Posted by Rathrbfishn on May 21, 2002, at 19:21:13
In reply to Re: Thanks all, and a few more questions, posted by Squiggles on May 21, 2002, at 6:32:56
Hi Squiggles
Yes my xanax dosage has increased since I started it in 85. That is the nature of a PAD disorder and xanax because of it's short half life.
Originally started at .5mgs, 4 times/day. By the end of the first year I was taking 4mgs/day. In 89 my pdoc increased the dosage to 6mgs/day. In 98 he gave me the option to take up to 8mgs/day if needed. The if needed part was because I was advancing in my work up the corporate ladder and often had to do public speaking, attend high level meetings, etc. I found that I would have some breakthrough panic in these new situations and that is just not an option I could tolerate when involved in these new responsibilities.
I usually stay at about 6mgs/day though.
With PAD and xanax you start at a low dose, allow your body to adust to the side effects, then continue to titrate up until the panic is under control. Since I only occasionally have depressive episodes, and the AD's don't work for me, xanax was the ticket. The medical evidence that xanax has mild anti-depressent properties is fairly well established.
You are probably right that you were not taking enough xanax. It's half life is about 4-6 hours. If you were only taking it 2 times/day you were probably getting rebound anxiety. For xanax to be effective, if your taking it daily, it is usually rx'd 3-4 times/day. Rebound anxiety is usually worse than the original anxiety that you started xanax for in the first place. However the klonopin, with it's much longer half life, should have taken care of that problem, but I guess not in your case.
I prefere to think of my use of xanax as a medical dependence rather than an addiction. Addiction has different characteristics associated with it than when taking a potentially addictive med for a properly diagnosed chronic illness. There is little doubt that it is a difficult drug to withdraw from at any dose after a long period of use, but the key is to do it slowly and under medical supervision. There is really not much difference for some in withdrawing from a benzo as any other psych drug, with the exception of a different set of symptoms. Just read all the posts about people having problems withdrawing from the ssri's.
Hope I've answered you question, I got off track a little.
poster:Rathrbfishn
thread:106961
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020517/msgs/107204.html