XANAX Reviews (ALPRAZOLAM)Average Rating: 3.9 (928 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare XANAX with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Gender males first. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 |
More on XANAX: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR XANAX | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 5 | Panic disorder, anxiety | some drowsiness at first,soon went away | This med should not be used long term I found out the hard way. at first it was great pop a few MG's I could do anything i was usually afraid to do, now after 8 years I am still on it and all the DR's can do is increase my dose so I dont have withdrawls from it. I really wish i listened to people that told me if i feel like it is a crutch than to try to slow down on it,but i didnt and now take 18 mg's daily.4mg a.m. 4mg H.S. 2mg Q2-4hours PRN | M | 8 years | 3/3/2009 | 5 | anxiety and panic | I became a bit agoraphobic but it wore off | A god send of medication.....be careful u dont get depressed | M | 37 | 3 years | 3/4/2009 | 5 | Severe Anxiety | Slight drowsiness and mild short-term memory loss | Best thing that ever happened to me! I developed anxiety at 13 years old. Started out of the blue with NO external trigger(s). In time I learned to sort of talk myself down but the older I became the more anxiety I had. I went into "talk" therapy for several years with NO decrease in anxiety despite all the coping mechanisms I was taught. I researched anxiety in college and found that some people have a brain chemical disorder for which "talk" therapy is useless. I still didn't want to take any drugs but I finally did when I was about 35. My Doctor first tried anti-depressants but they didn't work & had numerous side effects. Buspar gave me anxiety attacks. Finally, my doctor prescribed Xanax. When the first dose kicked in I knew this was the answer to my nightmare of a life! NO more anxiety attacks, feelings of unreality, NO more "on edge ready to run & hide" feelings. I have seen my current Dr (a psychiatrist) for about 10 years. A few years ago he talked me into taking Lexapro so I could decrease my dependence on Xanax (.75mg three times a day) and also help with some mild depression. The Lexapro worked and I reduced the Xanax to .25mg three time a day. However, in the last year or so, I noticed I had become rather emotionless. I am now off Lexapro (HORRIBLE withdrawals!!) but my anxiety level has increased. I suppose I am technically addicted to Xanax but since this is the only therapy that works I will continue using it EVEN if I hav | M | 50 | 16 years | 4/2/2009 | 5 | Panic Attacks, GAD | Sleepy | I take 1mg XR daily at night before bedtime. This medication has improved the quality of my life by allowing me to better handle social situations, and stress that comes from challenging situations in life. Also, for those who are having a hard-time deciding if a benzo is right for you for anxiety vs taking an anti-depressant, look at the ratings on this site for all of the SSRI's & SSNRI's, and then look at the rating for xanax-the ratings speak for themselves!!! This medication is much safer and effective for you in the long-term than any anti-depressant. | M | 41 | 3 years | 7/2/2008 | 5 | Panic,SocialPhobia,Insomnia | None | Taking .25-rarely .50mgs. before bedtime for the past 14yrs; no problems with this drug at all. I have stopped cold turkey numerous times. I added 10mgs. Paxil in the morning 5yrs. ago and they work well together for me. I can't imagine taking more than .50mgs daily but everyone is different. | M | 56 | 14 years | 7/23/2008 | 5 | Anxiety | None | Xanax is the one prescription medication that I have been prescribed (among many) that does what it says it is supposed to. It has been enormously helpful to me. | M | 55 | 3 years | 8/22/2008 | 5 | anxiety/panic attacks | none | this is honestly the first time i ever have posted something online with regards to a drug, however, i thought my input may help someone. i had anxiety for years - as long as i can remember - and was resigned to the fact of living with them as all drugs that were given to me since my teen years would just make me very tired. i didn't try xanax until my thirties and it was extremely helpful. i may be one of those lucky ones who haven't experienced any negative side effects, yet for me it was life changing. instead of drinking to mask my anxiety, i opted to try and drug and it has been incredibly helpful - no anxiety attacks. | M | 35 | 3 years | 8/29/2008 | 5 | General anxiet and related insomnia | Xanax is supposed to decrease anxiety. It's not meant to induce an occasional, slightly dreamy, positive feeling of "oh, who the hell cares..." about things, but it does, and that's a real benefit. | Second time on generic Xanax in 3 years. Just a marvelous med. I take .25-.50 mgs at night to help quiet my mind and induce sleep. It works beautifully 