On Xanax 1 mg. 3 tms aday.

[sandy603]

Ive been on this for more than half my life. Im 58 years old. The doctor that had me on it has retired.
The new doctors won't give it to me , wants me to try other things which I have but they all make me sick. What can I do?  Does anybody have any help advice for me..   This is scarey , but I take my medicine as Im suppose to, Im not a drug addict.. The new doctor says I am.  please help me ..

Sandy603

[MysticSoul9]

I worked with psychiatric patients for over 12 years in reducing their medications. All drugs used to treat anxiety are powerful and can cause neuroadaptation which requires a careful titration off of them. They are not to be taken lightly and while the withdrawal wont kill you like alcohol will it can be extremely painful and cause seizures and heart issues.

About 20 years ago the UK government decided that too many people were on benzos and AD's and told physicians to cut them off. Thousands of people went into severe withdrawal and their lives came to a sudden stop. Dozens of call centers and support groups were set up to help these patients. Since withdrawal can take up to 2 years of more there were many sick people who could no longer function.

This dose of Xanax is not small - but at your age getting off and the potential for severe suffering may not be worth it. As one poster said as we age these drugs are more toxic to the body and after these years they are probably not offering any therapeutic effect. NIH now says benzo lose their effect in as little as 6 months then all you are doing it preventing withdrawals. There were many studies released in the past few years that AD's are often not any more effective than placebos.

These are tough choices!!

[Nataraja]

For what it's worth, I am on the same dose of Xanax and have been for about 15 years. I am under the supervision of a Psychiatrist who was previously a drug counselor for a decade. He has been very comfortable with my situation, which sounds similar to Sandy's, and has explained that there is a huge difference between psychological addiction and physical dependence; because of this difference, he is comfortable with my own continued use of this medication since I have not altered my dose in all of these years.

Again, my doctor, who is a Psychiatrist and also a very good doctor, was previously a drug treatment counselor. He has specifically explained to me the distinction between drug dependence and drug addiction. They are behavioral, primarily. The use of any regularly ingested substance will cause dependence of various sorts, as will the need for many medications. These are not good analogies for this situation at all though. Because "addiction" is behavioral while "dependence" or "habituation" is physiological. Can there be cross-over? Sure. But what's it to anyone else. If Sandy is comfortable on her medication, she should be allowed to continue on it. I personally have been appalled at doctors who don't seem to understand that if I don't take Xanax, I could have a seizure.

This has happened when I've run out of medication once and the ER refused to fill my prescription when a previous doctor extended her vacation without any office oversight. They tried to send me to a drug treatment facility, moreover. It was a belittling experience. I wound up returning with my lawyer to file a formal complaint with the ER which is probably still on record, explaining that they had failed to distinguish between "addiction" and "dependence" and had subsequently also caused me to go home untreated and have an entirely preventable seizure.

Yet I take other medication which I cannot live without, for unrelated conditions, which they don't care at all about.

The stigmatization of patients who are on long term benzos should really stop. For me, I struggled with untreated panic disorder from the time that I was about ten years old until I was twenty. Didn't have a clue what was wrong with me. My family probably spent thousands of dollars on pointless talk therapy. The Psychiatrists who I finally saw tried to give me Lithium (?) for completely unknown reasons; I'm not in the least bipolar and don't even suffer from Depression other than mild S.A.D. which isn't even every year. I'm pretty level-headed and totally grounded, actually. But nonetheless, it wasn't until I became completely agorophobic and wouldn't leave my house at all that someone bothered to try Xanax, which from pill one onward, made me feel "normal" again.

I never even felt side effects from it. Why anyone would seek it out like an addict is beyond me. I've taken up to 2 mgs at a time before a flight and at most, it makes me feel a tiny bit sleepy. Nothing more. I've heard many people feel all sorts of stuff from it, but for some of us, that isn't the case, sorry. And so why would we be addicts? It would be, for me, like being addicted to lettuce.

I do get wretched withdrawals from it. Teeth grinding. Delerium. Horrific panic. All sorts of stuff. But I'm also willing to cope with that considering how much worse I feel without my medication.

I take it exactly as prescribed for fifteen years.

When I've had to change doctors, sometimes some are really judgmental.

My life couldn't be more stable now though. I am a full-time teacher with a child and a husband and a functional life. I never, ever thought that I would be much more than some housebound recluse suffering from dozens and dozens of panic attacks each day, not even knowing what they were. That wasn't life. It was Hell, sorry.

