how safe is xanax every day?

[SNOOPY]

When I was diagnosed, I basically was just told MS can affect my mobility and that was all.
Depression was never mentioned and I feel like it can get overlooked. I guess that is why I mention it so often.

I have had the opposite experience. I have had my neuro and my PCP blame MS for depression.

I have dealt with depression, anxiety/panic attacks and suicidal thoughts, none of this has anything to do with MS. I don't use anti-depressants, I don't need them...I no longer deal with depression or suicidal thoughts except when medication induced.

My point is: Yes, depression can be common for many with this disease but many people with and without MS have depression. Not every case of depression, even when having MS, is related to this disease.

I really do hope Wellbutin helps you

[sunshine008]

thanks for all the info everyone's provided. I appreciate it. I dont' take it often, yet I may look into switching to Klonipin if things dont calm down around me a bit.

I hit another relapse today. Thought it was just symptoms yet realizing now it isnt' lol

anyway, i dont' think an ssri is needed right now, i'm not depressed amazingly i thank the gym and all my supplements for keeping me even. yet i can't seem to control my anxiety when difficult situations arise. I can feel myself getting too caught up in the situation.

it's either that or lotto and huge life change...... that would be great! they say money can't buy happiness yet i could def. fix alot of junk around here with it

[lemstar]

SSRIs treat anxiety

My husband is a clinical psychologist, who specializes in anxiety. SSRIs are not just for depression; they are used to target anxiety as well.

[artfuldodger]

Xanax, clonazapam, ativan and valium are all benzos. they work on your gaba receptors. Consider looking up Heather Ashton on the web, a world renowned expert on benzo usage and withdrawal. (20 year clinic in england) The major differences in the medications are in the time it takes to act and wash out of your system. And the different euphoria each may provide. Xanax and Ativan are watched very carefully, as it works very quick, provides a better euphoric affect for most, and has a much greater potential for abuse. It is a popular street drug for this reason.

Dr. Ashton has an excellent manual (on the web for FREE) that will allow the concerned consumer to weigh the risks and benefits involved when considering to take this medication. Her manual covers the psychological and physiological affects in great detail.

[jimmyd787]

ativan

ativan (lorazepem) is a benzodiazepine it's really addictive

so it klonipin (clonazepam).

almost anything with a generic name ending in "epam"

is a benzo.

jim davis
paramedic
i've used versed (midazalom), valium (diazepam) and ativan on patients in the back of my bambulance for many, many years...

[Skinny]

Hi there I have been taking xanax for 12 years now on and off. I always have it in my purse due to panic attcks. I take it before bed sometimes when my head is spinning with thoughs. I also take it before any blood work or tests that are grusome.
I know lots of people think its addictive however as many years as I have been taking it on and off I can take it anytime I need it only and be fine not takeing it for some time after with no affacts at all.
Xanax make my life managable and the tests that they do to me every week not so bad.
I am not afraid of Xanax and I have taken it on and off again with no side effects at all or withraw symtoms. Its a wonderful medication that has helped me indoor some really bad times.

[artfuldodger]

The complicating factor with benzos is there is no precise timeline for individuals. Some are quicker to gain tolerance and some much slower. I have worked with individuals who took them only for a week and ran into problems and individuals that took them for 30 years before tolerance developed. The prescribers often leave their patients out on a limb when tolerance develops saying it is in their heads. As I suggested earlier in this thread, Dr. Ashton's manual is an excellent source for information on benzos. Benzo usage has a strong potential for making the severity of panic attacks and runaway thoughts worse. Doses and or frequency may have to be increased. Then one day tolerance kicks in and they no longer work. Alternative methods such as meditation, white noise, cognitive therapy, diet and exercise (as much as can be tolerated) have been very successful in the treatment of panic attacks and a cluttered mind.


Unfortunately, withdrawal from these drugs is not similar to opiates or even alcohol (benzos work on the same receptors as alcohol-gaba-) It takes months/years to safely taper off these drugs and the side effects after cessation, in my experience with individuals, often last for months or years.

Most of the people I dealt with were not abusing them. They were accidental addicts, following a doctor's orders. Dr. Ashton describes her work dealing with hundreds of these patients over a 20 year period in her English clinic. Her work lead to the rewriting of the protocol for the administration of these drugs in England.

Finally, these drugs should never be stopped without consulting a doctor. They have anti-convulsive properties that can lead to alarming circumstances.

[SNOOPY]

As I suggested earlier in this thread, Dr. Ashton's manual is an excellent source for information on benzos. Benzo usage has a strong potential for making the severity of panic attacks and runaway thoughts worse. Alternative methods such as meditation, white noise, cognitive therapy, diet and exercise (as much as can be tolerated) have been very successful in the treatment of panic attacks and a cluttered mind.

