Re: Spinal cord injury and Xanax

Posted By Dan on April 20, 1999 at 09:19:03
    I suffered a spinal cord injury and as a result had to have a disk removed from my neck.  As a result of this I developed a ringing in my ears and a fairly severe nervous condition.  I am a public speaker and the stress makes the nervous condition much worse.  The doctor put me on Xanax - .5mg once a day.  This helped some.  The doctor told me that I would probably have to be on Xanax the rest of my life.  I have heard some disturbing things about Xanax.  Should I be concerned?
     Is there another approach to the problem that I need to take?  Perhaps another medication?
Please respond.
Thanks

[CCF MD GS]

Posted By CCF MD GS on April 28, 1999 at 13:12:27
Thanks for your question. Sorry to hear about your problem. Xanax is a good medication for trteating anxiety but it is also a potentially dangerous medication which can be very addicting. If the problem mostly involves anxiety related to public speaking then a few other choices are available. If you have not do so, involvement in therapy with biofeedback and relaxation may be a good non medication way to proceed. From a medication standpoint beta blockers are often employed. A less addictive anti anxiety medication would be buspar. It may be worthwhile to consult a psychiatrist to help determine which medication is best for you. Good luck
This information is provided for general medical education purposes only. Please consult your doctor regarding diagnostic and treatment options.

[Dan__0]

Posted By Dan on May 09, 1999 at 17:28:59
Thanks for responding Doc:
The neurosurgon that preformed the surgery said I was lucky that I could still walk following the accident.  He said they picked broken pieces of bone out of my spinal cord.  And that because of the accident and the surgery that followed he said I might have some side effects.  When I went back and told him of the loud ringing and the nervous condition, he said, "I expected much worse."  He then put me on Xanax but that was only after we tried several other drugs but I could not tolerate any of them or they had no effect on the ringing or the nervous condition.  Xanax was the only one I could tolerate.  So it looks like I am going to be on Xanax the rest of my life - maybe I'll have a short life span - Ha Ha.  I hope I do not become a Xanax horror story like the ones I have read on the net.
Thanks
Dan










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