Now, I don't honestly think I could get "high" or whatever from Xanax. I've also never been addicted to any substances. I don't smoke. I don't drink. I don't drink coffee. I am a really temperate person. So what exactly is the problem with taking a medication, as prescribed, which changes your life to make it functional when you were previously totally not functional? That kind of proposal just isn't humane. Let alone scientifically sound in terms of this hysteria about addiction vs. dependence, both of which are distinct states of being, one being behavioral (based on physiological) and the other being solely physiological. But even if this was a sound line of argument, what exactly would be the point of it?

Nothing.

I would warn any person who considered starting Xanax that it caused dependence and in some people could cause addiction too, which could lead to misuse. I would probably strongly advise a friend considering it against it unless they were truly suffering beyond a reasonable state for a long period of time. I know about the horror stories, definitely. I've had a few of my own. Nonetheless, for some people, we're better off. If it's not hurting you or anyone else, where precisely is either the wisdom, the logic, or even the ethics in persecuting people for their choices?

The situation that the original poster is in frankly *****. I hope she can advocate well for herself. Sometimes I've been in her shoes and these doctors think they're helping when they aren't always. That's just the truth. Doctors sometimes make poor decisions based in ideology not medical reason, or sometimes in popular trends in medicine which run counter to longer traditions or ethics. We've all dealt with dumb doctors, I'm sure. I feel for the original poster. I would hope others would too. Anxiety is not "all in your head." It's a real medical disorder with real medical and psychological side effects, like any other medical problem. It should be treated as such.

[Emily_MHManager]

Hi everyone -

Let's stick to giving Sandy advice, and if anyone would like to debate dependency vs addiction, PMs are a great place for that.

Thanks!

Emily

[RubyWitch]

This is a really classic example of someone coming to this forum for help amd having it hijacked right out from under them. Sandy has been done a real disservice by those who took the less important aspect of her post and turned it into their own personal rant. Do you think either of you have helped sandy with her problem? Is it possible that all you've done is confuse her even more?

Any further debate on the subject of addiction, dependance or tolerance needs to be carried out via PMs.

If either of you has any constructive advice about what sandy should do in her current situation, feel free to contribute, otherwise you need to move on.

Thank you
Greenlydia



  

[carmen802]

and I do go to therapy once a month.

[carmen802]

I would find a new doctor.I had a very simulair experiance with my ex doctor. I went to him with high anxiety and asked him for Xanax.(I've also been taking Zoloft 50mg for yrs at this point.) He yelled at me and told me I'm not depressed and Xanax can mask depression. I looked at him like-are you serious?? Anyway,he would not help me,so I was lucky enough to get into a phyciatrist that same day,and he upped my Zoloft to 100mg and gave me Ativan 0.5mg 3 x a day as needed. I take maybe 2 Ativan's a week.My therapist and phyciatrist both told me that at that dose it is not addicting.
Right now I need Zoloft and Ativan as needed.I have GAD,and it needs to be treated.
Just like someone with diabetes,they need their insulin.

[my_mayberry]

oh my, this one sure took off! i think the discussion about what defines addiction is a healthy one, though. no one will question physical dependence to this drug, but is that true addiction? well, i define addiction as abuse of a medication. abuse, to me, is taking more of a medication or taking for purposes it wasn't intended for...such as to feel good. there is no indication of abuse here...only someone who's been thrown into a horribly messy situation they don't deserve to be in.

i'll clarify that what i meant was simply for the poster to consider altering the dose if they felt a need to. as we age, we don't always age according to a book. perhaps for this person, no alterations will ever need to be made. just something to consider. it's also interesting the contrast between the addiction forum responses (where this started) and the anxiety forum, where this ended.

i think this poster will have much better luck here, though. i don't think any abuse exists. and i can't believe any dr would discontinue this drug after so many years and on that dose. that's not a doctor.

[RubyWitch]

Sentence above should read, "But let's NOT get that far ahead just yet."
Sorry

[RubyWitch]

First thing is to fire your new doctor.
ANY doctor who would refuse to prescribe a medication you've been on for many, many years, ESPECIALLY a benzodiazepine like Xanax, does NOT have adequate education about psychotropic drugs. If this doctor simply called you a drug addict and has refused to write a script for Xanax, is proof positive they don't have any business whatsoever dealing with these types of meds. Going "cold turkey," from Xanax at the dose you were for the amount of time you were on it is putting your life at risk. One of the posters above tole you that abruptly stopping Xanax can cause seizures and that is 100% true. What they didn't say was that in quite a few cases, those seizures are fatal.