85-90% of the time. Easy to get hooked but also easy to control. The more you take, the more you want. Take it easy to start with and you're the boss. Minor withdrawal symptoms if you skip a day or more, but that's how you keep from becoming a zombie. | M | 44 | 1 months | 9/6/2008 | 5 | atypical depression, panic, phobia | None. | Xanax -in my case generic Alprazolam- is the only drug that effectively counters my panic an nervousness and provides me with feelings of great relaxation. Fast acting too. I can adjust my dose according to my level of anxiety; usually somewhere between 1 and 2 mg a day. I've tried all SSRI's on the market but they only made the situation worse ( plus personality changes, feeling empty inside, sleep disturbance) and also robbed me from my sex life. Don't buy all the story's of addiction and horrible withdrawal: I have been on and off Xanax for 6 years and I have weaned myself off several times without ill effects as long as you do it slowly. I also have never felt the need to increase my doses despite the long time taking it. | M | 54 | 6 years | 9/22/2008 | 5 | nerve damage, anxiety, stress, | none to speak of. | I am very happy with Xanax. I was prescribed it for a nerve problem increased from stress. I have always been a very anxious person. I have alot of stress. It releives me of stress, I feel less anxious, much more calm and relaxed. I can also sleep easier. As with any drug you must no abuse it. I wish I had known about it earlier. | M | 41 | 3 weeks | 9/24/2008 | 5 | GAD, Agoraphobia | None to speak of. | I take .5mg twice a day and find that it really relaxes me. Especialy while in stores and new places I have never been to before. This drug is very easy to take and works for me with in 15 - 20 minutes. I'd recomend you talk with your doctor to see if this medicine is right for you. It's given me back the life I once knew months ago. | M | 30 | 4 months | 9/29/2008 | 5 | panic disorder/ anxiety | light drowsiness, sleepy | try to take the smallest doses when possible | M | 29 | 7 years | 5/9/2009 | 5 | panic anxiety ptsd | slight memory loss | Xanax has helped me finally live a more active life. I take it with mirtazapine for my ptsd. I'm not worried about addiction. (.5 X 3 a day) | M | 63 | 2 years | 6/3/2009 | 5 | Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia | none | wonder pill, I've heard about the withdrawls, but I don't plan on experiencing them anytime soon. Xanax gets rid of panic in about 15 minutes, agoraphobia sometimes need 2 doses of 1mg. 1 before going out, and a 2nd while out shopping, in the car, or wherever your at. Best thing out there for anxiety. I take 2-3 doses of 1mg. | M | 29 | 3 years | 7/6/2009 | 5 | anxiety & panic attacks | None - I take 0.125mg in the AM, under tounge | I use 3 x 10mg Buspar generic daily for base line control and then start my day out with the 0.125mg Xanax under tounge. This causes quick action and I start my day level instead of "35,000 ft and climbing". Obviously I reduce my chances of building up a tolerance. If I do air travel, etc. then I add what's necessary for unusual anxiety. My thanks to all the contributors to this forum. | M | 73 | 9 months | 7/16/2009 | 5 | Anxiety, severe panic attacks, dep | Very relaxed, don't have a worry in the world, and happy, i guess happy from being calmed down | This is the best benzo, this is the heavy hitter, i think it works the best, it helps stomach pain, sometimes my headaches, definately stop a panic attack, and relieve your stress, i think the world would be more happy and calm if everyone was on this, but people should not abuse it and ruin it for people like us who need it. I been on this since i was 16 very lightly until i was about 24 and been on it steady up to 4 mgs a day, i lowered my self to 2 mg a day and now back at 3 mg a day, i will admit it is addictive, but not to bad to lower your doseage if you wanna wean off just start taking halfs for a few weeks then just nibble on em for a few more weeks, seriously, 100% great pill if used in the right hands, my doc told me the benefit outweighs the side effects which i have none except relaxation. | M | 30 | 14 years | 10/19/2009 | 5 | anxiety and panic attacks | Was put on drug along w/ clomipramine when hospitalized for suicidality 25 years ago. Still on both. History of OCD, anxiety worsened by marijuana, psychedelics. Drug works really well except for time delay 15-20 minutes, but now I anticipate better and avoid this problem. Even greatly helped me write exams years ago on moderate dose; relaxation resulting in better recall. Coffee and xanax do not cancel out – I get the best of both, relaxed and alert. But hungover if too much the day before, sometimes with flu-like aches. Helps immeasurably with stressful social situations. | Smoked pot again about 10 years ago just a couple of times and xanax didn't work anymore. Put on antipsychotics. After several months