Posted by yxibow on December 26, 2008, at 19:04:01
In reply to xanax in a once daily dosage, posted by mav27 on December 26, 2008, at 8:36:11
> We don't have xanax extended release here. So i was after some thoughts on wether it it should still work if taking in 1 big dose at night and would last through out the next day.
>
> My problem is it is the only agent working for my S.A.D but it knocks me out cold after every dose for at least 2 hours.. im on 1mg 3x day.. i've even tried lowering the dose but it still just knocks me out.. but once im awake i feel great and it feels like it's working fantstically.
>
> It seems to be listed as having a half life of 11.0 hours (range: 6.3-15.8 hours)
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> So assuming the worse at 6 hours.. if i take 3mg at night after 24 hours i should have 0.1875mg left in my system right? Is that how it works ?
> Its not that far off the minimal dose of .25g
Plasma level is involved. Xanax is RX'd 4x a day because the half life is even shorter than that typically, it has a rapid uptake. A theoretical model of half-lives is that after 5x the half life it is gone.But this doesn't take into count, the P450 system, your genetics related to that, the steady state plasma level, and a host of other things, such as body weight.
Among the pitfalls of this is that between such a long dose interval for a very short acting agent, you will be open to breakthrough anxiety in the interdosal period, which in this case would be 24 hours instead of about every 5-8 hours.
Its intended to calm people for extreme anxiety -- "knock you out cold" as you describe and the dose is too high, even if you've lowered the dose, it may still be too high for what you actually need. It shouldn't be "knocking you out".
Rather tapering down to .25 four times a day might help you better in the long run. However Xanax is still not a drug for SAD in the long run, because it has a potential for habituation.
Rather a more uplifting agent such as an SSRI would be a better choice for SAD, unless you've exhausted all of them, and there still are TCAs.There are also less often used things like low stimulants like Strattera or Wellbutrin.
Also there is light box therapy, yes, more expensive than a pill but it has shown to be an non-drug improving factor for SAD.
-- best wishes
Jay
poster:yxibow
thread:870854
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081223/msgs/870924.html