Posted by Elizabeth on March 28, 1999, at 4:56:49
In reply to I'M AFRAID TO TAKE THE XANAX, posted by Chris on March 27, 1999, at 7:48:03
> I recently had ovarian cyst surgery since the surgery which turned out fine--I have been having hot flashes, chills, sense of dread, racing thoughts, extremely upset stomach, gagging, etc. after extensive blood tests, hormone tests, etc. my doctors (gastrologist and internist) have concluded that I am having anxiety attacks--first tried prozac, which made me stay up 48 hours straight, then buspar, which made me have a stiff neck and extreme muscle spasms, NOW XANAX (0.25 mg) to be taken twice a day "as needed". I am scared to death to try this because I have no idea what will happen next. Any suggestions? She also gave me Hyoscyamine for stomach pain (an antispasmotic). I have never taken much medication in my life. I'm the kind of person who suffered through childbirth, even a headache because I hate meds. Please help!
Hi Chris. Wow, you've been through a lot, and I understand how hesitant you're feeling about starting this med. But you don't deserve to be suffering so much, and I really do think that Xanax could help a lot with the symptoms you're describing without making you more uncomfortable.
Xanax is a great med for people who are sensitive to side effects (as most people who have panic attacks are!), because Xanax hardly has any side effects! The main ones are things like sleepiness and dizziness. (Don't drive after taking it.) If you take it regularly, you'll get used to this and after a while you probably won't notice anything. It's a very easy med to take.
And it is known to work very well for the kind of anxiety you're experiencing, the feelings of dread, etc. - even the physical symptoms like hot flashes and the GI stuff may get better once the anxiety is dealt with.
People do say that Xanax is addicting. This is true in a sense, *but* it is certainly possible to take Xanax and not get addicted, if you take it "as needed" rather than all the time, and keep the dose low (basically, don't abuse it!). For some people, it is necessary to take Xanax every day at a set dose (usually divided into three or four doses, as Xanax is pretty short-acting). In this case, the only "addiction"-like thing is that you can't stop taking Xanax all of a sudden. You have to decrease the dose slowly under a doctor's supervision, and it can take quite a while. It can be perfectly comfortable, though, as long as you and your doctor do it right (and don't try to go off the med before you are ready).
I hope that you'll be willing to give Xanax a try, just once. Unlike BuSpar and Prozac, Xanax will work right away - within an hour, possibly even a half hour. Let yourself get relief from this - you're worth it.
poster:Elizabeth
thread:4061
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990301/msgs/4094.html