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929371 tn?1244265513

Mood disorders and Xanax

Hey, iam new to this site but i have been looking over information on anxiety and so on all night. when i was 15 i was diagnosed with bi-polar type II, obsessive compulsive disorder and at times a debilitating anxiety disorder. i was home schooled from grade 3 to the end of grade 8 and basically plopped right into high school with no social skills to speak of. iam 19 now and have learn and changed much since then but still come into great difficulty. i am currently on 3 300mg lithium, 1 7.5mg zopiclone, 1mg risperidone and 1 tablet twice daily of propranolol 20mg ( for shakes and tension )
this brings me to my question...i have been looking at medication for anxiety and so forth and came across the drug Xanax. And upon reading  all i could on it it has giving me a little hope. while in person i beat down the fear and anxiety and panic on the outside. out in public or with people even my friends iam a mess inside. its gotten to the point where i dont even enjoy being alone like i use to. i just obsess and worry and cant bring myself out of it. so i just smoke and drink occasionally as that slows my brain down ( i have been bad with it in the past ), that feeling of being numb i suppose. ive actually given a application to my local hospital to start community hours in the emergency department so i will stop thinking and feeling so anxious and worry some all the time and hopefully lead me to the career i want to get into which is nursing. i know drinking is a no no with this medication which iam fine with, and with the ones iam currently on to a certin extent, but what could the reactions be with the other medication that iam taking if iam perscribed it?
iam very concerned that my doctors wont listen to me and think i will get hooked and overdose and die or something. i dont want to be high or drunk i was to have that calmness effect, everything else has made me more stable doesn't help my anxiety in that regard. so i can think straight and try and enjoy life. Xanax also has muscle relaxant properties aswell as far as ive read, which is a God sent because i fractured my L2 vertibre 8 months ago in a car accident ( miracle i wasn't killed ) and am in chronic discomfort and bad pain when sitting for long periods of time, iam off work so i have alot of time to myself and i cant stand it. why i want to start at the hospital.
iam already dependent on prescription drugs, i cant go a day without them. Am i putting hope into this? i dont know. anyways ive gone on too long i think, i could talk forever ha. i would appreciate anyone's input on the matter

Thanks
Chris :)
9 Responses
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685562 tn?1447155231
If you look at the post in the Anxiety Community, you'll see that 99% of everyone get real physical symptoms, and allot of them sound like infections,ect..
It amazes me when people get physical symptoms without mental ones, and the Doc tells them its anxiety...completely idiotic.

If you ask me...sounds like everone had Lyme disease..lol
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Don't take Xanax. It calms you down so very much, it's wonderful. And highly addictive and undescribably hard to get of off. Alcohol and xanax are a deadly combination.

abby
Helpful - 0
929371 tn?1244265513
Yeah, iam very doubtful of what is actually wrong with me, i say "wrong" because there is so many issues that interfere with my actual enjoyment of life...you know things that get in the way to the point where i think that they really shouldn't be. At least to the degree that it is.
But when i doubt my medication and whats happened over the last few years i remind myself what kind of person i was before i took anything solid on a consistant basis. My mother would agree with me on that. To a certain degree i think its natural maturing and adapting. but i cant see my self being where i am now if it wasnt for what ive been taking, i am stable but the real problem is the anxiety and so on. i think one of the meds is suppose to help that but it doesnt do very much.
I know one thing my mother really advocates for is prayer and a faith life, as i come from a very Roman Catholic upbringing. And iam trying to find that faith in myself and just in general, but its not easy.
Anyways, thanks for the reply. i never would of thought of a actual physical problem with myself that might cause symptoms that i have. If thats the cause i have had a virus or something along those lines for a very long time. might explain the chronic fatigue.
Helpful - 0
685562 tn?1447155231
I agree with Paxiled

Its obvious that your current diagnosis is incorrect, and the ************** is ineffective, or not working as good.

I also suggest that you give Clonazepam "Klonopin" another chance if your going to take any benzo or Diazepam "Valium"
With Klonopin, it has to be dosed atleat twice daily in order for it to work properly, and usually takes about 2 weeks for it to gain a consistant Plasma level.
Thus creating a 24/7 working medication, because of the elimintation of the active properties, gains a constant state within your system. Taking out the "Roller Coaster" ride that a shorter life Benzodiazapine would have. Xanax is one of the shorter lived ones.

The fact that the man who first gave you your diagnosis actually worked for the pharmaceutical company's, gives me more reason for concern on your diagnosis.
Paxiled is right, it was invented to sell more drugs. This is for BP2, and about 100 more Physc problems.
They need to have a Consistant, constant customer....your one of there "customers"

Did they run any blood work, or do any other REAL definitive test to rule out physical problems, or to rule out say......infections, etc?
There are so many physical things that can cause mental problems, and Docs are to quick to blame it on a "Physc" condition.
For instance:
The parasite Toxoplasmosis "mainly contracted from cats" has been proven to cause Schizophrenia conditions.
Lyme disease can cause ALL of the physc conditions "and more" and most doctors dont even know how to treat it right...and comes up with false negatives within bloodtest ALL THE TIME.
Cronic dehydration can cause inflamation "and everything else" on all your tisues, and can cause tremors, doctors call that "Anxiety" as well
Simple food allergies can cause all your symptoms.

