[imported_n/a]

yay for xanax, it really helps me out so much. I just was prescribed Xanax XR by my doctor and am wondering if anyone has any experience with it? I have the 2 mg ones... kinda expensive though, no generics. SOOO-- let me know all your Xanax XR info!!
Thanks,

Susie

Watch for sticks and stones
Stumbling blocks in piles
Life is one big road,
Miles on top of miles
So blessed be the soul,
That always remains a child

[Sarah31]

Xanax XR is great!

I've was on the peach 1/2 milligram pills for a long time. They were easy to abuse and I was always on an up and down roller coaster with my moods. I've been on Xanax XR for almost a year and I love it. One pill a day and I'm set. No panic attacks, no ups and downs. It is weird I haven't heard too much more about this one, since you only take it once a day.

Anyone else on it??[]

[morticia]

xanax xr is GREAT im on 6 mg a day havent had any panic attacks in over a year and it is less addictive than reg xanax i fined it really saved my life !!!!

[Face]

Be extremely careful with Xanax and all other Benzodiazepines. They are easy to abuse and if you were taking a higher dose and do not taper very slowly off this drug you risk having a seizure. I had one this year. I was taking 2 to 5 blues a day. I entered a rehab facility to kick. Not fun.

[Patrick790]

i just wnt of xanex 4the first time in several years. I was taking at least three 1mg tabs a day, snorted4 immediate relief.my family doctor put me on Ativan. I have no history or experience with it. Will it last longer than xanex?( 1mgs t.i.d.).I have felt strange all day, but not really a withdrawl feeling. Withdrawl from benzos can be hell.So, is there really a difference between xanex and ativan. Anyone familiar with history on Ativan?..i.e.How long has it been around? How does it differenciate iteself from the other benzos? I appreciate any feedback I can get. Thanks

[justwhatever]

i have been wondering about the sustained relief xanax for a while. i'm sure my shrink might go for it, i'd like to see how it compares. does everybody really think it works more effectively?

ativan is very mellow, my experience was that it would keep w/ds away, but didn't cut it for me for panic attacks

this forum is about helping and healing-- feel free to correct my mistakes

[miltownb]

I posted a similar topic about the comparison of regular Xanax and the XR... The thing is my insurance won't cover the XR's and they're really expensive about $43 for 15 of them, Ive learned regular Xanax tabs have a %100 absorbtion rate they hit you right away and then fade off while the XR's can last 8-12 hours depending on how you take them because their absorbtion rate is at 90% and your not supposed to split or crush them your supposed to take them whole. Somtimes I actually crush & swallow / snort my Xanax because I need it to work faster.
So what I'm asking is are the XR's stronger and/or time released because somtimes I can't wait for them to kick in It's like a false sense of urgency that I can't control. And If I get the Xr's im affraid I might crush or snort those... would somthing bad happen to me if I did? I'm just not sure If I should try them or just stick with regular 2 mg bars that seem to work fine but the tolerance I'm building is making me sic of taking so many...which is why XR's might save me from the before mentioned roller coaster effect. If anyone going throught the same type of dillema I am please let me know if the expensive XR's are worth paying for thx!

[thebled88]

quote:Originally posted by miltownb

I posted a similar topic about the comparison of regular Xanax and the XR... The thing is my insurance won't cover the XR's and they're really expensive about $43 for 15 of them, Ive learned regular Xanax tabs have a %100 absorbtion rate they hit you right away and then fade off while the XR's can last 8-12 hours depending on how you take them because their absorbtion rate is at 90% and your not supposed to split or crush them your supposed to take them whole. Somtimes I actually crush & swallow / snort my Xanax because I need it to work faster.
So what I'm asking is are the XR's stronger and/or time released because somtimes I can't wait for them to kick in It's like a false sense of urgency that I can't control. And If I get the Xr's im affraid I might crush or snort those... would somthing bad happen to me if I did? I'm just not sure If I should try them or just stick with regular 2 mg bars that seem to work fine but the tolerance I'm building is making me sic of taking so many...which is why XR's might save me from the before mentioned roller coaster effect. If anyone going throught the same type of dillema I am please let me know if the expensive XR's are worth paying for thx!

first off dont even try to buy the xanax XR tabs......there currently is a generic available....alprazolam extended release tabs is what u need....benzodiazepines have a very rapid build up of tolerance.....probably one of the quickest buildups out there.....dont know much about the efficacy of XR though...sorry

[Panamarod]

quote:Originally posted by Face

Be extremely careful with Xanax and all other Benzodiazepines. They are easy to abuse and if you were taking a higher dose and do not taper very slowly off this drug you risk having a seizure. I had one this year. I was taking 2 to 5 blues a day. I entered a rehab facility to kick. Not fun.

Rod

[castleranch]

I have been taking xanax for panic disorder for over 20 years. It has been a life saver - literally! Over the years, many doctors have tried to convince me to try other meds, but my reply has always been "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". My dosage was always pretty small - 2-4 mg. per day, every day. Typically only 2 mg, unless it was a particularly bad day. I even took them through 2 pregnancies and have 2 amazing, and healthly teens!

So that is my history...now my doc convinced me to try XR - being the same drug, I said sure, why not. He had me amp up tp 3 mg. per day (it's been almost 2 weeks now) and the panic is totally under control, BUT, I seem to be extremely tired all of the time and possibly a bit depressed...could this be related to something in the XR that the original xanax doesn't have?

