<p>Poetsheart - I agree with you. She has some issues. Sounds like some sort of mood disorder and Xanax is not designed for that. It’s really good for anxiety attacks but not generalized anxiety. For that, people usually take an SSRI (and counseling). I’ve known people who have tried to take Xanax for generalizes anxiety and it can be come very problematic. Not only in terms of rebound anxiety, dependency and withdrawal but because it it a sedative and it’s hard to function when you are always sedated. </p>
<p>My sister and her husband had a lot of problems went they were dating and saw a counselor. My sister was determined to get married because she was in her late 30s and was afraid she was going to miss the ‘kid’ boat. 12 years later they still have significant problems and she keeps throwing around the D word. Family members tried and tried to point out to her that having that level of problems pre-marriage wasn’t a good sign and she might want to rethink it. She just got angry at us and married him anyway.</p>
<p>While I do think it’s smart for people to use pre-martial counseling and resolve the some of their issues before marriage. IF they’re not resolved at that point it will only get worse because marriage is hard enough as it is without having the deck stacked against you.</p>
<p>I am not a physician, but I have to add the comment that no one should EVER take medication (or supply it) which has been prescribed to someone else. Not.even.one.time. The only exception might be in an instance resembling the final scenes of the movie Independence Day where most of the planet has been decimated and hospitals (as well as physicians) are pretty much gone. Maybe then. Otherwise, right thinking on this topic means following the recommendations of the medical community AND the law, 100% of the time.</p>
<p>Let the flame-throwing begin, but I am currently on Xanax, on a regular basis and have been for a few weeks. Believe me, it is not something I am happy about at all. But if any of you read the thyroid medication thread, you may remember I had somewhat of a thyroid crisis this fall, and it ended up I was hyperthyroid… all of the symptoms (it was not detected for two months because my last thyroid tests in April of this year were all normal). Many of the hyperthyroid symptoms are identical to generalized anxiety and/or panic attacks… I felt like I was on speed (and lost 25 lbs. since September due to no appetite), my resting heart rate (which had previously been 65-66) was 90, I was shaking most of the time, I could not concentrate or focus my attention to even the most minute of details… and on and on. Of course once we realized that my thyroid medication was waaaaaay off, it was lowered, then actually, most recently discontinued to see if my remaining thyroid gland would kick in and find homeostasis. It was kind of funny… once the docs had a diagnosis that could be documented by blood work, they had no problem prescribing the Xanax to get me through the roughest time until the thyroid medication was out of my system. </p>
<p>What I never knew is that there is now an extended-release Xanax. It minimizes the issue of the short half-life. I take one .50mg pill twice a day, and they want my symptoms to be stabilized for at least a couple of more weeks before weaning me off of it. I had another blood draw this week and am waiting to see what my thyroid results are. </p>
<p>So before anyone disses the use of Xanax, and begins to label anyone who uses it as a temporary crutch, please be careful of judging everyone. Beta blockers helped a bit, but I did end up in the hospital over Thanksgiving (beta blocker and short-acting Xanax were not cutting it) because of symptoms that could have mimicked a potential cardiac event. I kept telling them it was a hyperthyroid situation (I was pretty sure my heart was fine), but I was kept overnight for monitoring, then released; it was another doctor (a new one I finally went with because the other one was not helping me with my symptoms during the hyperthyroid period) who finally recommended the extended release Xanax, and as I said, I never knew it existed. Even though I am very tempted to do my own experiment and start cutting back on the Xanax at this point, just to see if any thyroid symptoms still remain, I have been told repeatedly it takes a few weeks for any change in thyroid medications to manifest themselves completely in the body, so I will be a good compliant patient! Oh, it also didn’t help that my peri-menopausal stage is now official (they did those tests, too, while I was in the hospital), but I guess it’s not uncommon for women, when estrogen starts to decline in the body, to need less thyroid hormone.</p>
<p>I can’t tell you how many doctors have now said to me, “Wow, your body was in the middle of the ‘perfect storm’.” So yea, there are times when Xanax is absolutely warranted, but I am one of the few people (I’ve so learned over the last few weeks) who absolutely refuse to share any of my narcotics with anyone. You’d actually be surprised how many people do poetsheart.</p>
<p>i don’t think anyone should ever be dissed for using a drug prescribed by their physician. There are very legitimate uses for all drugs on the controlled substance list. Used as instructed, these drugs are very beneficial for millions of people who don’t get addicted to them. As a reference, Adderall is a Schedule II controlled substance (rated high for potential abuse) while Xanax is a Schedule IV controlled substance (rated as having a low potential for abuse). All drugs that are on the controlled substance list should be treated with a healthy dose of respect but that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t use them when needed under the guidance of their physician.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>All of the kids I’ve known who take Adderall prescribed for them not only not get addicted to it but they often don’t like the way it makes them feel when they do take…so they only take it when absolutely necessary.</p>
<p>I only take Xanax when I need for a specific reason because I know I couldn’t function if I took it all the time. I would literally sleep through life. So for me, addiction to it is not an issue.</p>
