of).

Would love to find something OTC/herbal (Valerian root..??) that would work as well...

Love the idea of not being as wrung out from the Xanax. Thanks...
 
After trying Xanax for public speaking, you will laugh at pretty much anything OTC with the exception of phenibut, which I'd avoid.

In my experience, beta blockers don't work as well as benzos for public speaking. They do help with the physical side effect of nervousness though, so a combination of both Xanax and a beta blocker might be a good idea just as long as it doesn't make you lethargic.

As far as your original question, you have nothing to worry about in terms of taking caffeine and Xanax together.
 
a dream said:
For public speaking have you ever considered propranolol a beta blocker for anxiety? It isn't sedating in the same way as Xanax.
Click to expand...

I didn’t find this stuff effective at all, my doctor suggested it only dealt with the physical symptoms of panic and anxiety, specifically the pounding heart.

But given I seem almost impervious to the effects of caffeine I'm happy to put this down to YMMV.

I suspect someone with greater medical knowledge would be able to explain in terms of body chemistry, but I have found benzos effective even after ingesting amphetamines.
 
Cautious_Optimist said:
Interesting. I just Googled this so am admittedly naive. It looks like something I'd need a prescription for, which may also require persuading/educating my doctor on (unless this is a drug most doctors would be knowledgeable of).

Would love to find something OTC/herbal (Valerian root..??) that would work as well...

Love the idea of not being as wrung out from the Xanax. Thanks...
Click to expand...

My family doctor was aware of propranolol and prescribed it for me no problem when I said I was having nervousness before and during meetings at work.

I never really did use it except for once after I got it to check for side effects... I started having panic attacks days after I got it due to other reasons, and got Xanax for those.
 
Nicholai said:
At least you're not smoking. The damn aromatic hydrocarbons in cigarette smoke seriously fucks with the metabolism of a variety of benzos, it's a real bitch!
Click to expand...
so, if you smoke, xanax will be less effective. is that what the above means?
 
Xanax and benzodiazepines are excellent at what they do. They block anxiety and stop panic attacks. They BLOCK anxiety. I do not know the science, but there is basically nothing you can do to increase anxiety and physically feel it, even if you wanted to once you have taken a relevant dose in accordance with your tolerance.
 
^I agree that it's quite bad for the body as a whole.

Caffeine is mildly anxiogenic, so I could see it offsetting some of the anxiolysis of alprazolam, but unless you're drinking more than three cups a day I don't see it as much of a problem.
 
brutus said:
After trying Xanax for public speaking, you will laugh at pretty much anything OTC with the exception of phenibut, which I'd avoid.

In my experience, beta blockers don't work as well as benzos for public speaking. They do help with the physical side effect of nervousness though, so a combination of both Xanax and a beta blocker might be a good idea just as long as it doesn't make you lethargic.

As far as your original question, you have nothing to worry about in terms of taking caffeine and Xanax together.
Click to expand...

just wondering. Why avoid phenibut? Just ordered some. Took some years ago before. Definitely seemed to work decent. Obviously nowhere near as well as any real benzo though.


Also how does cigarettes affect benzos in the body?
 
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