Its the only legal narcotic that i can consume and 45 minutes later ill be talking to a employee at a vegetarianism section at wal-mart. With out this medication i sit in the parking lot to scared to be in public.Most of the time i drive off without any groceries.After zanex, i,'m out going, adventurous and look forward to the better things in life, Clomapin, crosses my eyes,makes ,e 1/2 incapably;.Why replace a medication that works (zanex) for one they makes you insane? (clonapin) Hope to find a real psychiatric soon,much lick for you all in similar sitiations..e-mail spiderwebin@gmail.com. thanks..,martin Wyatt..

incognito

USA

***IMPORTANT NOTE***: Before I begin this comparison, please know I am not a medical professional and I can't tell you what medications are right for you. This is just my own experience with both **Xanax XR** and regular **Xanax** and which worked best FOR ME. Please talk to your doctor about both options if you are advised to take this medication.***My name is Patty and I have a Panic Disorder*** I have had anxiety since I was a very young child. I didn't know what was wrong but I knew something was. I starting having full-blown panic attacks as early as age five but really noticed them at around age 16. At one point, I was so anxious, I could barely leave my home. After I had my first son, my doctor was concerned that I wouldn't be able to properly deal with an emergency due to my anxiety and that scared me. I refused to consider medication of any kind up until then. I finally decided to at least TRY **Xanax** (alproazam) in a tiny dose. It helped a LOT. As the years passed, my dosage was adjusted and I was able to do things I only dreamed of: fly across the country many times, take a cruise, travel to huge arenas for my job in pro wrestling, live like a normal person! It wasn't always EASY to do anxiety-provoking things but the severe panic disorder that stole my life was just a menace. I switched to **Xanax XR** very reluctantly when it first came out. I am not one to switch medications or to try new things. Here is what I think of both formulas and the one I have chosen and why. *Please know this is just MY experience and everyone reacts differently.* ***Xanax XR vs Short Acting Xanax*** Many people think **Xanax** is evil. They say it is addictive and makes a person spacey and "stoned". While it is true that stopping this medication quickly can be dangerous and you NEVER should do that, I have never taken more than prescribed, I have never felt stoned or spacey, and I never felt any kind of "high" from this drug. This is an anti anxiety medication. It helps to calm severe anxiety (or even mild anxiety depending on dose and needs). It can cause drowsiness at first. But evil? Not as far as I'm concerned. It gave me a life without out of the blue panic attacks that sent me to the ER thinking I was dying. It simply adjusted my "anxiety meter" to normal. Well, almost normal. I still have anxiety and will always have it but I now am not afraid of it. Everyone has some anxiety. It's normal. It's actually necessary at times. However, when anxiety turns to panic attacks and when it interferes with your life in such a way that staying home is "safer" than chancing leaving the house to avoid a possible panic attack, you need help. Many people take antidepressants for anxiety and they help a lot. Some try therapy, relaxation, herbal remedies, etc. Way back when I was prescribed **Xanax**, it was supposed to be for about six months, and then weaned off. That was 22 years ago. It used to be **Xanax** only came in a short acting form. It came in a variety of dosages and was to be taken several times a day. The half-life of **Xanax **is pretty short, about 4-6 hours. For those who just need a little help through tough situations now and then, **Xanax** is fast acting and generally free from bothersome side effects. Those with a Panic Disorder generally need to take this medication daily because panic knows no time frame and rarely warns you that it's coming. **There are pros and cons to taking short acting Xanax.** **Pros: *** Works almost immediately after taking* Wears off after a few hours* You can choose when to take it* Take only when needed * It comes in very low dosages for those who need only a very small amount* You can very slowly wean yourself off or down by taking halves of the pills or whatever your doctor suggests. **Cons:*** It has a rebound effect. When it starts wearing off, you get shaky and feel anxious. Not because you're anxious but because the medication is wearing off.* You have to remember to take it throughout the day and night if you are on a daily dose.* If you forget a dose, you'll feel shaky and nervous. It's unsettling and may even cause a panic attack, which is exactly what you don't want to happen.* You may end up taking too much if you take it during a panic attack. I remember taking a half of a dose, waiting, taking another half, waiting, another half ... and then BOOM, I was exhausted because I didn't need as much as I took. I didn't overdose BY ANY MEANS (I take much less than my doctor feels I should and always have.) but I just was SO anxious that I wanted it to stop so I did as my doctor told me to. But ewwww. The next four hours or so, I was pretty darn tired. ***And then Xanax XR came along ...