Anyways

Take your diagnosis with a grain of salt, dont blindly take it as a definitive
There human too, and all humans make mistakes.
Also
All of psychology, is based on "Theroy" theroys change ALL the time
All a theroy is, is something came up by a person to better explain the current situation.
But it can also hide the FACT of the situation.
Just like there anti depressants, The theroy behind anxiety/ depression is that its is caused by a chemical inbalance between either Seritonin, Norepinephrine, Dopeamine.
Anti depressants actually cause all of those chemicals to overload, causeing more chaos in your system..and more PHYSICAL problems..like tremors and such.
Physc. drugs seem to be the only ones out there that can advertise to help a mental "Disease" based on THEROY not FACT.

Just so you know, i put disease in the quotes, because I dont believe all the garbage.
All mental problems are caused by a physical problem.
Just the rantings of a non believer of the psychology and pharmaceutical communitys
Helpful - 0
804276 tn?1480858056
you have got to be honest and very informative when it comes to your mental illnesses or the doctor can't help you. i don't really have ocd but i have some ocd behavior due to the bipolar and anxiety. and i really understand the going over and over what someone says or does, or what i say or do. and the paranoia! yes i understand. just go to your psychiatrist with a long list of your symptoms and everything else you can think of about your behavior (a list so you don't get nervous and forget something that could be important) and be honest. good luck, velvet
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929371 tn?1244265513
yeah, even as a young child i have had symptoms of what is known as "OCD" everything from chronic hand washing to very frequent obsessing with everything being "perfect" weather it be visually or to get that "right" feeling when i do things. The most difficult part is obsessing over everything else in my head and going over it over and over again and not being able to stop. To the point where it just drives me mad. such as social situations.I analyze and go into everything thing that people do and say around me, weather or not there judging me or thinking negative thoughts about me and just being paranoid...its difficult. I think with mental illnesses its more complicated than just labels i think one illness or problem leads into the other, there connected. OCD to anxiety and so forth. In terms of "manic" episodes i use to have them years ago, i would go from being really shy and quiet to being funny and really socially out there, which i noticed was not normal. and it often got me into trouble.

My first actual Bi-polar diagnosis was type 1. it was only when i began to see one of the best doctors in Canada in Toronto at CAM-H that he gave me the diagnosis of type 2. Apparently he help to write the pharmacological book on medication, ive just been afraid to talk to him about the really in depth stuff iam concerned about. thoe i really should, iam just very doubtful. I think if i make a suggestion he will just brush it off.
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Avatar universal
You're already on an awful lot of drugs and they don't seem to be working.  One reason is the bipolar 2 diagnosis.  There may be no such thing as bipolar 2; I believe it was invented by pharmaceutical companies.  Do you have manic episodes?  As for the OCD, were you performing tasks repeatedly, such as washing your hand over and over?  Obsessive thinking is common to all mental disorders, including anxiety and depression, but if there's no compulsive behavior accompanying the thinking you don't have OCD, you just have severe anxiety.  So the drugs you're taking may not be treating what you actually have, which might just be a bad anxiety condition.  You might want to find a different psychiatrist who thinks with curiosity and listens carefully to make sure your diagnosis is actually correct; then maybe you can get on medication or therapy to treat what you actually are suffering from.

I'm not a doctor, and this is just a suggestion.  But it's also based on my having seen many psychiatrists over the years through health insurance, and fads come and go.  Right now OCD and bipolar 2 are big ones, and you have to be careful to advocate for yourself.
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929371 tn?1244265513
Thanks for your comment, i was seeing a psychiatrist about a year ago and she perscribed me a benzodiazepine Clonazepam but it did work at all, ive lived with this kind of state of worry for so long its almost normal and its only a few days ago that i came across other "benzos" that i stared to think maybe i should try another one. its been a long process and ive tryed a variey of  perhaps "lesser" medication to calm the anxiety and worry but nothing seems to really help.

I guess iam just attracted to the idea that when my brains on overdrive i can just take a pill and it will ease things, i mean theres so many medications out there theres gotta be something that does something like that. my mother is the same way in terms of the over active mind. so shes been helping me with it.
Helpful - 0
804276 tn?1480858056
i think your doctor would start you on ativan or something mild at first if he/she gives you a benzodiazapine at all, xanax isn't something you just get started right off on. they usually try the weaker drugs first to see if they help so you just have to be patient and try what they give you. benzo's are highly addictive and if you ever start on them try not to take them every day because of addiction. take only when absolutely necessary! i take xanax but not every day, usually not even every week, it is a strong addictive drug. i just pray and get through most of the time. you may need to find a new doctor if the one you have isn't willing to listen to you. buspar and others are longer acting anxiety meds, they may help if your doc tries you on them, just keep an open mind and stop drinking because it's not good to do on any psychiatric meds. plus if you have an addictive personality drinking will only worsen over time. good luck
Helpful - 0
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