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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by zonked on October 11, 2011, at 17:55:41
Hey guys!
Lots of anxiety and I think situational depression lately.
I think I've had situational depression and anxiety superimposed on the endogenous, and I'm dealing with it okay. Some days, better than others.
So, back to topic: My Xanax is scripted as 1mg 2x/day.
I almost never take a full milligram at home, because that will put me in bed. Get too sleepy.
Is it okay, though, to take 1/2 mg 4x/day? Or 3x/day? To play around with the dosage a little bit given its short 1/2life, as long as I don't exceed my prescribed 2mg max per day?
Tomorrow I have a job interview. Last job interview, I took 0.5 at waketime and 1mg sublingually about 30-40 minutes before interview time. Worked well, I also had some coffee in me. I felt a "normal" amount of nervousness during the interview, the amount I would imagine someone w/o an anxiety disorder would experience.
Let me know what you think, thanks. It seems to work best if I dose it based on how I feel and what's going on a given day, rather than 1mg twice a day.
-z
Posted by floatingbridge on October 11, 2011, at 18:43:12
In reply to Dosing of Xanax - b.i.d to t.i.d to q.i.d.?, posted by zonked on October 11, 2011, at 17:55:41
Zonked,
I don't see why not, given that you are not on the XR (right?).
Gives you better coverage, less troughs and spikes?That said, you might recall, I tend to underdose Xanax and try to cut back here and there. But that can create to much bouncing around for me. My pdoc has counseled me to try and stay at a general ballpark steady dose. (This week I tried too large a decrease again. Thought I was home free and hit another trigger. Grrr.)
So there you are. Two pieces of info/opinion. If your feeling
stressed, my advice is to take a basic effective round the clock dose. Opinions, opinions.Hey, sorry you are feeling stressed and situationally funky :-/
Posted by zonked on October 11, 2011, at 18:50:17
In reply to Re: Dosing of Xanax - b.i.d to t.i.d to q.i.d.? » zonked, posted by floatingbridge on October 11, 2011, at 18:43:12
> Hey, sorry you are feeling stressed and situationally funky :-/I know it sounds weird, but when a friend recently told me that 80% of his depression disappeared after rejoining the workforce, I realized that the meds really are working and that the challenges I'm facing (including some thoughts of hopelessness, that wax and wane) and anxiety and frustration are common to all job seekers, especially those who haven't been a part of the workforce in a long time.
I tend to do better with structure, so I've emailed my job counselor (out of the office on disability leave until next week) to see if I can go to some sort of resume/cover letter worksheet, and review some of my submissions to be sure they're concise enough, etc.
If I have an excuse to wake up early, I do. If I don't, it's so easy to stay in bed. I think a lot of jobseekers go through this, MI-history or not. Anyway, I don't know if I'd be able to do job interviews without Xanax. It's a miracle drug for situational anxiety. I take it daily b/c I'm dependent on it...
thanks much fb :)
-z
Posted by jono_in_adelaide on October 11, 2011, at 19:51:57
In reply to Dosing of Xanax - b.i.d to t.i.d to q.i.d.?, posted by zonked on October 11, 2011, at 17:55:41
Taking 0.5mg three times a day shouldnt be an issue
The half life is about 11 hours, so you shouldnt need more than three doses per day
Posted by Chairman_MAO on October 12, 2011, at 21:34:47
In reply to Dosing of Xanax - b.i.d to t.i.d to q.i.d.?, posted by zonked on October 11, 2011, at 17:55:41
If you are taking it as needed, take it as needed. If you are taking more than one dose per day every day, you might as well split it into four doses. If it's immediate release, it's a qid medication.
You can take it once per day and not develop dependence. If you take it twice daily every day, you will likely develop a dependence and then you might as well split the dose into four equal doses. Trust me.
The bars are not quadruple scored for aesthetic reasons. ;-)
This is the end of the thread.
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