What You Need to Know About Xanax
Millions of Americans seek treatment every year for anxiety and for depression and many of them get prescriptions for Xanax. If you or your doctor are considering Xanax, there’s a lot you need to know about this drug.
What is Xanax?
Xanax is a brand name of Alprazolam, a member of the group of drugs called benzodiazepines and is sold in the United States by Pfizer, Inc.1
Benzodiazepines are some of the most commonly prescribed psychiatric drugs. Xanax was the most prescribed psychiatric drug of 2011.2
Does Xanax work?
The FDA approved Xanax to treat Anxiety Disorders and Panic Disorders and issued labeling materials which state that Xanax performed better than placebo in treating both these conditions.3
What should I ask my doctor about before I decide to take Xanax?
Xanax has many and serious side effects, as do all benzodiazepines. Xanax can cause seizures. Some of Xanax’s more common side effects include heart palpitations and depression.4
Xanax and other benzodiazepines are known to cause brain damage and to make potentially permanent changes in the brain.5
Xanax is also addictive. It creates physical dependence in a very short period, and can cause serious withdrawal symptoms, including violent seizures, hallucinations, psychotic symptoms and delirium and some neurological symptoms that may never go away.6 Withdrawal symptoms, including insomnia and depression, from Xanax can continue for months, even years. Benzodiazepines may create changes in the brain that may not reverse, causing long-lasting depression and anxiety.7
What if I’m already taking Xanax?
Talk to your doctor if you are concerned about Xanax and especially if you notice any side effects. Never stop taking a prescription medication without talking to your doctor first. Xanax may have severe withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking it suddenly.
Learn everything that you can about Xanax before you start taking it.
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1 Pfizer, Inc., “Xanax” (August 2011) http://labeling.pfizer.com/ShowLabeling.aspx?id=547
2 PsychCentral, Grohl J, “Top 25 Psychiatric Medication Prescriptions for 2011″ (), http://psychcentral.com/lib/2012/top-25-psychiatric-medication-prescriptions-for-2011/
3 Food and Drug Adminstration, Xanax label (revised June 2011), http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2011/018276s045lbl.pdf
4 Food and Drug Administration, (Revised March 2006, retrieved 23 August 2012), http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/06p0209/06P-0209-EC12-Attach-1.pdf
5 Psychology Today, Lane C., “Brain Damage From Benzodiazepines: The Troubling Facts, Risks, and History of Minor Tranquilizers,” (18 November 2010), http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/side-effects/201011/brain-damage-benzodiazepines-the-troubling-facts-risks-and-history-minor-tr; Comprehensive Handbook of Drug and Alcohol Addiction, Ashton H., “Protracted Withdrawal Symptoms from Benzodiazepines,” (2004) http://www.benzo.org.uk/pws04.htm
6 Comprehensive Handbook of Drug and Alcohol Addiction, Ashton H., “Protracted Withdrawal Symptoms from Benzodiazepines,” (2004) http://www.benzo.org.uk/pws04.htm; Food and Drug Administration, (Revised March 2006, retrieved 23 August 2012), http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/06p0209/06P-0209-EC12-Attach-1.pdf; The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, MacKinnon G et al., “Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Syndrome: A Literature Review and Evaluation,” (1982), “http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/00952998209002608”
7 Comprehensive Handbook of Drug and Alcohol Addiction, Ashton H., “Protracted Withdrawal Symptoms from Benzodiazepines,” (2004) http://www.benzo.org.uk/pws04.htm