Oh, and by the way, thank god they did come out with a generic XR!

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Bright blessings!

[sparkey]

I have been taking ativan for about 5 yrs now. I take 1 mg. before bed for restless leg syndrome. I have never taken it during the day or ever had any addiction to them in any way. Sometimes i would double up on the nights i feel like i could not sleep. But that is very rare that i take two. I have to say they do make you relaxed and for me it works very well to have a good night sleep. I could go days without if i had to, so not so addicting to me. Although everyone is different. Good luck.

[kianjackson]

Hi all

Is Xanax hard to get? Do i need a prescription from my doc as im in the USA. I thought this stuff was banned by the FDA?
Thanks
k

[maestro007]

i had cronic migraines with aura. i would pace and my hands and chest would burn. suffered for 5 years. went to allergist then headache clinic for 2. The third time i was in the hospital and i was freakin out because i kept feeling like i was going to pass out from the pain..they gave me adavant to calm me down and everything went away! so i went to a physchologist and she put me on this..its been a year and i only get on edge every once in a while but that's life...Little concerned with the long term usage. By the way any one with a real problem like anxiety (which is what was causing my problems) would NEVER abuse their medication. because then they would run out and that would be hossible! So if you abuse them, you probably didn't need it to begin with. This medicine gave me my life back and i am happy unless i forget to take it.. only on 2mg per day but it is split up because i told my doctor it was too much. So now i take 1 mg in the morning and 1 at night..i have been pretty good for some time and have not built up a tolerence or anything..Jsut keeping on going. I would like to be able to control my mind enough to not need it and carefully quit one day but i am just enoying living pain free and keeping my sanity. There is nothing wrong with this drug that i can see.

[JustSomeGuy]

Originally Posted by kianjackson

Hi all

Is Xanax hard to get? Do i need a prescription from my doc as im in the USA. I thought this stuff was banned by the FDA?
Thanks
k

Yes, you definitely need a prescription for Xanax. It has not been banned, and is widely used for a variety of conditions.
Is it hard to get? That depends on the physician. Some will hand out prescriptions for high dosage/large quantities as though they were candy or something. On the other end of the spectrum, there are those doctors who simply refuse any request for this particular drug, as well as requests for other drugs which are well known to cause dependency and abuse among many of the people who take those drugs.
And of course, you have doctors located somewhere in the middle of these extremes. They are usually cautious when it comes to giving these types of drugs out to people. They want to be absolutely sure that they are doing the right thing and providing the proper meds for you. Many times, they will require you to try some alternatives to Xanax before considering its use. I think this type of doctor has your best interests in mind, and really doesn't want to see any of his patients heading down the wrong road with these pills. This type of doctor will want to see you at least once a month - if not more often than that - so they can be sure that you are doing well, you aren't abusing them, and determine if you have a continued need for it. In terms of getting truly good medical care and supervision, you can't beat this type of doctor. Many of this type truly care for the well being of their patients, and it shows. And this is a good doctor to have treating you. For those who hesitate and/or refuse to give any scripts of Xanax (or many other drugs as well) to patients, I believe that it has a real lot to do with the truly high potential for addiction/abuse of the drug, and it is quite easy to become physically and psychologically dependent on Xanax in a very short amount of time. And getting off of it is not an easy task for most people who have taken it for any length of time, though there are some who get off of it with no real problems. Though the same holds true for a few other benzos, I have found through my own experience with it, and that of others, that Xanax is, without doubt, one of the more difficult drugs to stop taking, especially at higher dosages for extended periods of time. I don;t know about the XR, but the regular Xanax has a pretty short half life, and when a dose wears off - in my case, a 1mg tab would last about 4 hours, and no more), your body starts to crave another dose pretty quickly (I'm talking about people taking like 3-4, or more mg/day here, not the .25mg 2x a day people here). You can feel your body start to shake, and your insides feel like they are in a knot. You have one thing, and one thing only on your mind at that point,and that is, "I need another dose, and I need it NOW!!" Of ourse, once you take that next dose. your body calms back down in what seems like just minutes. Its a vicious cycle. Before long, I found that when I was leaving the house for an extended period, I had no choice but to pack up a few extra pills, just in case. In my case, the longer I went wwithout one after the previous one wore off, the worse I would get, and it progressed very quickly. There is always the chance of having a seizure simply from waiting way too long between doses. (I'm talking high doses, like 4-8mg/day for this to happen)
If you do not have a true medical need, or condition, for a drug such as this, then I would strongly suggest thinking it over really well before asking for it from any doctor. You may just end up saving yourself a whole lot of trouble, and that is a good thing. If you do get it, just be careful with it. Its not candy by any means. Its a truly potent benzo - not to be fooled with. It can be a god send for many people who truly need it for their particular situation, and it works wonders for them. That is a good thing. On the other hand, it has the potential to turn your once decent life into a total nightmare which probably will not have a very happy ending.
Anyway, best of luck to you whatever road you choose.

[SiestaKeys]

I hate xanax XR with a passion. It makes you forgetful(there is a certain term for it similar to mild amnesia) and can make you tired. The tiredness made me fall asleep at the wheel, costing me $1500 for damage to my truck; and the forgetfullness cost me my job where attention to detail was critical. Beware people that most, if not all Benzos make you forget things very easily, and most Dr's dont tell you this. I prefer regular xanax for acute cases. I dont want to take it for something and then 6 hours later still be tired and groggy.