<p>Not saying anyone on this thread is doing this, but it saddens me that people sometimes try to make others feel they are somehow ‘weak’ for needing certain medications. You never know when one of these medications literally saved someone’s life. People will often talk about how taking an anti-depressant turned their life around. I am personally glad that people are able to get relief from things like anxiety and depression. I’m a huge believer in cognitive therapy but I am also thankful that people have access to these medications when necessary.</p>
<p>Of course, the OP’s issue was with her brother’s gf taking someone else’s rx. That is never a good thing and could be a reason for concern.</p>
<p>I also visit a message forum for nurses, and it absolutely amazes me (and disgusts me) how many nurses have a disdain for narcotic pain medication to the point that they will refuse to give it in spite of the fact that it is ordered by the physician. They view anyone who asks for their pain medicine on schedule as drug seeking addicts, weak cry babies, or addicts in the making. I see this attitude even in nurses who work on post surgical floors. These nurses are taking care of patients who have just had their bodies cut open for surgery and they are treating these people like addicts because they ask for their medicine (gasp) even before it is actually due! Forget the fact that they are asking for it before it is due because the nurses purposely undermedicated them and their pain relief was completely inadequate. They will relate how they purposefully delay getting back to their patients’ rooms, or give the absolute minimum dose when they have a range to choose from, or how they will dilute narcotics in solution and give it so slowly as to completely negate its benefits. The self righteousness with regard to pain relief is absolutely astounding, and it is similar to what you are relating with regard to anxiety relief. How dare you not just grin and bear it?</p>
<p>Completely agree. But I do know it can be difficult for many people to get these meds, even on the occasions when they are warranted as post #24 and #25 allude to, so then they turn to others who have ‘extras’ around. </p>
<p>I have a friend whose physician is known for being very liberal with these medications (neither side of the continuum is good), and she has been known to openly give a few to others who seem to need them, from her perspective. Physicians like this are contributing to the problem of abuse.</p>
<p>However, when I was first taking 1-2 .25 Xanax a day back in October, I had one family care physician tell me I needed to wean off of it very slowly (he wasn’t the prescribing physician) because I could have seizures. I told him I’d only been taking it 1-2 times a day for maybe three weeks, and he was still insistent that I could have seizures. When I mentioned this to all the other specialists I was seeing, they said this guy had no clue what he was talking about. So obviously this family care physician was one of those who saw nothing good in using Xanax. I have since left that practice and have a new internist. I am so tempted to go back to that family care physician and tell him what was really going on, and inappropriate it was for him to automatically assume I fit a profile of a benzo-seeking addict… at 1-2 .25mg. Xanax a day!</p>
<p>I know this has been mentioned on other threads, but people… please, if you feel the need for some sort of psychiatric medication, PLEASE have your thyroid checked first before letting someone assume your symptoms are not attributed to your thyroid (or other possible medical issues).</p>
<p>Of course one SHOULD never take another person’s medication. But, I can see how that can happen and didn’t want to be too righteous when in the real world people go against the rules. I would never want a patient to be afraid of telling their physician they tried someone else’s pill once for fear of being reprimanded.</p>
<p>I second the looking for thyroid problems in post # 26. Definitely metabolic causes, including thyroid function, need to be evaluated before prescribing drugs for presumed mental illness. Further discussion of good/bad physicians et al…well, doctors are people, too.</p>
<p>Poetsheart, why do you ask? What do you hope to do with the information? FWIW, I NEVER prescribe Xanax, but I don’t think that’s the point. I think the overall pattern you are seeing is more important, as is the meaning off why your brother is confiding in you.</p>
<p>My son lost a classmate in HS…the kid had bought two different prescription drugs from two different kids. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My dentist is like that - no matter what he has just done to you, will not prescribe any painkillers. If he fears addiction so much, I don’t see why he doesn’t just prescribe 2 or 3 day’s worth.</p>
<p>[quoote] Many of the hyperthyroid symptoms are identical to generalized anxiety and/or panic attacks… I felt like I was on speed (and lost 25 lbs. since September due to no appetite), my resting heart rate (which had previously been 65-66) was 90, I was shaking most of the time, I could not concentrate or focus my attention to even the most minute of details
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I was going to mention for whoever is on this thread to learn a bit about xanax that if you are hyperthyroid, you can think you are having extreme anxiety. I lost 15 lbs and my normally low blood pressure was sky high. Through the help of my own research and my CC buddies, I realized that I was way overdosed on synthroid. In the last year, I’ve persuaded my dr. to cut my dosage three times and how I feel normal.</p>
<p>teriwtt–your family physician isn’t the one who prescribed it for you and probably doesn’t have experience with it. That does not mean he thought you were an addict who needed to be weaned off the medication. Nor does it mean he is a bad doctor. It is simply in the literature to wean Xanax due to possible seizures and he gave you warning (something your other doctors should have done also since they really can’t tell how you take your medication).</p>
<p>Nrdsb4–Having worked in pain management in the past I know how correct you are about nursing and the medical profession being afraid of addiction over pain relief. You’d think we were in the dark ages sometimes.