*** My doctor told me about it and I said NO WAY. I was NOT about to mess with what works. I had been on a dose that worked for me for a long time with no need to raise it. True, I was a little tired of having to remember to take a pill every 4-6 hours and I did feel it wear off but still. I wasn't going into uncharted territory! I don't remember why I finally decided to give the new long acting Xanax a shot. It was, at the time, supposed to be a once daily medicine. Their website still says it is but it isn't. It wears off after about 18 hours meaning most people should take it every 12 hours and that is how it was prescribed for me. After a week of complete fear of what would or would not happen, I realized my anxiety level was low and that I didn't feel that rebound effect at all. I felt ...GOOD! All the time. I didn't have to think about when to take a pill throughout the day and I didn't panic. I didn't even have high anxiety. **There are pros and cons to the longer acting medication as well.** **Pros: *** Take one in the morning and one at night and forget it. Some may need to just take one a day.* No rebound effect unless you don't take a dose for about 36 hours. Then you'll feel a little nervous.* Seems not to make me drowsy at all and doesn't seem to really have any side effects.* Allows people to get on with their life without carrying around pills and without having to remember to take a medication all day and all night.* Makes me feel much less anxious all day and night. I don't get the spikes of a fast calming effect then a fast wearing off effect. I just feel ... normal! **Cons:*** Doesn't work immediately so it isn't as effective as the short acting Xanax for immediate panic relief.* Some may feel like they lost their "safety net" of having a Xanax with them "in case". I felt that way at first so my doctor gave me short acting Xanax to carry around "in case". I still have the same amount in the bottle. Never needed to take them. But it was nice to know I could if I "had to".* May start at a higher dose then the short acting Xanax. I am not sure about that since I don't know at what dosage the XR starts. I know regular Xanax starts at .25mg.* Can't taper the way you can with the short acting Xanax. Can't split the pills so you have to wean off with the short acting and the long acting together which is a pain. If you plan to take the medication for just a short time, the short acting Xanax is much easier to wean off of. ***So what is my choice?*** **With no hesitations at all, Xanax XR is my choice.** I would never go back to trying to remember to take very low doses of pills all throughout the day and trying not to feel the rebound effects that always came with the** short acting Xanax.** I have a real Panic Disorder. I am not just a little nervous or a little anxious. Like some people have clinical depression that they will need medication to control, I have PD. I suffered badly for so long and I never want to suffer like that again. Believe me, I tried EVERYTHING from bio feedback to yoga to relaxation tapes to hypnosis to acupuncture to "flood" therapy to talk therapy to behavioral therapy to EMDR therapy to several expensive Panic Disorder programs (with tapes and books and all that stuff) to, well, everything non medicinal there was. My brain simply did not want to let go of that fight or flight reflex that almost robbed me of having any kind of life at all. I do NOT recommend that people run to the doctor for medication if they just have mild anxiety. There are many good ways to treat that without medicine. But, if you get to a point where anxiety is literally ruining your life, seek medical attention. These days, antidepressants are the first line of defense because they are not thought of as addictive although getting off those can be dreadful and you must taper just as you have to taper off of **Xanax**. If you ARE prescribed **Xanax** (generic name: alprazolam), discuss which of the two options is best for you. You can take **short acting Xanax with XR **so, if need be, you can take the XR and have a small dose of short acting Xanax available in case you get into a very high anxiety situation and feel you need supplementation. For me, **Xanax XR** is a Godsend. I take it in the morning and live my life. I take it at night and continue to live my life. I haven't had a panic attack in ages nor have I felt super anxious even in very anxiety provoking situations. Obviously, in situations where anxiety is normal, I feel nervous. But it never spirals out of control as it used to. And even my "what if" thinking is nearly gone. I do still what if (What if the crowd is big and I can't get out of there? What if I want to leave and can't? What if I get vertigo and everyone laughs at me for falling down?) but it doesn't stop me from doing things. Some of my progress is my own doing. I learned all I could about Panic Disorder and anxiety and how best to deal with it. I read many books, I taught myself to stop the what iffing with SO what ifs, and I have matured and realized I simply won't die from a panic attack and I don't really care if people look and point at me if I do something embarrassing. But make no mistake, **Xanax XR **is what has kept me on an even keel and allowed me to try new ventures, go to new places, and generally just have as normal a life as I can have. Again, which formula, or any, you take should be thoroughly discussed with your doctor and you can always switch from one to the other with no issues. Both now come in generic form so you won't be killed with copays. And you can now get a three-month supply as opposed to having to get a monthly prescription. As an aside, **Xanax** doesn't cause weight gain or sexual side effects like antidepressants do. Still, if your doctor wants you to try one, follow his or her advice. I am glad I followed my doctor's advice. Remember, there is no shame in admitting you have a Panic Disorder. It's a shame when you try to live with something crippling when there is help out there for you! I hope this was informative and gave you some insight into both formulas!Patty

