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Twenty Years of Use
Alprazolam (Xanax)
Citation:   sjmgw. "Twenty Years of Use: An Experience with Alprazolam (Xanax) (exp28601)". Erowid.org. May 10, 2018. erowid.org/exp/28601

 
DOSE:
1.5 mg oral Pharms - Alprazolam (daily)
BODY WEIGHT: 120 lb
I have been a Xanax user for 20 years and am living a fantastic life. Thanks to my wonderful doctor who weighed the pros and cons of drug dependency and addiction with the quality of life I was living.

I was 19 years old when my panic attacks started. The attacks were severe. I would lose feeling in my arms and legs. My vision and sensory perception would become strangly altered. I would not be able to breathe my throat would tighten and I was afraid I would swallow my tongue. I was having major adrenaline rushs that my body could not handle.

I made a lot of trips to the emergency department and found that Hospital staff would attend to my medical needs quicker if I told them your having a heart attack. If you don't have blood all over, a missing limb or a broken bone, a panic attack gets the standard emergency doctor speech which starts out with, now if you just calm down, you're not going crazy, you will be fine, we will be right with you, NEXT.

There was never a certain time, place or emotion that triggered these attacks. Being unable to control when or where my anxiety would attack made my life stressfull, complicated and frustrating. I have had to run out of grocery stores leaving behind weeks worth of food in shopping carts. While driving I have had to pull over to the side of the road and call for help. Once on vacation while searching for a hospital my mother thought that by giving me a muscle relaxer and putting me behind the wheel of her car would take my mind off my panic attack and I would be fine. I had 3 more attacks lasting 6 hours each the last two days of that vacation.

My life was out of control but the last 20 years have been wonderful. I have not had a attack in 10 years. I have never experienced any Xanax side effects and could not imagine my life without it.

[Reported Dose: "0.5 three times a day"]

Exp Year: 1983-2003ExpID: 28601
Gender: Female 
Age at time of experience: 39
Published: May 10, 2018Views: 2,609
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Pharms - Alprazolam (98) : Not Applicable (38), Medical Use (47), Retrospective / Summary (11)

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