The debate about "addiction," "tolerance," and "dependance," will be waged for years to come. All of us who take a benzo, either long or short term, have our own hard and fast beliefs on this subject.

What I believe and what my Psychiatric Medication Manager agrees with is that if a medication is working for you, if it is allowing you to live a "normal" life, if you are not having to up the dose to maintain a level of peace and comfort, then there is no reason to stop taking it unless the PATIENT wants to! At which point, the process of tapering off the Xanax will be discussed in great detail and a plan will be implemented.

I don't know where you live, but if you're in or near a large city, I advise finding a PMM, (Psychiatric Medication Manager) many psychiatrists have one on staff or know of one they refer their own clients to. You and the PMM will discuss if it's YOUR desire to w/d from the Xanax or if you wish to continue the regime you're on currently. The PMM can write your scripts and you'll be under his or her care for any and all psychotripic meds from that point on. (They ONLY deal with the medication aspect, you will not be in therapy with them)

If you encounter difficulty finding one, let me know and I'll see if my PMM can locate one in your area.

To the poster who wrote that these types of medications need to be prescribed more carefully as we age is correct. The PDR and most pharmaceutical journals lists a Geriatric dose. A person of 58 is NOT in the geriatric category.

See if it's possible to speak with the doctor who retired about this situation. He may not be able to do anything, but I'm guessing he'd have some very good advice for you.

I wish you the very best. Please keep us updated about your situation. If you are not given a new prescription and run out of Xanax, you're going to need help. We can advise you what to do. But let's get that far ahead just yet.
Peace
Greenlydia

[ritacita]

You MUST find an MD  now who knows what to do with Xanax and give you your personal  CHOICES which might mean tapering over a period of time and/ or trying something like  an SSRI which takes a few weeks to adjust to.   There is a difference between addiction, dependence and tolerance and the MD has to figure that out with you.  You need a professional to explain this to you.  Please do........

[crazin]

Why did you feel the need to speak about this when you obviously have no idea what you're talking about? Sandy undoubtedly has a benzo DEPENDENCE and TOLERANCE after using for so long, but that does not equate to ADDICTION. Addicts are generally DEPENDENT and have a TOLERANCE to their drugs of choice, but the inverse is not always true. To the contrary, I would say that considering the relatively low dose (considering the length of use) Sandy has maintained, she is not an addict. After that many years of use, an addict would likely be at a much higher dose.

Sandy, I wish you the best of luck finding a doctor who will help you. The sad reality is that many, if not most are ignorant regarding these matters.

[my_mayberry]

theres no point in coming off this drug now unless you want to or its causing problems. i agree that you should try other things and that you should actually try living without taking a benzodiazepine daily.....but i don't agree that it should be done this way.

find a new doctor!

in the future - consider discontinuing this med. you've been on it for a long long time and if you are at a steady state where you are not needing to increase dose and it is effective, then i guess there's no point. it is true that you are physically dependent....however, if there is no psychological addiction and you are experiencing no problems, then i don't see an immediate need to discontinue this drug.

one thing to consider, though, is that as people age, this class of drug becomes less stable in how it will affect us. i would, at the very least, consider slowly starting to reduce your dose within the coming years.

[Rich99]

"""""Im not a drug addict.. The new doctor says I am.""""
I agree with your new doctor because you are physically addicted after that many years on that drug.    Most people have the perception that a 'drug addict' is only someone smoking crack,  doing heroin, meth, etc in private in order to get high again and again or get to the desired feeling they crave.     Rx's are just as addictive,  especially the benzos and can be tougher to withdraw from than some street drugs.    So to say you're not addicted would be false.    Having said that,  you do need to work with another doctor on a taper plan if you want to get off the drug.   HOWEVER,  there are some out there who are resigned to having to take a benzo or other drug for the rest of their lives.    Maybe you fall into that category.   It all depends on what your goals are.   I wish you the best whatever you decide to do.  

[Bkitty]

~Hi Im not liking what I hear about your new doctor,,First that medication should never ever be stopped without a taper,,that will put you at a risk for a seizure. Is there another doctor that you can speak to or change to? Why does the new doctor feel you are a addict? ( Im not saying you are by all means,,just trying to figure his rationale out) Did he offer you any other choices?