Xanax

#2
I know a lot has been said on Xanax already, but I'll chime in and share my initial experience. I usually suffer from anxiety and insomnia regularly, which makes this all the more interesting.

I got a bunch of 2 mg's the other night, and figured I'll just split off 1/4 a pill since it was my first time. So keep in mind I only downed .5 mg total.

Haha, now I've always been very sensitive to any drugs, that's a given... but this really did take me by surprise. In the first couple hours I was chilled out, sitting back on my sofa chair writing some poetry in a journal and sipping tea. I felt very relaxed but still in great control, could think and focus well, and my handwriting style even appeared more smooth and organized on the paper.

I decided to lay down in the bed to see how it would feel. Remember that I have major anxiety normally, and my mind is often swimming with bothersome thoughts. When I sleep sober, I rarely seem to have good REM sleep. Also I should mention that I'd only been awake for about 8 hrs at this point, so I wasn't really tired at all, and only expected a 15 minute nap at most.

However, the funniest thing happened. I felt so meditative and in control, that I just consciously decided to dream for awhile, and sure enough I was unconscious in the next moment. I remember a series of possibly a dozen dreams in a row, they were so vivid and real that it was alarming. They were rich in symbolism and emotion.

I woke up once, still felt groggy, and then crashed out again experiencing more dreams, each one weirder than the last.

The next time I awoke, 10 hours of sleeping had passed in total. I slept for 2 more hours, dreamed some more, and had to force myself out of bed after waking up again, since the bed still felt so comfortable. 12 hours had passed in total.

I'll say this. I've tried dozens of sleep medications, they only made me sick or failed altogether. Previous antidepressants or anti-anxiety meds did almost nothing for me. Everything I've heard about benzos like Xanax holds true so far. To me at least, it's a very powerful drug, and was euphoric as well.

People compare it to being drunk, but I disagree. I felt comfortably cohesive while awake on Xanax, relaxed but not disoriented at all. Sleeping while drunk or on other meds usually results in a bad quality of sleep for me. I don't seem to have good REM sleep when drunk. Xanax sleep induced so much dreaming.. there's no doubt it was high quality REM sleep.

I still feel relaxed now, into the next day. I can understand now why this medication gets abused, but I'm definitely not downing it again anytime soon. I've never been addicted to any drug in my life, and I'm not going to start now. ;p
 
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reborn1961

#3
Been on it twice for panic attacks. Gives pretty immediate calmness to most people (all folks are different). However, it is extremely addictive especially if you suffer from anxiety, panic attacks, depression. Personaly I have overdosed on it twice so my recommendation is to look for something different if you can. If you use it, watch for signs of addiction. Good luck.
 
#4
I should've figured. Last time I tested this I had no anxiety in the first place, but tonight when I'm high-strung and really needed it, even a high dosage doesn't cut it. The 'heavy' physical effects are in full swing, but my thoughts are still racing and my heartbeat is hyperactive. We'll up the ante just a bit before the line is drawn. My warm recollection of the 'Trazadone incident" usually puts things in the disciplinary perspective of such moments.
 
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#5
My experience so far has been pretty positive. I like to wait at least a few days (or up to a week) after dropping Xanax before using it again. Having a break in between usage has allowed me to get the same great effects from only .5 mg. I haven't built up any tolerance, and haven't found the drug addicting at all.

I've even been sleeping better for several nights after taking it, so it seems to have longer lasting effects than I expected. I really do recommend this for anyone with anxiety and insomnia. One of the best meds I've ever tried. :)
 
#6
1mg Xanax, 3 times a day for anxiety. Does me the world of good when I take it. But I'd agree that it is addictive. Due to my terrible financial situation I don't always have money for my meds, my prescription ran out about 2 and a half weeks ago, and when I don't have it, like now, I miss it badly. Really badly.
 
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the_me_that_you_know

#7
1mg Xanax, 3 times a day for anxiety. Does me the world of good when I take it. But I'd agree that it is addictive. my prescription ran out about 2 and a half weeks ago, and when I don't have it, like now, I miss it badly. Really badly.
Xanax is stronger than alot of those medications prescribed for anxiety. 10 mg valium does not work at all on me. 2 mg atavan does not either. 2mg xanax works wonders. When I told this to some nurses at my doc's office they laughed and replied: You'll never get xanax here. Also someone whom I know tried to get switched from valium to xanax(for anxiety) with no success. The last time I got xanax from a doc at a hospital I recieved 0.25 mg, the lowest dosage of xanax in existence.
 

