Question:
I was recently prescribed Xanax and I noticed.........

when I take it swallow it that does not last that long. However, today for some reason I let it dissolve under my tongue and it appeared that I felt it not only quicker but it seemed to last longer than it did when I swallowed it!! Do any of the post-ops use xanax and if so how long and did this drug affect your weight loss experience? Please tell me your experience and if it has helped you in every aspect of your life. I need to know all of the post-ops who take this drug and what kind of affect that you had. How long have you been taking this drug, etc. It seems to be helping me cope quite a bit and it is taking my shakes and anxiety away. I did not know that I was in such bad shape until my life was struck with a painful and horrible tradegy! Please respond and tell me your experiences!!! Thanks, Shirley    — Shirley M. (posted on June 18, 2003)

June 18, 2003
Shirley... I am the queen of painful and tragic for the past five years... my profile doesn't list even one-half of it! I took Xanax, Ativan (stronger than Xanax and valium), and valium for the past two years... and had "heck" getting off of them. They helped for a while, but then they started to make things worse instead of better. The side effects are just as bad as the anxiety that put me on them, and getting off of them brought my panic attacks back ten times worse. But... I have been completely off of them for a few weeks now, and I am not having panic attacks any more, at all! Now, as for weight loss... they slow you down dramatically. You don't move around as much, don't have near the energy you used to have, even before surgery! I couldn't stand the "blanked" and "muffeled" feeling they gave me after a while. I did have major problems judging distances and ended up hitting a few things (stationary objects) when I tried to park. I had to quit driving completely for nearly a year, and it has taken me months to re-learn how to drive. Be careful. ONLY use them when you absolutely need them. They are SO addicting... after a while, you end up NEEDING them to zone out... it is like they help you with anxiety, but then they put you so far out, you don't want to come back. Again, read my profile... it will show you how the drugs were affecting me... you can see it in my writing! Good luck, girl. I'm praying for you!
   — Sharon M. B.

June 18, 2003
Shirley I've been taking Xanax .5mg 3 X's/day since 1994 when I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, previously known as (chronic fatigue syndrom), I have found this med very helpful in reducing the muscle knots caused from Fibromyalga or if you will anxiety. When I miss a dose of Xanax I have a tendency to feel anxious as this is a side effect of your body being hooked. My physician isn't to concerned about it due to the fact I take it as prescribed, however, if I should want to go off the Xanax the dose would have to be decreased gradually until my body overcomes the addiction. Xanax hasn't hindered my weight loss at all and has helped tremendously in most aspects of my life. One thing I discovered with Xanax and this was before my WLS, don't use alcohol while taking the drug it will through you for a loop! flat on your As----booty!
   — Barbara M.

June 18, 2003
The reason it acted faster and stronger when you put it under your tongue is because medicines absorb quicker when taken sublingualy rather than orally. Check with your doc and make sure its ok for you to take it that way. Maybe you just need your dosage increased or a different med.
   — Donna W.

June 18, 2003
Xanies are far too prescribed I think. They're extremely addictive. I know for myself I build a tolerance for them quickly. And I had a friend who was strung on them. She had a horrible incident in her life and had post traumatic stress syndrome. She also developed a tolerance to them and ended up needing larger doses. She would sometimes have to take more of them on some days just to control her anxiety problems. But of course she would run out of her prescription before the next one and when she ran out the withdrawal was horrible. I mean really horrible. Panic attacks, nausea, vomitting, shaking. Have you considered having your doctor put you on something like Zoloft with Ativan for when you have panic attacks. Thats what I ended up doing after a bad incident. After the zoloft was on board and I got a high enough dose going for a while I didn't need the Ativan anymore. A couple years later I was even able to go off of that too. If you plan on NOT being on xanax forever you may want to discuss using a different drug with your doctor. Some doctors won't even consider taking you off of it once you've started so you can imagine a couple years down the road if you want to stop taking it!
   — Shelly S.

June 18, 2003
I take one 0.5mg alprazolam(Xanax)tablet nightly in order to sleep through the night. Have for years. Have never had to increase my dosage. Perhaps because I see addicted people every day in my job & understand the consequence. There is an addiction problem with all the anti-anxiety medications. Xanax is considered one of the most addictive though, due to its fast absorbtion time(approximately 15min.) The addiction to such meds is amazing. I actually know of someone who was taking 32 .. 0.5mg tablets a day. Medications can be highly affective when given to the right person in the proper amount & monitored. Patients must be aware of addictive statistics & police oneself unless he/she has a conservative Dr. Medications taken sublingual(under tongue) is absorbed faster into one's system.
   — Sarah H.

June 19, 2003
I took Xanax for 6 years. 3-1mg tablets a day. When the doctor tried to take me off of it... Oh MY GOD! I sat on the couch FRIGHTENED! The detox is HORRIBLE!!! It was enough to swear me off of addictive drugs for the rest of my life. I went into the hospital to get detoxed from it and they took me off so fast I wound up back taking the drug because I was just TOO nervous. I had another doctor take me off the Xanax and he took almost a year to do it. Things worked out better that time but I was still pretty bad off. BE CAREFUL with that stuff! God Bless on your WL Journey!
   — Eleanore Davis