<p>I’ve recently experienced a serious emotional trauma and have been feeling like the walls are closing in on me from time to time. I fall asleep at bedtime but often wake up in the middle of the night and have difficulty getting to sleep again. My family dr. prescribed Xanax (.25mg), 1 tablet 3 times a day as needed. </p>
<p>I am leary of taking most drugs and like to deal with things on my own. (Some would say I’m a strong woman.) Two friends independently suggested that I try Xanax, especially for an upcoming trip involving airline travel, one leg of which will be on a small aircraft. As I told them, if I’m a passenger in a car, my driver will generally pull over, allow me to get out of the car, get some air and stretch my legs if I’m feeling the need to do so. Airline pilots are not so accommodating! My dr. is not the kind to just give patients what they ask for–she agreed that this was the best way to go and called in a script for me. </p>
<p>I’m interested to know if others here have found Xanax to be helpful for such short-term situations and if there are other helpful hints any of you can offer. It was suggested that I experiment prior to the flight. As I live alone, experimentation itself creates a certain amount of anxiety. Does it kick in quickly? Do I wait for said anxiety to take it or act preemptively?</p>
<p>I am clearly not myself and need some help to get back to feeling normal again.</p>
<p>I have used Xanax several times - for short periods of time. I found it very helpful. Sometimes, just knowing I had the medication, was enough to help calm my nerves.</p>
<p>I use xanax. I have used it, successfully for quite awhile. My dosage is the same as when I started taken it. And it contains the anxiety of dealing with and then surviving cancer. </p>
<p>Talk to your doctor about any concerns you may have. I hope it helps.</p>
<p>I have a prescription for Ativan, which is similar. My doctor gives me 30 pills with no refills, and I don’t use anywhere near all of them in a year.</p>
<p>I use it for the same reasons you’ve discussed - when I can’t sleep due to worry or stress, and when flying. I find it very effective. You can wait until the anxiety hits, or take it preemptively. I take it before I go to bed if I know I’ll be worried about something (like the night before a big event), and I take it when I get to the airport if I’ll be flying. It lasts about 8 hours. </p>
<p>The only side effect I’ve noticed is that I feel kind of tired/heavy when I take it, and especially as it’s wearing off.</p>
<p>(My mom had a prescription for Xanax when she had cancer. She never complained of any side effects).</p>
<p>I think as long as you take Xanax for a limited time and for a specific purpose you’ll be fine. I wouldn’t take it 3x per day unless you’re really upset - I’d try to just take it at bedtime and when you’re flying.</p>
<p>It really is true that you are in far more danger driving to the airport than you are flying. Even in a small aircraft, especially when you aren’t dealing with winter weather. But I know fear is not always rational.</p>
<p>If you decide not to do the Xanax (which I know nothing about), why not consider a couple of glasses of wine before you go aboard? Just make sure your bladder is empty and you have not overindulged. Then you will be relaxed and less worried. I am an airline pilot, so obviously I’m not scared of flying, but sometimes I’m fearful when we take small boat trips in heavy traffic with a lot of wave action. The wine helps immensely (though I’m pretty much ready to jump into the cold water after a couple of hours to do whatever it takes to empty my bladder).</p>
<p>I like to joke about social/family situations where I “need a Xanax” - but I don’t really find it of benefit. I can’t find a dsage that does anything positive for me…one dosage does absolutely nothing and the next one up makes me VERY sleepy.</p>
<p>Missypie, I have a friend who also uses X during family situations, much to her delight. Believe she takes one-half a pill but says it takes the ‘edge off’.</p>
<p>To clarify, are you saying the second dosage that would be taken several hours after the first makes you sleepy? Or do you take a second dose shortly after the first and that makes you sleepy?</p>
<p>I take Xanax for flying. It works nicely to make me a bit sleepy and take the edge off the anxiety. I used to self-medicate with alcohol but the problem with drinking wine on the flight is that it increases the need to use the nasty airplane bathrooms and it makes me dehydrated.</p>
<p>Can’t speak from personal experience, but patients usually take a longer-acting benzodiazepine for long flights (usually Klonopin) or the newer Xanax XR rather than regular xanax, which will wear off in about 3 hrs and could cause rebound anxiety.</p>
<p>I don’t use xanax personally but I give it to my dogs for fireworks. It does not keep them from functioning and following instructions (like sit, come, stay), but it does considerably reduce their reactions to stress. One of the dogs also gets it for vet visits–same results. </p>
<p>I would suggest that you try the xanax in a non-critical situation–like an afternoon watching TV–and see how you react to it before you make a decision about using it while flying.</p>
<p>I’m sure I am using the wrong term…I’m talking about the strength of the pill/number of millograms (or micrograms?) of the stuff. One strength does nothing and the next strength puts me to sleep. </p>
<p>(BTW, I was googling to try to find the term that this old brain can’t remember…and what came up were mostly sites of people trying to buy or sell illegal drugs.)</p>
<p>regular xanax has a half-life of about 6-20 hrs, which means that while it does wear off relatively quickly, its still in your system, and when you take another dose on top of that, you can get an additive effect. Thats probably why you are getting the reaction you are to the second dose, missypie.</p>
<p>I took the smallest possible dose ONE time, and I was a zombie for a full 24 hours. I’m pretty sensitive to medications, though. I won’t be trying it again.</p>
<p>I’m not taking the pills twice. I looked it up: when I take a .25 mg pill it does nothing and when I take a .5 mg pill it puts me to sleep. (Sorry to have been so inarticulate.)</p>
<p>I take 0.25mg Xanax on nights when I need to sleep after menopausal insomnia has kept me up night after night…(I always fall asleep easily but wake up from 1am-3am or 3am-5am). It works in that I then can sleep straight through the night…I don’t use it nightly as don’t want to get addicted. Have also used it on flights because I usually cannot sleep on airplanes otherwise. My sleep with Xanax is never so heavy that I can’t be woken up easily.</p>