Esmeralda

Well-Known Member
#8
Just a side-note. I know a lot of people are taking Xanax recreationally with alcohol these days and I wanted to give y'all a heads up.

Ever had a friend get so drunk (with or without pills) that they fall asleep and pee themselves? Seems funny, right?

Well, that happens a lot on Xanax, and those are you involuntary functions (bladder, heart, lungs) shutting down. You pee yourself because your bladder muscles relax and just stop working. The next step is the lungs, which leads to suffocating in your sleep.

Also, on Xanax, you often don't feel as fucked up as you really are, leading you to consume even more dangerous amounts of drugs and alcohol.

Just a little warning.
 

Hae-Gi

Banned Member
#9
Isn't Xanax a benzodiazepine? I'm quite sure it is... if it is, it is extremely important that you are aware of the extremely high addictiveness of benzodiazepines. Some people that have been addicted to cocaine, have said that trying to stop their addiction of cocaine, was nothing compared to trying to stop their addiction of benzodiazepines, and others that have ended up in addiction, mean they become completely delusional, if without it, thinking they've murdered people, for instance.

I'd strongly recommend against the use of benzodiazepines, although I'm well aware of their effect on you... I've used it myself for a vocal exam and it's unbelievable how calm I was... I can imagine how easy it must be, getting addicted.
 
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the_me_that_you_know

#10
Where I am everybody uses benzos(the nickname given to these drugs by people who use them). At my clinic(when I was on methadone) you would run into people asking if you could get them all the time. I personally am prescribed temazepam, a benzo, for sleep. This pill is stronger than both valium & atavan as well-rivaling xanax-to me. And whomever posted not to drink with benzos is right on the mark..... mixing the two causes blackouts, comas & worse. Using benzos too much causes not only addiction but you quit feelin them & to feel them again you need a higher dose.... very dangerous activity to perform.
 

iracund

Antiquities Friend
#11
my two cents ... i've taken xanax before and have a current script for it as well. i don't use it that often, but when i do it definitely chills me out and puts me to sleep most of the time.

i don't really love it, i don't really hate it ... it's just another tool in my arsenal that keeps me from being completely and insanely unbearable to the people around me. oh, and it sometimes keeps me from losing it and twitching in a corner wondering when the world is going to end.
 

iracund

Antiquities Friend
#12
uh yeah ... but i took a bunch of xanax last night and it just made me sleep. i guess i was really relaxed. i still don't see what all the hype is. it did its job. i was freaking out, it put me out. i don't feel any desire to make sure i have some lying around just in case i need it for emergencies because it does the trick better than anything else i have. the only thing it does is make me pass out quickly and not remember what the hell happened. is that really such a good thing???
 
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the_me_that_you_know

#13
I've never heard of a doc giving xanax directly for sleep. It's commonly used for anxiety, hyperactivity & as a sezure preventing medicine. Of course a bunch will knock you out. You're supposed to take just enough so you can feel it changing your anxiety/restlessness into relaxation. Then you can most likely sleep if you try to.
 

iracund

Antiquities Friend
#14
I've never heard of a doc giving xanax directly for sleep. It's commonly used for anxiety, hyperactivity & as a sezure preventing medicine. Of course a bunch will knock you out. You're supposed to take just enough so you can feel it changing your anxiety/restlessness into relaxation. Then you can most likely sleep if you try to.
it wasn't prescribed for sleep. it was prescribed to keep me from flipping way out and needing to be restrained so i don't hurt myself or others or just have a full blown panic attack. admittedly, and anti-psych would probably be a better choice, but at the time this one was made i wasn't really being very compliant and told my pdoc in no uncertain terms that i WOULD NOT take an anti-psychotic. i've since changed my tune, but we haven't really had the need to change my meds. (told you ... i wasn't really in the frame of mind to be making decisions about anything. i think he let me get away with that one just to appease me)

the lovely SIDE EFFECT that it has on me is that it just knocks me out. maybe that was intentional in his dosing, but *shrug* i don't care. no complaints yet.
 
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the_me_that_you_know

#15
OK. When you said you took it and it knocked you out I assumed you were taking it for sleep only & who knows when/where you got it. Now I understand. :cool:
 

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