Question:

It goes like this.  I am uptight – but I try to tough it out instead of taking a Xanax because I reason – if I take this Xanax and the anxiety doesn’t go away – what then!  Then I have no safety net to catch me.  So I do without the Xanax – knowing that ’see I can handle this anxiety’ and if worse comes to worse I can take a Xanax I know it isn’t exactly terribly logical way to approach things.

I’ve always had anticipatory anxiety, so took a xanax even if I wasn’t anxious at the time, but thought I might be later.  Plus, it seems easier to kick the anxiety before it begins…instead of waiting for the xanax to kick in.  I seem to do better with a steady stream of a benzo…klonopin, then I don’t ever feel anxious.   Like Charley says, why suffer.  If you take the xanax and the anxiety doesn’t go away, your safety net is to take another xanax. Maria

Response:

I am wondering if anyone else out there does this.  I find I tend to do it with all my meds – including the asthma/sinus meds. It goes like this.  I am uptight – but I try to tough it out instead of taking a Xanax because I reason – if I take this Xanax and the anxiety doesn’t go away – what then!  Then I have no safety net to catch me.  So I do without the Xanax – knowing that ’see I can handle this anxiety’ and if worse comes to worse I can take a Xanax I know it isn’t exactly terribly logical way to approach things.

Pat, I take 1 mg. Xanax 3x/day.  It has helped quite a bit but for several months, I still had some anxiety.  Since then, through running and Lopressor (beta blocker), I’ve got very low anxiety but not quite gone. I was always scared to up my Xanax, I started at 1.5 mg/day, then 2 mg/day, now 3mg/day, but I always waited until I couldn’t stand it anymore before I got my dose increased.  I wonder if I would have upped the dose sooner and perhaps up to 3.5 or 4 mg/day if my anxiety would be gone now.  (I can’t understand all the talk that Xanax is addicting, I’ve probably underdosed and suffered for months more than I may of had to; this is not an addictive behavior.)  Oh well. I also worry a lot when I change a med (I switched beta blockers once) or even take a new vitamin/mineral/etc. until I’ve seen what it does. I guess that’s why it’s an anxiety *disorder*. God bless,   Mark Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.

Response:

Patrick,   I know the game, I do it, I did it over Labor day and boy did I suffer. It is really better to take the medication, if you find that it doesn’t work, call your doc.  Tell him or her and maybe you can find something stronger, but take it, I did the same thing and skipping it will make you ten times worse!  Cheryl

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am wondering if anyone else out there does this.  I find I tend to do it with all my meds – including the asthma/sinus meds. It goes like this.  I am uptight – but I try to tough it out instead of taking a Xanax because I reason – if I take this Xanax and the anxiety doesn’t go away – what then!  Then I have no safety net to catch me.  So I do without the Xanax – knowing that ’see I can handle this anxiety’ and if worse comes to worse I can take a Xanax I know it isn’t exactly terribly logical way to approach things.

Response:

     Hi Patrick.            Meryl wrote my answer exactly. =)              May – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi Patrick, I reacted similarly when first diagnosed. I spent a lot of time trying to make do without medication. The next step was that I undermedicated. I could cope but I still had some anxiety. Now I take my prescribed dose and I have little anxiety. As for the safety net. That’s easy. When I know I am about to face a situation that may increase my anxiety levels, or for an unexpected PA, I take extra Xanax. My pdoc agrees with this strategy. Good luck, Meryl I am wondering if anyone else out there does this.  I find I tend to do it with all my meds – including the asthma/sinus meds. It goes like this.  I am uptight – but I try to tough it out instead of taking a Xanax because I reason – if I take this Xanax and the anxiety doesn’t go away – what then!  Then I have no safety net to catch me.  So I do without the Xanax – knowing that ’see I can handle this anxiety’ and if worse comes to worse I can take a Xanax I know it isn’t exactly terribly logical way to approach things.