Pain pumps where the patient self-medicates have shown that patients use far less pain medication overall in a hospital stay versus intermittant administration by the nursing staff. Pain medication use is less when a patient is first put out of pain (a large first dose after surgery for example) and then given prompt relief as pain starts to return. Pain patches are also made that give low doses of medication.
It takes far more medication to relieve pain than to keep it at bay. And being pain-free (or at least tolerable) speeds healing by allowing mobility.</p>
<p>Pain relief- as in post # 23. Whether with ibuprofen/acetaminophen (Advil/Tylenol) or controlled substances in a prescription should be taken when the pain starts to increase not when it is becoming unbearable. Anesthesia literature supports the concepts of being able to control pain better when you start before it gets bad- hence the data on patient controlled pain relief working better with less overall medicine used. Hit the pain before your brain has a chance to feel the max and the medicine will be more effective. No points for being macho, snarling at family that you can handle the pain, you don’t need any medicine, etc.</p>
<p>It would be so much easier for people to seek help if the stigmas attached to mental diseases were entirely removed. Current research is doing a lot to show physical causes of mental illnesses- no more give the little lady a pill a la 1960’s without knowing the specific causes of the problem. I’m sure a lot of hypothyroidism was missed -especially the most common autoimmune forms that affect more women than men. There was likely a lot of situational depression as well given the restrictive lifestyle common to most women. Just addtional musings here.</p>
<p>With all due respect, trying to scare someone who had been taking .25 mg. 1-2 times a day that they could have seizures while getting off of Xanax was inappropriate. He wasn’t making generalizations. He directed his comment at me, that I might have seizures. If he has no experience with it, he shouldn’t be making those kinds of comments. By the way, when I told him all of the other tools I was using to try to control the anxiety that weren’t working, such as guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation, meeting with my spiritual advisor, he only honed in on the spiritual advisor portion and asked me specific questions about what I was focusing on with the spiritual advisor. When I tried to explain (it was very difficult for me to articulate exactly what I was going through at this time due to the lack of concentration), he asked me if I was reading my bible (remember, this was the first time I ever met this guy, so I did tell him how my previous job as a hospice chaplain never, ever created this kind of anxiety in my life). I told him my spiritual advisor often recommended publications that had been more recently written that I enjoyed and spoke to me in some very comforting ways; he then asked me if I believed in satan. I told him I believed in evil in our world, and he then told me that I needed to be careful as the devil often disguises himself as God and that I should be aware of anything that ‘appears’ to be helping me. I made it very clear that I did not subscribe to his beliefs and he said, “Well, you know where I stand; if you want to discuss this further and how the bible can help you, you know where to find me.”</p>
<p>I was so absolutely dumbfounded at this moment that I could only laugh when I walked out of that office (unfortunately, I was the last Saturday appointment of the day and no other staff members were present when I walked out, or I would have lodged a major complaint) and into the parking lot. Looking back now, the whole experience infuriates me; as I place many of the pieces of the conversation together, he was telling me that Xanax was satan disguising himself as God. </p>
<p>The whole experience crushed me in the end. The physician we had been seeing in this practice for almost 20 years (he was basically out of residency when we met him) has always had our utmost health in mind, but he has now become the most difficult one to get in and see, so I often saw one of four other docs in the practice. This is why I switched to a concierge internist. I don’t have to worry about who else I have to see when my regular physician has no openings. </p>
<p>In fact, had I seen my regular physician, he would have likely recognized that how I was presenting myself, was just not me and might have suggested the thyroid testing before I finally decided to see my old endocrine surgeon (which I had to wait over three weeks to see). Even though I had not seen him in 15 years, he listened to my symptoms and immediately knew the thyroid was playing a role before he saw my blood test results. Neither he nor the new endocrinologist I saw the following week (the endocrine surgeon is close to retiring and was not taking on patients for primary care, so I found a new endocrinologist and was able to get in the same day due to a cancellation) had any problem at all with my using the Xanax until the thyroid levels became more reasonable. But they did recommend the extended release form to avoid the ups and downs throughout the day.</p>
<p>Shrinkwrap, I’m not sure what you’re trying to understand. I thought I was very clear about why I brought this question before the forum. My major concern is over the fact that she is self-medicating without the precautionary benefits of medical supervision, and that this medication is being supplied by “a friend.” I understand that Xanax is a serious drug with the potential for abuse and addiction. I would not like to see this happen to my brother’s girlfriend. I also worry that the stated reasons for taking the drug may not be ameliorated by Xanax, and that other strategies might better address the issue.</p>
<p>After reading teriwitt’s account of her undiagnosed thyroid condition, I am more convinced than ever that my friend should see a doctor. She is a petite and energetic woman who can scarely afford to lose an once of flesh, and were it possible that she is suffering from hyper-thyroidism, she should certainly be made aware of it. In my view, it couldn’t hurt to have her thyroid tested.</p>