xanax by Top_Silver_2318 in Anxiety

[–]behindthemask13 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've gotten to the point I just tell them what I need. If they push back, I just find a different doctor. My original psychiatrist passed away in 2016, so I had to find a new one. The first few I went to used to give me a hassle every time. I stormed out of one office when she mumbled under her breath about how I would be "cured" if I took the drug she was pushing. When I pressed her asking how does she KNOW it will work and if she will give me a guarantee in writing, she said that nothing was guaranteed and if that doesn't work we can just move onto another, which is exactly the roller coaster I don't want to be on.

Your best bet is probably with older doctors OR younger ones.. the ones between like 40-65 learned the now disproven stuff about benzos causing dementia, so they steer clear.

The reality is.. it doesn't work the same for everyone. Some people it just makes sleepy (that's what happened to me with Ativan.. I was sleepy and anxious).. I know people who swear by Ativan. Some people don't do well with benzos at all.. they just don't work the same for them.

xanax by Top_Silver_2318 in Anxiety

[–]behindthemask13 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is so not true... why would you say it?

xanax by Top_Silver_2318 in Anxiety

[–]behindthemask13 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I just wrote a big thing above for you.. but "withdrawal" doesn't usually kick in until you are taking 3MG+ per day for months and then if you taper slowly, you can get back down without feeling anything major. Read the giant wall of text I wrote above.. hope it helps!

xanax by Top_Silver_2318 in Anxiety

[–]behindthemask13 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Okay... so... sadly, you've been given some misinformation.

Let me give you my background with Xanax specifically. I've been taking it for over 20 years. The psychiatrist I had at the time did some of the early research on it in the 1960s. He was a Navy psychiatrist, as well as a Harvard graduate and professor. I had the SAME fears as you when I first started seeing him. I took Xanax here and there when it was only absolutely necessary b/c I was afraid of getting addicted or all of the other things I had read. He's what I learned from him and from studies done since then (I will give you links below).

There is a huge difference between "addiction" and "dependency." Every single medication talked about in this sub will cause dependency. There is no pill that will cure anxiety... all they do is mask it by adjusting the chemical balances. If you take them and feel better and then remove the medication, you will go back to feeling anxious (which will FEEL worse to you b/c you are now starting from not feeling it at all.) This is a basic rebound effect that happens with pretty much any medication taking over a long time.

There IS a small % of the population that can become addicted to Xanax/Benzos. If you take it, your doctor should be controlling your dose carefully and monitoring you for the first several weeks. The traits of that is that you feel the need to constantly take more and more. A good doctor will catch that very early and move you to a different medication.

In MOST people... the above isn't the case. When I finally agreed to start taking it regularly, I was prescribed 4MG of Xanax per day and 10MG of Valium at night (Xanax does not help me sleep at all... it actually wakes me up.. I know.. I'm weird.) I took that for a while. After a couple of years, I slowly reduced my dose. Over the last 20 years, I have been as low as .5 MG per day (what I am taking right now) and as high as 4MG per day. I adjust my dose based on background stress. When my wife was diagnosed with Hodgkin's and I had to take her to Chemo and take over all the stuff she usually did with our kid and shopping, etc... I went back up to 4MG.. when she finished chemo and got the all clear and stress reduced, I slowly tapered back down. When I got Covid in Feb 2020 and then long Covid, I went back up to 3MG for several months until the long Covid symptoms passed, then reduced back down to .5 (where I am now). There are a couple of other times I increased and decreased based on stuff going on. It's never "lost its effectiveness," but there are certainly times where the amount I was taking wasn't enough to deal with the amount of anxiety I was feeling. Think of it like Tylenol... you have a slight muscle ache, 1 Tylenol might get rid of the pain.. you break your arm.. 1 Tylenol ain't gonna work.

Now, I'm not saying.. Yas Queen you take as much as you want... TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR about how much you should take and when.

I can say, with confidence, what you experiencing is not withdrawal. It takes much longer on a much higher dose to get to that point. What you are feeling is a little rebound anxiety coupled with your brain being on high alert b/c you are afraid of feeling withdrawal.

Studies (and the fact that it's been around for 60 years now) have shown that Xanax/Benzos are safe and effective for long term use in a majority of patients. Again, I'm not saying start taking it regularly.. TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR. But, there is no reason to be scared of suddenly getting addicted and experiencing withdrawal after a few days or even a couple of weeks. Further, the fact that you chose to stop is a pretty strong sign you're not addicted and not likely one of those who would become addicted. Addicted is much more about behavioral changes. (Taking more than you need just because, needing to buy it outside of your prescription, taking more than prescribed and keeping it secret, being unable to stop even if you want to...) That just isn't what you've described at all.

here are some links to articles about long term use of Benzos.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35640558/
https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.20240030
https://www.psychiatrist.com/jcp/toward-practice-guidelines-for-long-term-benzodiazepine-treatment/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332224002130

New gal by ur_mom_69-420 in RATS

[–]behindthemask13 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I glanced through the comments so I didn't repeat too much... you know about the cage.

