Question:
I started to take Prozac and he gave me Xanax, too in case I have a panic
attack. Prozac didn't work, because all its side effects had come. My dr.
told me then to take Xanax to avoid panic attacks and that I shouldn't
leave Xanax when I'm taking my new medicament.
This new one is Zoloft. I've been taking Zoloft now for more than two
months and things are getting better. But I still can't believe, that this
thing will ever go.
In the first time I took 3*0,25 Xanax and now I'm taking 2*0,125 which
isn't really much.
My problem is that I'm afraid to leave Xanax, because I have fear of panic
attacks. What shall I do? My dr. told me to leave it and he said he
wouldn't subscribe it any more. I want to sink Xanax to 1*0,25 and leave it
in 20 days. Please write me if this is a good solution or not.
Answer:
I'm sorry to hear your doc is taking you off the Xanax when it seems to have
been so helpful to you.....I have been taking Xanax for 10 years, just 1 mg
per day......and it helps a great deal to control my panic attacks.....
Could you possibly change doctors? If you could find one who is more
familiar with treating panic disorder, perhaps he would be more
understanding and knowledgeable about the Xanax. So many doctors have
become benzophobic, from what others tell me.....I'm fortunate to have found
a therapist who realizes the benefits of Xanax at a *maintenance* dosage for
panic disorder....
Exactly, you need to get away from a benzophobic doc. I'm not trying to
scare you and tell you that your doctor is no good, but sometimes a docs
conservative methods of treating a disturbing (but very treatable) disorder
only prolongs the agony. If he is leaning to taking you off Xanax, I would
start looking for a new doc. SSRI's are used all the time and work for some,
but unfortunatly the majority seem to just get a little freedom from panic
and hellish side-effects.
I sometimes wonder how well people do who are just "depressed" vs. PAD do on
SSRI's. I only wonder because I have read in several articles (sorry no
references) that panic/anxiety people tend to be very sensitive to
anti-depressants (which will be obvious to you if you read enough posts
here).
However, my advice to you is to attack this disorder head on, and if you feel
resistance from you doc, to hell with him (he is not the one with
panic/anxiety). I am very pro maintenance benzodiazepine use with an
occasional combo anti-depressant if necessary. That's just me speaking
personally, but that's also what I have seen work for so many. Regardless,
you just need to treat this medically and the quicker the better. Best of
luck, and if you need any help there are tons of people here who are willing
to lend advice.
PD is a chemical imbalance which is based on a genetic disposition and becomes
manifest when there's a proper trigger, like the weed in your case. Still, it
can also develop out of the blue.
Zoloft and Prozac are so-called SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)
antidepressants. If they work, that's cool. Xanax works very well for stopping
Panic Attacks almost immediately with any people. If your doctor doesn't want
to prescribe it anymore, it's probably because he feels that you may become
addicted to it. We feel that this is nonsense. Your body *can* become dependent
on Xanax because you need it, very much the same way people become dependent on
insulin when they are diabetics or on heart meds when they have a heart
condition.
If your doctor indeed is a benzophobic, you'd better find another doctor asap.
The combination of an SSRI and a benzo has been very good to many people.
