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Can xanax, librax and nortriptylene cause suicidal ideations?
Im a 34 year old male and for the past two years or so I've been taking xnx for my panic disorder. My psychiatrist has me on xnx 1mg, xnx xr (time release) 2mg and nortriptilene. About two months ago, i was diagnosed as having ibs as well. The gastro doc prescribed to my librax and he told me to take it 3 times a day, 45 mins before each meal. I have to say that the librax has worked wonders for me and has diminished my stomach spasms, but what i have noticed is that at night and sometimes during the day, i'm on an emotional rollercoaster, i start having these weird thoughts (suicidal ideations to be exact), something that i have never experienced in my life,never, but ever since ive been taking the librax with the xnx i've been having these real bad experiences, its to the point where im afraid of doing something drastic or stupid. I've consulted both of my doctors about this and they each tell me that xnx and librax together r not suppose to have a bad interaction. They both have told me that all the meds that i am on (described above) are ok for me to take together, yet one pharmacist and my research has shown that benzos should really not be taken together. I dont know what to do anymore, i'm so tired of them saying that there is nothing wrong. Can someone please help me and give me direction of what can be going on? Please. Thank you
Age : 34
Age : 34
Sometimes doctors say things we don't like to hear.
Last time I saw a psychiatrist I was taking Buspirone for anxiety. I expected him to say to reduce the dose or to stop the medication altogether. His response: keep taking the medication, stop using my asthma inhalers (unless I really couldn't breathe) and don't drink any caffeine. His comments really threw me, probably because I was struggling so much on the medication, so I stopped taking the anti-anxiety med, ended up using my inhalers more and my caffeine intake also increased significantly. That's a whole other story.
Perhaps sometimes it is just that we feel they don't hear us. It would be interesting to see how things look from their perspective.
I think Dr Gould offered you some great advice.
I expect it certainly made your decision making process much easier.
Good luck with the therapy -I hope it helps.
You've just inspired me to work much harder on my own debilitating anxiety.
If we can't utilize interventions due to anxiety then perhaps medication is an OK interim measure.
Best wishes
J
Last time I saw a psychiatrist I was taking Buspirone for anxiety. I expected him to say to reduce the dose or to stop the medication altogether. His response: keep taking the medication, stop using my asthma inhalers (unless I really couldn't breathe) and don't drink any caffeine. His comments really threw me, probably because I was struggling so much on the medication, so I stopped taking the anti-anxiety med, ended up using my inhalers more and my caffeine intake also increased significantly. That's a whole other story.
Perhaps sometimes it is just that we feel they don't hear us. It would be interesting to see how things look from their perspective.
I think Dr Gould offered you some great advice.
I expect it certainly made your decision making process much easier.
Good luck with the therapy -I hope it helps.
You've just inspired me to work much harder on my own debilitating anxiety.
If we can't utilize interventions due to anxiety then perhaps medication is an OK interim measure.
Best wishes
J
Sometimes I think that my doctor is keeps bringing up the dose just to cover himself, i've tried to talk to him and his answer is to higher the dose. I do believe that I've developed a tolerance for xanax and maybe that's why im going through this. I think tapering off the xanax and just staying on the librax is the answer. As far as klonopin, maybe my anxiety was under control but i didnt realize it. What i do know is that i didnt have the bad effects with klonopin as i did with xanax. Strategy wise, i'm trying to make an appointment for cognitive behavioral therapy and take it from there. I dont want to spend the rest of my life depending on medications which are basically band aids. Like u said, medications are not the answer to resolving our anxiety. I appreciate your help.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You have already received excellent advice, but let me add a bit of logic...The librax is helping you the most, and it also has an antianxiety effect. One strategy is to wean yourself off of the xanax altogether under your doctor's supervision, and continue with the Librax. In addition, the underlying anxiety issues have to be addressed with psychotherapy so you should start that process at the same time.
Take it as prescribed ... :)
I think you need to discuss this with your doctor. I understand that may be difficult if you feel you haven't had your concerns validated.
Could it be that you've just developed a tolerance to the Xanax??
If your anxiety wasn't under control with the Klonopin, does it make sense to revisit it?
I hope the doctor, when he returns, is able to answer your questions.
I don't believe medication is the answer to resolving our anxiety (it does help with symptoms though).
What other strategies are you using, or could you use, to help reduce the anxiety?
J
I think you need to discuss this with your doctor. I understand that may be difficult if you feel you haven't had your concerns validated.
Could it be that you've just developed a tolerance to the Xanax??
If your anxiety wasn't under control with the Klonopin, does it make sense to revisit it?
I hope the doctor, when he returns, is able to answer your questions.
I don't believe medication is the answer to resolving our anxiety (it does help with symptoms though).
What other strategies are you using, or could you use, to help reduce the anxiety?
J
Hi, I'd like to thank you and bee_ryan for your responses. I do feel that the new med (librax) has taken away from the xanax effect, but the doc keeps telling me no. I know my body and I've never experienced anything like this before. Before I started the xanax two years ago, I was on klonopin but the anxiety got worst and the doc put me on xanax. Do any of you have any advice on klonopin? I've considered going back to it but i dont know if thats something that can be done especially with so much xanax in my system.
Thanks
Thanks
Tapper down the xanax a bit, it has side effects than can make you suicidal or, more often, depressed. That's the issue with sedatives, it's good to take enough to rid yourself of anxiety, but too much and it causes problems.
I can't offer you a lot of advice or support but I would strongly recommend you listen to yourself and your body.
It seems a little unprofessional that they don't take your concerns more seriously. Suicidal ideation when experienced like that can be extremely frightening.
I had a similar experience when I first started taking anti-anxiety medication. It lasted for perhaps a week or two. It was very, very scary though.
A while back when I was coming to this site there was a medication checker that kept popping up. Have you tried doing that (or one like it) and seen if they come back with any interactions?
Perhaps the suicidal stuff is a stress response and not a medication one??
Could you be attributing psychological issues to the medication?
Some psych meds taken in tandem may be OK despite warnings. Your doctor would have taken these into consideration when prescribing them.
(If you are still having panic attacks it doesn't sound as if the meds are depressing your CNS too much).
Perhaps the new med acts in a way to decrease the effectiveness of the others?
If you have concerns about safety or feel you may act on the thoughts then you need to seek appropriate medical support.
Hang in there. Hopefully you'll get this sorted shortly.
J
It seems a little unprofessional that they don't take your concerns more seriously. Suicidal ideation when experienced like that can be extremely frightening.
I had a similar experience when I first started taking anti-anxiety medication. It lasted for perhaps a week or two. It was very, very scary though.
A while back when I was coming to this site there was a medication checker that kept popping up. Have you tried doing that (or one like it) and seen if they come back with any interactions?
Perhaps the suicidal stuff is a stress response and not a medication one??
Could you be attributing psychological issues to the medication?
Some psych meds taken in tandem may be OK despite warnings. Your doctor would have taken these into consideration when prescribing them.
(If you are still having panic attacks it doesn't sound as if the meds are depressing your CNS too much).
Perhaps the new med acts in a way to decrease the effectiveness of the others?
If you have concerns about safety or feel you may act on the thoughts then you need to seek appropriate medical support.
Hang in there. Hopefully you'll get this sorted shortly.
J
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