gave them up and am fine on xanax. Was concerned about addiction. Told 4 mg daily is threshold for that, but alcohol use seriously lowers threshold. Originally I'd been on 2 mg daily plus horrible halcion in the same family (see my halcion entry 3/10/2009). Now on 3 mg daily, usually in 2 installments. Drug is wasted on a full stomach! One shrink said I might as well throw it in toilet if I've eaten first. However, once I take it, with LOTS of fluid, I wait 10 minutes and then eat; otherwise hunger keeps me anxious because of low blood sugar (part of problem with pot). Once was off antidepressants 5 weeks: my sexuality went from nil to like a teenager; kept taking xanax which had no negative effects in this dept. BEWARE withdrawal if quitting or cutting down. Cold turkey from xanax or any benzodiazepine can literally kill you from stroke; even fast cutting down can easily lead to seizure. Anyway, couldn't live without this drug, which, like all benzos, is based on brain's own GABA antianxiety chemistry; but I've read (non-medical) just buying GABA may not work because of something to do with blood/brain barrier. I don't understand this so do your own research. | M | 63 | 25 years | 12/8/2009 | 5 | Social anxiety | Sometimes it makes me tired. | Have been sober for 25 years and when I got into my 50's I began having anxiety when in crowds, such as weddings, Christmas parties, dinner parties,etc. I take .5mg about an hour before the event and it does the job, I feel relaxed and comfortable around people. I am very careful to take this pill only when necessary as I have heard many horror stories about how addictive it is.It can be a life saver if used with caution. | M | 56 | | 12/26/2009 | 5 | Chronic anxious depression | Abrupt discontinuance is holy hell- Sometimes the physician's prescribing X. to me, get anxious, and tries to instead, ply me with the brutally toxic ssri's, and their ilk. Why? I am sure this is at the behest of big pharma representatives, pushing the latest ssri drugs. | I would become a total agoraphobic basket case without it- Before there was Xanax, I was on Valium for years, with unsatisfactory results. _All_ of the ssri class of substances are *highly toxic* to me. They induce paranoid psychosis, extreme disphoria, among a long laundry list of serious life threatening ailments. Every so often, My Dr. expresses concern, that X. is going harm me (after 20 years on the stuff,) and directs me to some sinfully expensive psychiatrist for validation. So for a little more then a week, I voluntarily stopped taking X.- The results are devastating- I stopped being able to sleep at all for a week or more- I have been sleepless for over 10 days in a row in the past- And what did the expensive psychiatrist have to say about that? "I dont believe you"(!) And then he tries to bully me into taking (gasp!) Trazodone! Besides total insomnia, I become extremely fearful, and full of muscle cramps and spasms, boarding on full blown convulsive seizures. My body stopped digesting food, to the extent I couldn't even hold water down- My blood pressure soared to 180 over 110 w. a 110bpm pounding pulse rate- hallucinations, neuralgia, migraines, soaking sweats, tremors, and my feet stank ferociously. Sharp dental pain, where I haven't had teeth for years. Screeching tinnitus, feelings of having thorns behind my eyes, sever chills, vomiting, urinary retention, involuntary anorexia, back spasms, and leg spasms so pronounced, to almost completely prev | M | 62 | 20 years | 1/17/2010 | 5 | PTSD | Drowsiness, short-term memory problems, minor loss of balance | This drug has been a godsend. I started having severe anxiety after returning from the Gulf War. I was diagnosed with PTSD and placed on every SSRI and SSRI-like drug. None of them worked. For 15 years I lived with flashbacks, intense anxiety, and killer side effects from the SSRIs (they are poison. Avoid them). In 2006, I finally said "ENOUGH!" I did my homework and I knew I was risking a terrible addiction, but life was so horrible that I was willing to take the risk to get some relief. Though I suffer from the side effects mentioned, Xanax has given me back at least some of my life. I am addicted, but I went into it with my eyes open knowing that could happen. I can do at least some of the things I enjoy again, and can function on my job (which was in jeopardy before Xanax). I have not needed a dosage increase since I started the drug, so I'm not developing a tolerance. My advice to you is this: try everything else before you try Xanax. But if nothing has worked, I mean absolutely nothing including non-medicinal things like psychotherapy, and if you cannot function any more due to your anxiety, and you have no life left, then go on Xanax. But do so knowing you may be on it for a long, long time and may go through hell getting off. In other words, Xanax is a LAST RESORT only. | M | 55 | 7 years 1mg 3X day | 4/15/2013 |