One of the best anti-panic drugs is Xanax. Instructions for use reports that it eliminates depression, insomnia, senile tremor. What do doctors and patients think about this?
What does Xanax treat?
Usually the drug is prescribed by neurologists or psychiatrists. The medicine has an international name - "Alprazolam". It's a tranquilizer. It has a slight sedative effect, reduces the excitability of the nerve centers of the thalamus and hypothalamus. Since these parts of the brain are responsible for the sensory and neuroendocrine activity of the brain, one can guess that their excessive excitement negatively affects the body. Xanax helps to stop the negative process. Instructions for use recommend taking it to people suffering from:
- Depressions during which patients are in a depressed mental state.
- Panic attacks, accompanied by unmotivated fears, pronounced anxiety and negative somatic conditions.
- Disorders of the central nervous system.
- Phobias.
- Tremor. The drug "Xanax" (instructions for use thispoint emphasizes) increases the duration and depth of sleep, eliminates nightmares, relieves emotional stress.
Who shouldn't take Xanax?
Like any drug, this drug has contraindications. They need to pay special attention: pills affect the central nervous system, so their misuse can lead to especially dangerous consequences. Who shouldn't take Xanax? The instruction contains a detailed list of contraindications. The drug is not prescribed for people suffering from:
- Hypersensitivity to the components that make up the tablets, or to the main therapeutic substance.
- Myasthenia gravis.
- Glaucoma.
- Various breathing disorders.
- Liver failure.
- Motor disorders due to malfunctioning of the cerebellum or frontal lobes.
- Night breathing stops.
Some alcoholics believe that Xanax is the best hangover cure. Instructions for use, reviews of doctors categorically state the opposite: the medicine is contraindicated in case of alcohol, drug or drug poisoning. Combining this drug with alcohol can cause death. "Xanax" (doctors' reviews of the drug indicate that experts are unanimous on this issue) should be taken with extreme caution in patients with psychoses, depression and disorders of the organic brain structure.origin. In this case, the drug can cause a paradoxical reaction, aggravating the symptoms up to suicidal tendencies. Xanax is not recommended for pregnant women, teenagers and the elderly.
Where can I buy Xanax?
Very often patients with anxiety conditions ask the question: "Is Xanax sold by prescription or not?" The answer is unequivocal: only by prescription. An anxiolytic affects the nervous system, can cause paradoxical reactions, so it can not be taken categorically without a doctor's recommendation. This can lead to dire consequences.
The second, no less popular question: "Does Xanax have analogues?" Yes. These include the following medications:
- Alprazolam. This is not even an analogue, but the international name of the active substance. It is sold in tablet form and is often cheaper than Xanax. Feedback from people taking the analogue suggests that the difference in price is not due to the difference in the composition of the tablets, but to the cheaper packaging of Alprazolam.
- Zolomax. Has not identical, but similar composition.
- Neurol.
- Helex.
Minor differences in the composition of the tablets, experts say, can cause different reactions to the medication. That is why the doctor also writes a prescription to buy an analogue. Replacement of one drug with another in a pharmacy (only at the request of the consumer) is not possible.
How dangerous is Xanax?
Reviews of both doctors and themselvespatients are unanimous in one thing: the drug, with all its positive effect on the body, carries two dangers:
- Could be addictive.
- May be fatal.
Alprazolam belongs to the class of psychoactive substances that are most often used in medicine. The action begins almost immediately after taking the pill and lasts a long time. "Xanax" - reviews of doctors confirm this - does not cause drowsiness, on the contrary, many people feel some improvement in mood after it. This is what causes the desire to take the medicine again and again.
Alprazolam and its analogues have one more unpleasant side, doctors report. It is effective in relieving panic attacks. The drug acts quickly and improves the condition so much that many people prefer to constantly carry it with them and take it even when the poor he alth is not caused by a vegetative crisis. Today, more and more often Alrazolam and its analogues are equated with street drugs.
Attention! Taking the medicine with other tranquilizers and alcohol can lead to death.
Who else does a tranquilizer help?
Xanax is often prescribed to treat social phobias. This is the name of the state of uncontrollable and uncontrolled fear associated with the fear of people to perform public actions. Some people can't speak in public. Someone is afraid of the company of strangers. In more severe cases, social phobia can manifest itself in the fear of being in a crowd, riding in vehicles, or even going out. Interestingly, most of those suffering from such a pathology are well aware of the groundlessness of their fears. However, they cannot improve their condition on their own. Phobias can have very real manifestations:
- A sharp increase in heart rate, leading to shortness of breath, shortness of breath.
- Sweating.
- Chills.
- Frequent change in skin color: from bright red to bluish-pale.
- Speech impairment.
- A state of stupor.
"Xanax" (instruction, reviews of doctors and people taking it, this is confirmed) helps to successfully deal with this condition.
In severe cases, an attack of a phobia can result in a panic attack or fainting.
How does Xanax work?
The neurons of the brain, which in medical language are called gamma receptors, are responsible for the feeling of anxiety and fear in the human body. When they work normally, a person's fear is a defensive reaction. If for some reason the gamma receptors become too active, the fear gets out of hand. A person is overcome by unmotivated anxiety, irrational anxiety. The more active the receptors work, the stronger the anxiety. And the faster the gamma receptors “burn out”. Kind of a vicious circle. "Xanax" (the instructions for use do not mention this, but experts know this feature of the drug's action) removes this condition very quickly. But there is also a flip side of the coin.
