i have anxiety and have a really hard time talking to people. i can introduce myself just fine but if i try to hang out with them or try to get to know them better i just don't know what to say and its extremely akward. so i spend most of my time alone. went to the doctor about this problem and they gave me zoloft. (says i also probably have depression along with anxiety) and have been taking it for 4 days so far. but i wanna try xanax cause I've read it instantly relieves anxiety. id plan on using it just on social occasions. and I've read about how addicting it can be but am not too worried about that cause i think ill be able to control my use. i mostly just want to use it as a crutch for now so that i can learn how to talk to people again. and then i will no longer be using it. anyways i called this clinic (1877 54 MYDOC) and they said i wouldn't have to pay if i didn't get what i needed or if i didn't get help. so to me this means that the doc is just in it for the money and will basically right you a prescription for anything. Do any of you have any experience with these kinds of 'clinics' or doctors? should i expect to walk out with a xanax prescription?
Your story sounds very similar to my own. Xanax merely blocked out my anxiety, but I quickly turned into an addict. In all honestly, taking xanax will worsen your anxiety. Give the zoloft more time and work with it, try therapy and some other physical activity. I swear those two paragraphs you wrote are eerily similar to what i was experiencing a couple of years ago. Please, don't use xanax, it will eat you up inside. PM me if you want to talk more. good luck
in the other side - I use Ativan (similar to Xanax) and I've found that it can really help me and I've had no problems with addiction or habit forming behavior. I think the key is to view it as a short term solution. you really need to get some good therapy to get to the root of the problem.
To answer your full question will take a little bit of explaining, but to answer your question quickly: Yes, technically it will help, and kick in within a 30-60 minutes, but you'll be drowsy and once you get use to it, it'll be great, this will be the wonder drug that God has made just for you. Then after a while it will stop working, slowly, and you'll become yourself again. But in the time that it works, if they give you a dose a little too high, you might feel normal and think it's not working, but in reality you'll be slurring your words, salivating all over your mouth, and stumbling, while you're mind thinks it's perfectly fine and no 'high' sensation like others after a while. So, personally I would say no, find a good anti-depressant that helps with Social Anxiety Disorder and maybe see if a doctor can throw in a very small dose of a benzodiazepine. I've found that using xanax, ativan, valium or Klonopin, doesn't help much. After a while the effects seem minimal and then shortly after reduced to nothing, until the doctor or yourself decide to increase the medication (leading to dependency/addiction) I wouldn't use Xanax, but Ativan (lorazapam) or Valium (diazepam) for any anxiety, as they have longer half lives meaning they last longer, but not as strong as xanax. So, the tolerance builds up slower and since they are all classed benzodiazepines should only be used short term (3-6 months). Anyways if you find yourself with .25mg of xanax, and wonder why other patients get 5mg of valium it's not very far apart, to put this in perspective I'll make a small 'rough' chart. Equivalency(ish) chart 10mg Valium 1mg Xanax 2mg Ativan 1mg Klonopin People get high off 5mg of valium, .25mg of xanax is only half a pill of valium, and 1mg xanax is 2 pills of valium or one 10mg valium pill. (Same with Klonopin) The best choice if you are going to go through with this is Ativan, or Valium, xanax I would say more helps with my panic attacks, then with me Soc.Anx. Personal experience: Been on Benzo's for the past 4 years.. yes long term, but I don't use all 120 pills a month, but save them, for bad panic attacks, they're not good for social anxiety, and if you drink with them, you'll be too messed up to know you have benzos in your system and might fuck up somehow. (loss of body functions, can't grab a lighter/cigarrette, and especially can't grab a steering wheel) I started on Ativan 1mg (4xd), got bumped up to 2mg(4xd) as the tolarance built, they tried Valium 10mg (4xd), then to the harder stuff like xanax 1mg then 2mg, and then the 3mg pill all 4xday and it helped some, but just felt grey after a year or so, like nothing interested me, I didn't like to party, or be with friends, didn't want to get laid anymore and when I did, I had E.D. problems, as I would self-medicate when I felt it wasn't working properly, I would go from doubling doses, to snorting xanax, ativan and klonopin, (snorting valium has very little effect almost useless) and lead down a dark road. Though I think Paxil (paraxotine) had worked for my social anxiety disorder (took a couple months but a little bit more than usual), but benzo's (xanax) are only for short term, and I'd only recommend them for panic attacks, or extreme stress, I was over prescribed, and after a year started abusing them, not in the sense to get high but to make them work. So if you want to have a grey life: where your friends aren't people you really know after a while, and they don't even know why they hang with you, go for it.
the problem with my zoloft is that its starting to make me itch a lot and the rash is getting worse every time i take it. so I'm going to let my doctor know and hope for a different SSRI. although i can already notice myself being a little happier. i've also set an appointment up for therapy. and i would have to agree that it would make my anxiety worse but just to be able to talk to people again and let them see who i really am (not the serious faced akward me) would be such a relief. Although i do have a marijuana addiction and have been clean for about 2 weeks. so i can't see how using xanax would end on a happy note. anyways thanks for the advice. i also noticed that tramadol seems to work well too but i don't feel like using that stuff
thanks for the info. i had always read that xanax was really the one people thought worked best but its nice to hear it from someone with experience. so i think the ativan sounds like the better option
usually Ativan starts off at .5mg but works well, so you don't look stupid infront of everyone, and relieves most of that anxiety.
My mom use to take Zoloft, Me and my sisters really saw a good change; I feel it really helped her. but she said she had no feeling on it and stopped it. I wish she would get back on it. But it has to be her choice she has too want to take it. 4 days is not giving it a shot, you have to get over that hump I say 2 weeks is giving it a full shot, and if you still feel like shit or am having bad side effects. Then talk to your doctor
yea i mean I'm still taking it but I'm gonna let my doctor know the side affects and see what she's gonna say or if she can give me something else
give it at least 2 weeks, once you are over that hump it will be a allot easier. what side effects are you having?
