Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Xanax
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Jul 21, 2008 04:20PM
, Jul 21, 2008 04:20PM
To: wethersfield
It is not so much that the medication fails, its more like the underlying anxiety spikes, and the medication is not enough to quiet that. That is a real problem, but you and your doctor would be tempted to increase the dose, but xanax can become a very addicting medication, and really tough to stop if you keep on increasing the dose...Instead, try looking into the source of your anxiety and think of the xanax as something to take the edge off, rather than avoid the problem.
Member Comments (2)
by ILADVOCATE, Aug 18, 2008 10:43PM
To: Wethersfield
Xanax is the most short acting out of the anti-anxiety agents. It is easy to build up a tolerance to it. There are other ones that are longer lasting and less likely for a person to build up a tolerance to. For example, I've been on Klonopin for 10 years and although I've had to raise it a few times under my psychiatrist's direction, its been effective. All of these medications called benzodiazepenes have a potential for building up a tolerance to and if used incorrectly additction. But Xanax was meant to be used short term. As always speak to your psychiatrist but there are anti-anxiety agents that are longer lasting and are far less likely to cause this effect.
Post Comment
