Hello, I've had Xanax for a few years now. Only take as needed. A 2 week bottle lasts about 6 months. I know it's prescribed to take daily which is where I think the dependacy tends to happen. Anyway, I cut my .25 in half, sometimes quarters but rarely take an entire .25mg. I have before for flying,etc. Anyway, today my boss invited us to a day on his boat. Everyone was so excited. I was "a little" but mostly doing the "what if". did the self talk of course but knew I wanted to take Xanax. Had to. Anyway, it's been awhile since I've been challenged in this (I didn't have to go but sort of did if you know what I mean). I took an entire .25 1 hour before we were supposed to get on the boat. About 1 1/2 later we got on the boat to chit chat, eat. As soon as I stepped on I started to panic as it's been awhile since I've been on the rocking motion of a boat. I popped another 1/2 fo the .25mg. I made it through the boat ride. There was a point that the waves got rocky and I started to panic a little but made it through. I'm sure thanks to the xanax. I had only a "little" wine, not even an entire beer and when we were done, approx 3 hours later I was out of it and had to take a nap. I felt a little nervous too though which worried me because the last thing I want is the Xanax to make me nervous. Anyone ever experience this? did I take too much at once? Should I have done increments of it throughout the trip? Would love to hear.

thanks,Brigitte

Brigitte,

So you started to panic ? What would happen if you didn't take ANY xanax ??

Panic is not something you need to run from. In fact, the sooner you face the panic and learn that you can overcome your feelings and symptoms, the sooner you will overcome anxiety and panic.

I took Ativan ( which is just like Xanax) a long time ago as an "as needed" help, so I know where you are coming from. But I soon realized that the medication only calmed me down and I learned that I could do that on my own without medication by talking to myself in a positive, truthful way.

Nothing bad will happen if you don't take your xanax. You may not be "addicted" to the stuff physically but you are addicted to the idea of it being there for you.

YOU ARE THERE FOR YOURSELF. If you are going to take medication, it should only be for a short time until you learn skills to overcome your fear of panic.

If I can do it, you can do it.

Any imaginative thought that you think can feel "real" if you focus on it enough.

thank you and yes I know. I've finsihed this program, I've read many books, done therapy for many many years now so I totally understand the concept. I've beaten myself up too much for not being able to "face it" like others. I face it quite often actually. I would be going backwards right now to talk negative about the Xanax. Like I said, I hardly use it but I appreciate that it is there. I have not been able to "float" through one so I decided not to waste anymore time worrying about it. I do well day to day stuff but not flying and boat rides,etc. I have other posts on meds you may see. Anyway, I was hoping for an answer on those that take Xanax and how they take it.

thanks,Brigitte

brigitte~

I am not sure you'll see this as it is a late reply. To answer your question, No, you did not take too much Xanax, you took to little. A .25mg is such a small amount that if you are really nervous about something (flying, boat ride) it may not have been enough to calm you down. No biggie, you made it through anyways. I use Xanax too, I didn't for a long time. Now I use the program(have been for years) and Xanax as needed. I do not beat myself up about it though. You do what you need to do and I trust that things will work themselves out.

Take care-Silvana

Silvana.........thank you for replying. You're right. I worry about taking too much but I rarely use it so it's probably no big deal. May I ask how much you would have taken? No worries, I'm not gonna go take tons of it now everyone...just curious is all. I'm 5'6 female, 140 lbs. These sort of stats help me. thanks

Hey Brigitte~

Well I am 5'1" and weigh about 105 lbs. I use doses between .25mg - .75 mg. For me it all depends on how nervous I feel and what the obstacle is. If I am flying I will take .5mg and if I am still am uncomfortable I will take .25mg. I even took 1 mg in Dec. when flying back from Florida. That dose made me feel tired and a bit euphoric; was probably a bit too much for me. I also know that my body metabolizes the medication very slowly. I am most comfortable with a .5 dose. That's what I would have taken for the boat ride from the get-go(the hour before). My doctor explained that say you took .25mg but 45 minutes later you where still anxious and took another .25mg, you wouldn't get the same calmness as having taken a .5 mg from the beginning. Also, the medication doesn't work as well when taken in the midst of high anxiety. I hope I've helped. If you need anything else just let me know.