–         Love is friendship set on fire. – French Proverb

Response:

I think some of the people misunderstood your question.  I can remeber before I ever went to the doctor.  I had the exact same fear as you.  That the problem was something that therapy or a drugs could not fix.  This bothered me seroiusly becuase like you said, once you take it and it doesn’t work is there anything that will work or is there something worse wrong with me.  That is the question that was continuously running through my mind.  To this day the drugs still have not fixed that problem completely.  There is no quick fix that I am aware of.  I’m sure some ppl may snap back out of it or whatever, but this wasn’t the case for me.  Take the R/x and see if it works.  If it doesn’t then go back to the doctor and get a differnt one.  It is not going to harm you to take the pill, if anything it is going to help you(REMBER THAT). Another point I want to add.  If this is continually bothering you, you may also have OCD( Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). I personally have OCD, PA, and Argophobia(or howerver you spell it).  If I would have gone to the doctor earlier and done what I should have done, then I would probably be alot better off.  Luckily by what I understand is you are in the early stages.  It took me about 9 months to finally go to the doctor, and by then I was house ridden.  I am still pretty much a homebody, but atleast I can goto town to the grocery store and occasionally goto a friends. Good Luck to You, Chris BTW, I still wonder alot of times if something else is wrong.  Go ahead and get this taken care of…  The way I am trying to overcome all of this is, to just try to live with the fact that something is wrong and go on about life.  I feel that this has helped me alot.  I have given up trying to fight the situation, now I’m just trying to live with it.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am wondering if anyone else out there does this.  I find I tend to do it with all my meds – including the asthma/sinus meds. It goes like this.  I am uptight – but I try to tough it out instead of taking a Xanax because I reason – if I take this Xanax and the anxiety doesn’t go away – what then!  Then I have no safety net to catch me.  So I do without the Xanax – knowing that ’see I can handle this anxiety’ and if worse comes to worse I can take a Xanax I know it isn’t exactly terribly logical way to approach things.

Response:

I used to do this and had a lot more PA which zapped my self-esteem. Now I know when I shouldn’t "hang tough" and take my medication appropriately and have fewer PA. Its ironic that I am actually needing less clonazepam than when I was toughing it out-then it always took a lot more to bring me back down during a major PA. Why are we tough on ourselves?? Charley

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am wondering if anyone else out there does this.  I find I tend to do it with all my meds – including the asthma/sinus meds. It goes like this.  I am uptight – but I try to tough it out instead of taking a Xanax because I reason – if I take this Xanax and the anxiety doesn’t go away – what then!  Then I have no safety net to catch me.  So I do without the Xanax – knowing that ’see I can handle this anxiety’ and if worse comes to worse I can take a Xanax I know it isn’t exactly terribly logical way to approach things.

Response:

I am wondering if anyone else out there does this.  I find I tend to do it with all my meds – including the asthma/sinus meds.   It goes like this.  I am uptight – but I try to tough it out instead of taking a Xanax because I reason – if I take this Xanax and the anxiety doesn’t go away – what then!  Then I have no safety net to catch me.  So I do without the Xanax – knowing that ’see I can handle this anxiety’ and if worse comes to worse I can take a Xanax I know it isn’t exactly terribly logical way to approach things.

Patrick –   Interesting…I too had this exact thing going on…I would wait and wait to take the Xanax so that I only had to take 1 a day or whatever…However, I eventually have found that if I wait I sometimes have to take 2+ to stop the eventual anxiety and if I take one at the slightest hint, I usually have no further problems…So in the long run, just going ahead and taking one if you think you need to is best… — Charles Phipps

Response:

Hi Patrick, I reacted similarly when first diagnosed. I spent a lot of time trying to make do without medication. The next step was that I undermedicated. I could cope but I still had some anxiety. Now I take my prescribed dose and I have little anxiety. As for the safety net. That’s easy. When I know I am about to face a situation that may increase my anxiety levels, or for an unexpected PA, I take extra Xanax. My pdoc agrees with this strategy. Good luck, Meryl

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am wondering if anyone else out there does this.  I find I tend to do it with all my meds – including the asthma/sinus meds. It goes like this.  I am uptight – but I try to tough it out instead of taking a Xanax because I reason – if I take this Xanax and the anxiety doesn’t go away – what then!  Then I have no safety net to catch me.  So I do without the Xanax – knowing that ’see I can handle this anxiety’ and if worse comes to worse I can take a Xanax I know it isn’t exactly terribly logical way to approach things.

Response:

I am wondering if anyone else out there does this.  I find I tend to do it with all my meds – including the asthma/sinus meds.   It goes like this.  I am uptight – but I try to tough it out instead of taking a Xanax because I reason – if I take this Xanax and the anxiety doesn’t go away – what then!  Then I have no safety net to catch me.  So I do without the Xanax – knowing that ’see I can handle this anxiety’ and if worse comes to worse I can take a Xanax I know it isn’t exactly terribly logical way to approach things.

Response:

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