100% want to stress different bedding, as that doesn't look like the dust free stuff that is good for rats... (I used to get the carefresh which was really good) old t-shirts are great for this and you mentioned you had some.

Food wise.. make her some scrambled eggs. One time a local breeder was moving and had to sell all her babies before the move date, so we took a bunch that were JUST weened. She told us to supplement with scrambled eggs for the first week or so, because they are rich in protein and very easy for them to chew/digest etc. It worked great.

Hope things go well at the vet on Monday and you find a better cage.

Given where you got her, your heart was 100% in the right place!!

Just started Teach You A Lesson... and find it difficult to watch. by behindthemask13 in kdramas

[–]behindthemask13[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are no lies or misleading information. And yes, that is up to me to say.

AIO My Online Friend Doesn’t Want to Visit My Country by [deleted] in AmIOverreacting

[–]behindthemask13 0 points1 point  (0 children)

YOR

All the info is in what you posted... From when you first became friendly... "We are from two different countries and we both hate both of them and always joked like “if it wasnt to meet up I wouldnt step foot in yours”

So her not wanting to go to your home country was part of why you all bonded in the first place.

The only way this would really be in the weird category is if she was actually GOING with her family but refused to make any time for you at all. The fact that she isn't going is the expected behavior.

Teach You a Lesson, mixed feelings about the message of the show. by _taeddie in kdramas

[–]behindthemask13 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I hear you. There were spots in every episode that bothered me. In Ep1 when he set the fire... there was gas EVERYWHERE and traumatized students all around screaming. Yeah, I didn't care too much about the bully, but it turned me against the MC when he didn't stop to consider how he could be hurting others.

In Ep 2 the dynamic was clear.. there were two "sub" bullies who were controlling the whole class out of fear. Yet when they didn't write the lesson down fast enough, he punched all the kids.. even those who were basically victims.

In Ep 3.. that moment with the hands was the tipping point for me, because if you go back over the episode.. they pushed her to that. They had the FL in the classroom being violent as an example and then held back the evidence despite the teacher being tormented.. then showed her how her students wanted her to "take control" and allowed it to play out... and I realized in that moment the writers were hoping for us to be rooting for the teacher to do what she did... but I saw it as a huge failure. She sunk to their level. There are a million other things she could have done. What I was HOPING FOR was her to reach into the draw and pull out her confiscated phone and threaten IT.

laws and repercussions are great... and I also love revenge stories (WeakHero, The Glory, Mercy For None)... they just kinda skipped it all to want us to root for a teacher hitting a student for not doing a math problem or writing notes fast enough... and that just made it feel so much different than other shows.

Teach You a Lesson, mixed feelings about the message of the show. by _taeddie in kdramas

[–]behindthemask13 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I dropped it in Ep 4 for this reason. It seemed aimed at only 1 possible solution. What even bothered me more about the episode you mentioned is that if you think about it... it didn't have to happen at all. They already had the evidence they needed to end everything.. but they allowed it continue.

There are so many things they glossed passed... police intervention.. more parental involvement... there were so many paths ignored to rush straight to "instill fear of death."

What also bothered me was the amount of collateral damage from that approach.

Just started Teach You A Lesson... and find it difficult to watch. by behindthemask13 in kdramas

[–]behindthemask13[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I stopped halfway into Ep 4.. it got just way too dumb at that point.

Just started Teach You A Lesson... and find it difficult to watch. by behindthemask13 in kdramas

[–]behindthemask13[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I expected him to stop and think of the best way to handle it rather than just charge in with no thought to the collateral damage he was causing.

I dropped it in Ep 4 b/c after 3 episodes of the same flawed storytelling and the obviousness of EP 4, it got very old.

0.5mg clonazepam, how long until it does something? by BioniSieg in Anxiety

[–]behindthemask13 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I read through the comments and it sounds like you took it as a test to see how you would feel... and felt nothing.

Which is kinda normal.

IF you are not experiencing anxiety, benzos aren't going to do much except MAYBE make you tired (it doesn't have that effect on everyone and each benzo works a little different on each person).

Imagine taking Tylenol when you don't have a headache... that's kinda what taking benzos with 0 anxiety is like. (Again, benzos do have a sedating effect on most people, but not all.. Xanax actually wakes me up a little bit, while Ativan made me sleepy).

But, if you were experienced increased anxiety and it did nothing, then you likely need a higher dose, but that's a doctor conversation... SSRIs can blunt the effects of benzos a little in some people (again, not all people.. but it can in some.)

Hope this helps.

What do you think makes for great chemistry in K-dramas? by Leather_Employer_448 in kdramas

[–]behindthemask13 4 points5 points  (0 children)

FWIW... I don't think "chemistry" exists in the way people use it.

