My Doc: Xanax?! Absolutely NOT

[Jack_Dawson]

Xanax...it's...it's...ADDICTIVE. People get a HIGH off it.

What else do you need...VICODIN? No problem.
Ambien? Here you go.

[mike_c]

1. I've had a standing Xanax script for five or six years....

I fill it-- a 30 day supply-- about once or twice a year. I take one or two a month, often even fewer. I think the last one I took was in September. They help me sleep when I'm tense. They do a really good job of it. They certainly do not get me high-- I'd take them more often if they did! I dunno, maybe they're addictive for some people, but apparently not for me.

[LynneSin]

9. I was given a Xanax prescription. Filled it because at the time I was stressing

but never took any. I still have it. I'm assuming there is no expiration date on this stuff

[Oeditpus Rex]

2. High?

Well... I guess if you take about five milligrams at once. :shrug:

As for "addicted," I often ask people if they consider a diabetic "addicted" to insulin.

[Missy Vixen]

3. I take Xanax when I fly

If I couldn't take it, I would not be able to get on a plane. It's as simple as that.

I'd consider finding a new doctor, especially if you need an anti-anxiety med.

Julie

[crim son]

4. I have no problem with drugs being prescribed when they're required.

But my doc is the same. He's too eager to respond to any of my symptoms with a new pill and when I refuse them, he warns me of dire consequences. So far, nothing dire has happened, except I don't sleep all day.

[Christa]

5. I can get HIGH on Xanax?

How do I do that?

:evilgrin: Bite it like Vicoden? :bounce:

[Connonym]

8. Bite it like Vicoden?

I don't get it.

[LynneSin]

10. Might want to ask the expert on that one

[Pool Hall Ace]

6. Xanax was a life-saver for me back in the early '90s.

It really took the edge off and helped me to function. My doctor would give it to me again if I needed it.

Maybe I'm lucky, but I tapered off of it with no problem. And can't one get addicted to Vicodin or Ambien? That's crazy.

[NashVegas]

12. Same Here

But I also made a point of taking half-doses, unless I was particularly stressed. On weekends I was off it completely.

I wouldn't ever want to take it again though; ever since I started doing yoga, that was the far superior alternative.

[soleft]

7. My gf takes it everyday

She has bad panic attacks.

But isn't that the drug that Noel Bush broke into the pharmacy to get.

[davsand]

11. You can develop a tolerance for it.

At that point you need a higher dose to get the same therapeutic outcome, and maybe your Doc is worried that you might have that problem--I dunno. From what I recall, it is out of a family of drugs (benzodiazepine) that are pretty similar to each other structurally. It could be possible that you'd develop a cross tolerance with stuff like Valium or Ativan--which are also pretty commonly prescribed.

You can read more about this group of drugs here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine

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Frankly, if it was me, I'd MUCH rather be taking Xanax than Ambien if it is a sleep disturbance you are dealing with. I think Ambien is WAY more psychoactive than they know. It made me hallucinate during my waking hours, plus it induced horrible panic attacks. It took that crap about three days to work out of my system, and I had wave after wave of panic attacks the whole time...



Laura