It is this speed that makes the tranquilizer addictive. The drug is rapidly cleared frombody, so the withdrawal syndrome often occurs even in those who take pills in accordance with all the doctor's recommendations. Dependence can be recognized by signs that appear in the interval between taking the drug. This is:
- Dullness of consciousness and emotions.
- Shaking, trembling.
- Headaches, nausea.
- Increased sensitivity to noise, light.
- Irritable.
In some cases, everything ends in death.
How withdrawal from Alprazolam and its analogues manifests itself
It's important to remember that dependence on a drug can develop very quickly. Dosage, duration of treatment, severity of symptoms depend solely on the characteristics of the individual patient. People say that withdrawal can come unexpectedly. Here are her signs:
- First, shortness of breath develops, heart rate noticeably quickens.
- Later, all the original symptoms return, for the treatment of which Xanax was prescribed. Instructions for use warns about this.
- There are problems with speech, coordination of movements.
- Dulling of emotions gradually degenerates into excessive excitability.
- Psychosomatic disorders appear: joint pain, burning in the abdomen, rash on the body.
- Convulsions develop.
- Bad mood gradually develops into depression. Unhe althy thoughts, tearfulness appear. Often there is a desire for suicide.
To get rid of withdrawal, detoxification is necessary. Proceduresare carried out only in the hospital and may take several months.
Xanax side effects: effects on the nervous system
At the beginning of treatment, most patients experience drowsiness after taking the medicine. During this time you can not drive vehicles. It is recommended to be especially careful when crossing streets and in other situations requiring special attention. Patients taking this medicine say that it interferes with concentration. According to patient reviews, muscle weakness, trembling of the arms or legs may be observed. Over time, in some patients, the symptoms disappear without discontinuation of the drug, but in others they may remain for a long time. Headaches, attacks of aggression or bad mood are possible. In this case, therapy with the drug "Xanax" instructions for use advises to cancel. Otherwise, depression may develop. Sometimes there is a violation of gait, disorientation, tremor, less often - confusion. Reverse reactions are also possible: euphoria, agitation, irritability. Usually alprazolam improves sleep, but in some patients, according to them, drugs based on it cause insomnia. Uncontrolled treatment - doctors emphasize - can lead to deep depression, suicidal thoughts, suicide.
Other side effects
The Xanax medicine (the instructions for use also warns about this) can cause other negative reactions. Side effects include the following pathologies and conditions:
- Agranulocytosis, the symptoms of which are severeintermittent chills, sore throat, fatigue.
- Leuko-, platelet- or neutropenia.
- Anemia.
- Dry mouth or excessive saliva production.
- Diarrhea or constipation.
- Violation or increased appetite.
- Impaired liver and/or kidney function.
- Nausea, epigastric discomfort, vomiting.
- Violation of the menstrual cycle in women.
- Incontinence or difficulty passing urine.
- Change in libido in a positive or negative direction.
Whether it is worth canceling the tranquilizer, the doctor decides for each patient individually. However, it must be remembered that both overdose and withdrawal of the drug cause a number of unpleasant, and sometimes severe symptoms. Among the most notable patients are depression of consciousness and respiratory failure. Doctors add more tachycardia or bradycardia, less often a coma.
How to take an anxiolytic
The drug comes in several forms.
Most often, "Xanax" and "Alprazolam" are sold in tablets containing the main active ingredient from 0.25 mg to 1.2 mg. 1 mg of this drug is comparable to 10 mg of Valium. The package can contain from 10 to 100 tablets. In the prescription, the doctor must indicate how many tablets and in what dosage the patient has the right to buy.
How is the drug taken? "Xanax" (tablets) is prescribed, focusing on the diagnosis of the patient. The daily rate is divided into several doses. Start treatment with minimal doses, then the amount of substanceincrease.
- Anxiety, anxiety - up to 4 mg per day.
- Depression - 4.5 mg.
- Panic attacks - the dosage is selected in accordance with the condition and characteristics of the patient. You can increase it by 1 mg every 4 days.
Retard dosage form can be taken not 3, but 1-2 times a day.
The maximum duration of taking the drug is 3 months. Otherwise, addiction develops.
Sometimes Xanax comes in drops. In Russia, such a dosage form is practically not found.
Special warnings and instructions
- According to the reports of doctors, when taking drugs based on alprazolam, the condition of patients with severe forms of depression in half of the cases not only did not improve, but on the contrary: there was a development of manicness. For this reason, taking Alprazolam (or Xanax) with such a diagnosis is recommended only under the supervision of specialists and in combination with antidepressants.
- Patients who have previously taken tranquilizers, antidepressants, or other psychoactive drugs respond more quickly to this drug.
- If the drug is prescribed to patients with renal or hepatic insufficiency, it is recommended to monitor their condition weekly and collect tests.
- If a pregnant woman takes Xanax, the baby could be born with withdrawal symptoms, breathing problems, heart activity, muscle tone and other abnormalities, experts warn.
- The drug should not be given concomitantly with antipsychotics,sleeping pills, antiepileptic, narcotic drugs and muscle relaxants. They enhance each other's action and can lead to complete CNS depression.
Xanax and alcohol
"Alprazolam" and its analogues should not be taken with alcohol and medicines containing ethanol. Their interaction leads to hallucinations, depression of consciousness, coma.