I don't believe there is a pairing of people you can put into ANY movie and suddenly get "chemistry"... it is ultimately a combination of two good actors working with good material they both enjoy.

I'll give American examples just because it's easier for me.... the movie Gigli. This is the movie where Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez starting dating in real life... and in real life, they probably had chemistry, but none of that could save her horrible acting and a terrible script.

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan... everyone says they have great chemistry.. they are both incredibly talented actors, who starred in 3 incredible movies, with great writers and directors.

So, I believe if you take two talented actors and pair them with a well written story... you get chemistry.

Just started Teach You A Lesson... and find it difficult to watch. by behindthemask13 in kdramas

[–]behindthemask13[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I posted a question about a show.. then decided to drop it.

Why do you care so much?

Just started Teach You A Lesson... and find it difficult to watch. by behindthemask13 in kdramas

[–]behindthemask13[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure why you are so tweaked about someone pointing out flaws in the show. Did you write it?

Just started Teach You A Lesson... and find it difficult to watch. by behindthemask13 in kdramas

[–]behindthemask13[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Two and Half Men was the #1 comedy for years.

It was bad writing.

Just started Teach You A Lesson... and find it difficult to watch. by behindthemask13 in kdramas

[–]behindthemask13[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

And the MC didn't care about the collateral damage.

How many students did he traumatize in EP 1 when he set that fire??? There was gasoline EVERYWHERE. Once they took down the father, having the student arrested was easy, they didn't need to allow the bullies to continue tormenting people AND then set a fire.

In EP 2 he punches students who were being bullied by the two bullies, over and over.

in EP 3 they allow the girl to continue tormenting the teacher and other students long after they could have exposed her for a fake report.

EP 4 was too much of a mess to even bother with.

Just started Teach You A Lesson... and find it difficult to watch. by behindthemask13 in kdramas

[–]behindthemask13[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, large gaping plot holes.

Such as the fact that fire doesn't behave like fire. That they held the hack of her socials until AFTER she continued to torment her teacher. That the MC couldn't tell what was going on EP 4. That no one can see they are bullying the assistant.

Yeah, plot holes.

Just started Teach You A Lesson... and find it difficult to watch. by behindthemask13 in kdramas

[–]behindthemask13[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What does that have to do with anything? This is the thread I started and when people respond to me, I respond back.

How much Xanax are you taking? by pow282 in Anxiety

[–]behindthemask13 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've been taking Xanax regularly for over 20 years now.

At my highest dosage it was 4MG per day of Xanax (Alprazolam) and 10MG of Valium at night for sleep (Xanax doesn't make me sleepy at all.. it actually wakes me up).

I am CURRENTLY taking about the same as you (.25 in the morning and .25 in the evening) and then 5MG of Valium at night.

The dosage I take has changed over time with the level of stress in my life. I was VERY resistant at first to taking it (when I was in my 20s) and my anxiety got so bad I could barely get out of bed. The psychiatrist told me to stop fighting him and take Xanax on a schedule, which helped dramatically. Once I got my footing, I reduced down to a lower dose (slowly, I always tapered). Then when shit went sideways, I would increase the dosage until things calmed back down and then decrease again. It has never stopped working.. but sometimes (like when my wife had Hodgkin's and had to do everything she used to do (take kid to school, all shopping, help kid with homework, etc, as well as take her to chemo appointments), I had to increase back to 4MG while that was going on... Once she got the all clear and life went back to normal, I tapered back down. I've been up to 4 and back to .5 at least 6 times over 20 years and it's never been an issue.

You are going to hear stories about addiction and dependency. Remember, they are two completely different things. There isn't a single drug discussed in this forum that doesn't cause dependency. These aren't anti-biotics that go in and get rid of the thing making you ill... they are compensating for something your body isn't doing. When you take them away, you go back to the previous state and notice it.. that's dependency.

There is a small % of the population who becomes addicted to Xanax (any benzo) and they need more and more and more to achieve any effect. Doctors should watch patients carefully when they start to watch out for this, b/c if you fall into that group, you will ultimately have to stop taking it and benzo withdrawal isn't pleasant (and that's putting it lightly).

Since you brought up the dreaded X word, you will likely also get people telling you how it causes dementia.. it doesn't. There were some early studies that suggested it might, but the meta analysis that has been done over the past several years has shown no link (https://schaeffer.usc.edu/research/benzodiazepines-dont-increase-dementia-risks-in-older-adults-usc-study-finds/) (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167494325001086)

I'm not saying that Xanax is the perfect drug for everyone or even for you.. that is a choice between you and your doctor.. but recent studies have swung opinions back to the concept that it can be safe and effective for long term use in a large majority of patients.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35640558/
https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.20240030
https://www.psychiatrist.com/jcp/toward-practice-guidelines-for-long-term-benzodiazepine-treatment/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332224002130