For those interested in Dr. Ashton's manual I found this URL, it is quite interesting:
http://www.benzo.org.uk/ashsupp11.htm

artfuldodger,

I agree with much of what you have said. I have done both CBT and DBT (my therapist worked with both). Exercise is something I have always done since getting the diagnosis of MS, I have not gotten the hang of meditation but I do practice breathing I have not tried white noise.

Like Skinny, I keep Klonopin in my purse...Klonopin goes where I go...just in case. I don't use Klonopin on a regular basis (now) only as needed.

I am fortunate Klonopin does help and I have not had the opposite affect (making anxiety/panic attacks worse). I have not become addicted and at the first indication I am using Klonopin to just use it or if I feel I am becoming addicted...I am done. I am very cautious about Benzos and medications in general.

A Benzo, for me, means the difference between irrational thinking and being impulsive or thinking clearly and working though what I need to.

The anxiety/panic attacks I have are a result of PTSD, they are not a stand alone diagnosis.

lemstar, your husband is correct...SSRI & SSNRI can help not only with depression but anxiety. However, not everyone can take them...I am a perfect example of that.

[lemstar]

I dont respond well to SSRIs or SNRIs either. Which brings me back to that medical marijuana post.....that is my SSRI.....as well as muscle relaxer, mood elevater, and neuroprotection....

[SNOOPY]

I dont respond well to SSRIs or SNRIs either. Which brings me back to that medical marijuana post.....that is my SSRI.....as well as muscle relaxer, mood elevater, and neuroprotection....

I have tried MMJ but for pain. What I found was MMJ increased my vibrations/buzzing, did not help the pain but I did find looking at the computer quite funny

So, in my case mmj is out <sigh>

[Jules A]

Xanax, clonazapam, ativan and valium are all benzos. they work on your gaba receptors. Consider looking up Heather Ashton on the web, a world renowned expert on benzo usage and withdrawal. (20 year clinic in england) The major differences in the medications are in the time it takes to act and wash out of your system. And the different euphoria each may provide. Xanax and Ativan are watched very carefully, as it works very quick, provides a better euphoric affect for most, and has a much greater potential for abuse. It is a popular street drug for this reason.
.

Benzos to me are like steroids, both a blessing and a curse. For prn use they can be very helpful although it is the rare person that can tolerate them in this capacity without needing to increase the dose and or frequency.

As someone who has watched many patients in benzo withdrawal it is nasty and the risk of seizure makes it very dangerous.

Buyer beware I guess and fwiw I have known a lot of addicts to all types of substances and one thing most of them have in common is that they deny they have a problem.

[kt]

~

Hey there~

Always remember...
talk to your doctor if you're unhappy and see if you can switch and maybe try the Klonopin. I have read in several of my MS books that Klonopin is helpful for calming mood and spasms(that's a biggy w/ me... no matter what they put me on, they don't go away. ever!! even the knots) but yes, people with MS can get put on higher doses of Klonopin, if tolerable, and again~ this is according to my books, no crediting me! hehe.

I have been on Klonopin but that was before my MS(anxiety issues) and I don't recall having symptoms back then but I remember it didn't help calm me down in the slightest. I'm on Xanax time released (one pill a day) and it really does help me out but..

I can't say it gets rid of spasms for me. Again, everyone's different so maybe it'd work for the next kid. But wow~ when I picture how I was before Xanax time released and now, woooooow, difference in mood, almost completely. It has helped me to be well balanced.

Infact, if anyone knows what does get rid of spasms~ please let me know. I am already on two muscle relaxers and nothing is helping!

[SNOOPY]

Infact, if anyone knows what does get rid of spasms~ please let me know. I am already on two muscle relaxers and nothing is helping!

Have you tried working with a Physical Therapist (PT)? Exercise, gentle stretching, PT, yoga, pilates, swimming, ect. have been shown to help with spasticity and other MS symptoms such as pain and fatigue (for some).

[Spydre]

I just wanted to put my 2 cents in here. I used to be on xanax as needed - and could take it up to three times a day - I have a bit of a problem with anxiety. Because of the huge amounts of anxiety attacks I was having, my psychiatrist switched to Klonopin, which is supposed to be longer lasting. The problem with taking either regularly is that your body can become dependant on it - and when it becomes dependent on it, when you take it away, it will go through withdrawal - which can result in seizures. So while I have the Klonopin, even when I have anxiety attacks, I try not to take them.

[Spydre]

i'm pretty familiar with pyschiatric meds, yet i've never used xanax before. my neuro was fighting me that klonipin was an ssri not a benzo.

so i gave up the fight. he said don't worry about addiction now. I dont' take it each night, camping I needed it bigtime. yet i'm back home and i think only used it once.

we have alot of stress in our home still, marriage issues, my daughter who has been off the charts lately. my oldest moved back in and we just learned we have a huge problem with my stepson.

so it's been intense, always seems to be here. he doesnt' want me to continue having relapses due to my environment that is triggering me. no amt of yoga can calm one thru this mess.

Your neuro was telling you that Klonopin was an SSRI rather than a benzo?