PattyTherre

The heart of , NY

Works to prevent panic attacks, I suffer from PTSD from military work in Afghanistan. I take ciprilex everyday to generally decrease anxiety. But I know the signs of when an attack will push threw and I take a Xanax. Pros: Stops the attack, Cons: I am absolutly useless after I take it for about 6 hours. Cant drive, think clearly, or work. So this is great if you never have to leave your house but not for a productive memeber of society.

dunlop303

USA

.25mg xanax 3 times a day worked well for me. it took the anxiety away...my doctor won't let me be on it any longer, and now i take ativan, which works, but not as well as xanax. going to try and find another way to get xanax again.

Ashley29A

USA

i would like to start by saying, xanax is an addictive drug and must only be obtained from a doctor  ( as should all prescription drugs.) i have always had real high angziety (?) and didn't do anything about it for a long time. when i finnaly asked my doctor about it, he gave me xanax. at first it gave me i guess a buzz as some people would say, but for my angziety, it was what i had needed all along. if i new that they would have helped me, then i wouldn't had waited so long to ask. i would how ever say this, if you do ask your doctor about taking xanax, then remember the part about being addictive and use only as prescribed, then you will be alright. that means don't take an extra one here and there, you will only run out and you don't want that to happen, believe me, i have been there. anyways, i take the generic brand alprolazam, they are the exact same thing and cost alot less. don't wast your hard earned money on the name brand. i have been there too. aqs for my angziety, i take my medicine as prescribedand i feel so much better

raybo

Knoxville, TN

I was given this drug to help me stop smoking.  I was not yet diagnosed with bipolar disorder.  One night out at a bar drinking I took about 30 tabs which almost killed me.  They told my wife that I would be dead by morning or a vegetable.  If you have trouble with suicidal thoughts this one drug you should not have control over how many you have.  Someone else should be giving them to you at small amounts. This drug can kill you very easily.   They diagnosed me with depression right after that and later with bipolar disorder.

johnlafalce

North Tonawanda, NY

I asked my doctor once for Xanax after a friend suggested. I was over worried & nervous so that couldn't concentrate on my exam preparation. I took a pill and feel very sleep & tired. When I tried to drive to mall for shopping I feel like i response slowly to the traffic light. So i am afraid to take it again. I think any drug have some side effects. I try to not take drugs whenever i can manage by other ways.

cinthy

Coronado, CA

I have been using Xanax for about 10-15 years for agoraphobia, panic disorder and general too-much-to-bear anxiety and all I can say is that it works for me.  I hesitate to say any medication is good or bad because everyone reacts differently to drugs.  Finding the right medication for you is a hit and miss process and Xanax has done the trick for me.  It brings my anxiety level down to something I can deal with or it takes it away completely.  Yes, like other medications of this type, Xanax is addictive but when I think of what my life would be like without it I find this a small price to pay.  I know that if I ever want to or have to stop taking it I MUST do it the right way and will talk to my doctor about it.

IMHO

North Fort Myers, FL

Xanax, a very good medication for anxiety mostly and Insomnia, but be aware of the big possibility for addiction, tolerance to dose (you will need more with time to have same effect) and it might produce to much somnolence to be around heavy machinary or even driving.

Ricco33

Aguadilla, PR

I have tried many benzos and xanax is by far the best as far as effectiveness and price. Although it is an addictive medication if used properly and not abused or used recreationally it is really a great medication and by far the best in it's class. Generic versions have also helped offset the cost greatly as well

keaves29

Huntsville, AL