Question:
: Hi again! Have posted a few times about taking Xanax for the past 2 weeks. : It was originally prescribed for stress due to the fact that I have two : children (3 and 14) months and am an isolated stay at home mom. I : definitely needed something to diminish my perpetual anxiety and stess; : however, my husband and I have both noticed I’m handling the everyday stress : a lot better, but feel the Xanax is also causing panic attacks. Had very : racing heart before due to situational events, but now become anxious and : have panick attacks for no reason at all such as riding in the car. Help!!! : Is it the medication and just a horrible side effect? Am I on the wrong : dose (.25mg 3 times day)? Or is my stress manifesting itself in a new way? : Help! Feeling a little worse than when I started the meds. : Thanks, Hi Suzanne, I have never heard of Xanax *causing* panic. If anything, your Xanax dosage may be too low, allowing panic attacks to break through. Even twice your current dosage would be considered a low dosage. I suggest you discuss this with your doctor. Xanax is best used on a PRN (as needed) basis, and many people with similar situations use Klonopin (a medication related to Xanax but longer lasting) for daily use, with some Xanax handy for break-through attacks. Again, just a suggestion that you should discuss with your doctor. Best Wishes, Arthur
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi again! Have posted a few times about taking Xanax for the past 2 weeks. It was originally prescribed for stress due to the fact that I have two children (3 and 14) months and am an isolated stay at home mom. I definitely needed something to diminish my perpetual anxiety and stess; however, my husband and I have both noticed I’m handling the everyday stress a lot better, but feel the Xanax is also causing panic attacks. Had very racing heart before due to situational events, but now become anxious and have panick attacks for no reason at all such as riding in the car. Help!!! Is it the medication and just a horrible side effect? Am I on the wrong dose (.25mg 3 times day)? Or is my stress manifesting itself in a new way? Help! Feeling a little worse than when I started the meds. Thanks, Suzanne Hi Suzanne! These are not known side effects of Xanax. On the contrary it’s *the* med for avoiding or *stopping* PA’s very quickly. You might want to try to take .5 mg when you feel a PA coming on. If that causes more panic instead of stopping it you may have an adverse reaction to Xanax in which case this is not the med for you. It is rare but it happens. Maybe you would want to switch to Ativan in that case which is much like Xanax but different enough to be tolerated better. Philip
I agree with Philip. I could not tolerate Xanax, but Ativan works great for me. Karen
Response:
Now the doctor is willing to quadruple that amount for the next month (which is still a low dosage in my opinion) but the pharmacist is asking lots of questions now. Hi Betsy, You shouldn’t have to argue with the pharmacist. His job is to fill prescriptions. If he has any questions, ask him to call your doctor who gave you the script (and argue with him, IF HE DARES). I needed Xanax 10 mg/day (TEN), at one point in the past, to block my panic attacks. This dosage was prescribed by a Professor of Psychiatry at the UCSF School of Medicine. The usual dosage range for panic disorder is Xanax 2 to 4 mg/day, starting at 0.25 or 0.5 mg three times daily, and increasing slowly, if necessary, to a dosage level that blocks PAs. Hope this helps, Chip
Response:
Hi again! Have posted a few times about taking Xanax for the past 2 weeks. It was originally prescribed for stress due to the fact that I have two children (3 and 14) months and am an isolated stay at home mom. I definitely needed something to diminish my perpetual anxiety and stess; however, my husband and I have both noticed I’m handling the everyday stress a lot better, but feel the Xanax is also causing panic attacks. Had very racing heart before due to situational events, but now become anxious and have panick attacks for no reason at all such as riding in the car. Help!!! Is it the medication and just a horrible side effect? Am I on the wrong dose (.25mg 3 times day)? Or is my stress manifesting itself in a new way? Help! Feeling a little worse than when I started the meds. Thanks, Suzanne
Hi Suzanne! These are not known side effects of Xanax. On the contrary it’s *the* med for avoiding or *stopping* PA’s very quickly. You might want to try to take .5 mg when you feel a PA coming on. If that causes more panic instead of stopping it you may have an adverse reaction to Xanax in which case this is not the med for you. It is rare but it happens. Maybe you would want to switch to Ativan in that case which is much like Xanax but different enough to be tolerated better. Philip
Response:
Am I on the wrong dose (.25mg 3 times day)? Or is my stress manifesting itself in a new way?
My opinion is that your dose is too low. The reason I think this is because that is the exact same dose that I’ve been on for three weeks and it hasn’t made any difference. I haven’t been on xanax ( or anything else) for four and a half years.( so I know what to expect) I recently decided to stop torturing myself because nothing else was working. I asked my doctor for a prescription to ease back on to them and he phoned in a prescription for .5 mg once a day at bedtime. I knew what a waste that would be so I broke them in half and took half when I woke up and half three hours later. Mornings are when I need help most. I am now doing battle with my insurance company because they only allow one month’s supply at a time. Now the doctor is willing to quadruple that amount for the next month(which is still a low dosage in my opinion) but the pharmacist is asking lots of questions now. I don’t know if I’m getting a new prescription or not.This is part of the reason I was reluctant to resume medication. Every month when it came time to call the pharmacy for a refill, I never knew what to expect. Sorry to make a long story out of that. To answer the question in the subject line, in 1982, before I was on xanax, I took a med called Centrax twice. Both times I had trouble yawning and swallowing and I hyperventilated and had the worst anxiety attack of my life. I never had any problem with xanax and if I don’t get my prescription before I run out, I don’t even expect it to be a problem on that low of a dose. Betsy
Response:
Hi again! Have posted a few times about taking Xanax for the past 2 weeks. It was originally prescribed for stress due to the fact that I have two children (3 and 14) months and am an isolated stay at home mom. I definitely needed something to diminish my perpetual anxiety and stess; however, my husband and I have both noticed I’m handling the everyday stress a lot better, but feel the Xanax is also causing panic attacks. Had very racing heart before due to situational events, but now become anxious and have panick attacks for no reason at all such as riding in the car. Help!!! Is it the medication and just a horrible side effect? Am I on the wrong dose (.25mg 3 times day)? Or is my stress manifesting itself in a new way? Help! Feeling a little worse than when I started the meds. Thanks, Suzanne
If you like this post and would like to receive updates from this blog, please subscribe our feed.