Take care-Silvana

Silvana, you sure did. You're right. I take them little dose at a time (sometimes 1/4 of .25, what's the point huh?) I will try it this way next time because I do believe in the Xanax as a tool to help. Not a cure but with this tool, it "prevents" me from adding to my phobia (along with the tools I've already learned). I don't want to feel bad about taking it. I think it's great that it's there for us.

thank you! You answered my question as I needed.

Brigitte

Brigitte~

So glad I could help. You and I have alot in common (same age and same type anxiety) and I also came to the realization that I had to stop adding to my phobia list and that is what the Xanax helps me do. I had anxiety everywhere so I had alot of bad associations with everything. I am working on getting past this but I am allowing the time it will take to do so. We do only have ont chance to go around and if I could be like "normal" I'd sure be, but I just have to deal with who I am, imperfections and all.

Take care-Silvana

Silvana, one more thing.........obviously no drinking on this which is not an issue for me but sometimes I forget (as I'm so relaxed) that I may have a beer or glass of wine. I'm wondering though if even "that" is too much? I was sort of out of it that day on the boat. I had a beer, 1/2 glass of wine. What's your experience?

thanks,B

Brigitte~

If I have taken a Xanax .5mg and had a drink within the hour or 2 of taken it, I haven't noticed anything. I am not a heavy drinker, when I say I am having one, it is literally one drink. It hasn't added to the effect of the medication other then making me more sleepy, but not fall asleep standing tired. The label on the bottle says alcohol will intesify the sleepiness. One or two drinks wont hurt you but I wouldn't go beyond that. Hope that helps.

Silvana

Bridgette,
I am new to this forum, so I hope that this is the correct way to be heard and get advise...I am responding to xanax and questioning medications! Yes, xanax is beneficial and it seems to be calming, but when I ask my doctor for even small doses, she is against it because it is habit forming. She'd never have to worry - habit forming- huh I am like you, HATE taking any meds. But, she tried to get me to take lexapro everyday. I tried 5mg. one night made me nauseau all the next day. Could be in my mind.. who knows I will admit to being a big chicken...Baccck! But, my question is.... She told me I will never get better that anxiety is like the color of your eyes you can't change them and I will always have to battle the anxiety in my life. Really, depressing thought...But, there again I have battled this for 16 years....But, since she told me that roughly 3 weeks ago, I have been very frustrated and depressed. Hopeless, is how I now feel. Please any advise...

one answer from me anyways............GET A NEW DOCTOR!!!!

I was on my way out the door when I first read this so couldn't elaborate but wanted to comment because that is not a very educated Dr you have. I can understand an answer like that years ago but today? there's so much help out there, including proof that cognitive changes work that it's obvious this dr isn't educated (or cares?) First of all, I've done quite the research on Xanax let me tell ya. My older sister has taken it for years and years and has no problem. Here's the deal. Xanax is abused. "If" the dr prescribing it is educated about it , they will prescribe it correctly and will monitor you. However, let's not forget that ultimately it's up to the patient how they take it. If it says 1 a day ,etc but you take 5 a day than yeah, you may get hooked but only because you abused it. There are some dr's it seems that prescribe doses that may be too high and that could be the problem too. Xanax is made to be taken under the care of a "specialist" so I think we have to keep that in mind. As a matter of fact, 2 days ago I saw a psychiatrist, (never thought I'd say that) that was referred by my therapist which was referred by the midwest center.......so I trusted him. Wow! What a difference. I didn't know what that entailed. I kinda deserve a "duh" here because I didn't know they were basically experts on our chemicals and on medicines. I asked questions about Xanax in detail and was satisfied with the answers. As for meds, they may make you nauseous in the beginning but that's just your body getting used to it. It usually goes away.

sorry for babbling but I'm actually excited to start meds. They worked great for me in the past and now that I have these skills also, I feel I have a great combo.

Good luck!

Hi friendly face,

quote:

She told me I will never get better that anxiety is like the color of your eyes you can't change them and I will always have to battle the anxiety in my life.

I wonder if what the doc told you has been distorted and interpreted in the wrong way from what the doc said. I don't know. We will never be totally free of anxiety. Everyone experiences it. But, we can learn to not let it stop us in our tracks, and continue to function. I wonder if your doc may have been thinking along these lines when he/she made the statement. If not, I would throw it out the window.

that is true. could be that she meant you can never rid life of anxiety which is true. But nonetheless, I'd hope even with that statement she'd know to help you with whatever problems you had "due" to anxiety. Good luck.