Comments on: Bipolar Disorder Medication Spotlight: Benzodiazepines for Anxiety

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 04:55:12 +0000

I have struggled with bipolar disorder and Anxiety attacks beginning in High School. Not getting any treatment for it led to a very self destructive way of life for me. As a child medication was suggested, but my mom hoped I could cope naturally. A year ago, I had enough and saw my doctor. She started me on Busiprone, and Lorazapam. The Lorazapam was only to be taken to prevent an anxiety attack. I felt a difference, but my symptoms were not under control. So, she changed me from Lorazapam, to Clonazapam. The difference being I am to take one every morning and night, along with the Busiprone. Also, she added Celexa, to help with the depression from Bipolar Disorder. This combination seems to be working wonders. She wanted to put me on Seroquel, but I can not afford $200.00 a month for one medication. I have to say taking Clonazepam and Buspar (Busiprone), have helped very much. The Anxiety isn’t overpowering my life. We still may need to figure out the proper (affordable) treatment for the Bipolar Disorder.

By: wally

wally — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 06:05:46 +0000

To Michelle, and everyone else in a similar situation, – I hope you’ve read my reply to Joe Kraynak, (Nov. 26, 2010). Good luck.

By: wally

wally — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 05:56:17 +0000

To Joe Kraynak- Update on my sister- In a way, we’re both right. What was really needed was a combined-therapy. I spoke too soon. She improved every day for about 6 weeks, and then crashed. The anti-psych meds had finally left her system. She was admitted to the hospital, and two weeks later, stabilized on her old anti-psych’s, she left the hospital. Well, now she has a naturopath, and it was found that she is gluten-intolerant and dairy-sensitive. So all these years she has been eating foods she’s allergic to! She’s feeling much better, now, with the new diet, and vitamin/herb therapies. Combined with the pharmaceuticals, (the side-effects from which have subsided). This is the way I should have done it from the beginning. So in this type of situation, there is a place for prescription drugs. So you see, if I had never taken her to the naturopath, she would still have the side-effects, and never be cured.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 03:50:01 +0000

I am bipolar and have taken different drugs for my disorder and for my anixety. I have found a med for my bipolar that works for me, Lithium. But I have yet found one that works for my anxiety. I have tried so many meds I cannot list them for runnung out of room. I did try Klonopin at o.5 mg 3 times a day, but that did not work. The drug wore off fairly quickly. It was raised to 1 mg 3 times a day, and that caused me to flip out on my boyfriend and hurt him. I went into an in-patient hospital for about 4 days. It almost destroyed my relationship with my boyfriend and we have been together for a long time. The doctor in there said that the dosage was too high and other circumstances caused me too flip out. So they lowered it back to 0.5 mg 3 times a day, but I cannot take it because my insurance will not pay for it and I cannot afford it. Still trying to figure out what will work for me. I did something you are not supposed to do. I took Xanax a few times and it calmed me a lot, but I do not know what it will do on a regular basis. Would love to find something that works for me. Keeping an eye out.

By: Jen

Jen — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 05:40:27 +0000

I started taking Xanax about 2 yrs ago to help with anxiety that started to plague me. I am diagnosed Bi-Polar I. I started having pretty severe anxiety attacks that would paralize me for about 15-20 mins. I started on .5mg and then got bumped up to 1mg tablets. I never knew what triggered my attacks. They would happen anywhere and everywhere. At that time I never knew I was gonna get addicted to them, but in the end I did. I overdosed so bad on the Xanax alone that I basically forgot who I was. By the time my husband called the ambulance and got me to the hospital I forgot when I was born, where I was, my name, key information about myself that I SHOULD know. I was vomiting, My mind was in and out and I kept repeating “I want it to stop” and I did not know or could not say what was suppose to stop. I couldn’t urinate at all and had to have a catheter just so they could get a urine sample. I spent 4 days in the hospital recovering. It was like a horror story.
I don’t blame my doctor for giving me the drug. He was doing the best he could in helping me with my anxiety attacks. The drug(s) I was taking in the end got the better of me. I went into drug rehab at the beginning of this year. I am no longer on those drugs and will never be. I just want people to know that Benzos by themselves in abundance can really do some damage and I had to find that out the hard way.

By: SG

SG — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 05:37:02 +0000

I have been taking the same dosage of Klonopin for about 25 yrs. at night .5 mg (can take up to 2) as I get terrible chest pains from anxiety at night that prevents me from sleeping. As I have bipolar 1 & have had manic episodes occur due to not sleeping this has assisted me enormously. It does makes me sleepy & I very rarely take it during the day as I don’t want to be sleepy during the day, but I am going through some chronic pain issues now & am being seen & tested by some neurologists & have been in the ER due to the incredible unrelenting pain so sometimes when I am going in for some painful testing I will take .5 of the Klonopin as my blood pressure goes sky high when I don’t & also I get to crying in the waiting area & that is just so embarrassing for me.

I don’t take the Klonopin every night as these pain issues make it so difficult to sleep so by about the 3rd night of not sleeping well I’m so totally exhausted that I don’t need anything to help me sleep (Trazodone either).

Also, another different chronic pain issue I have been dealing w/for 2 yrs. w/a pain management doc is w/back pain that cannot be treated or “cured”–only try to manage the pain which I do w/pain medication that I take only in the morning when the pain is the worst (though I am “allowed” to take it during the day as well) but the pain management doc said to NOT TAKE FISH OIL SUPPLEMENTS as this interferes w/the effectiveness of the pain medication so always check out any supplements you are taking w/your doc.

Brother has a genetic neurological condition that I am being tested for (DNA test) that I surely hope I don’t have as the symptoms are similar to ALS; he is a year younger than I & has lost his sight & is in a wheel chair. But I have this incredible, weird pain in my hands & wrists…

By: Joe Kraynak

Joe Kraynak — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 15:54:27 +0000

Hi, Wally–

I wish your sister all the best, but I also wish you would not make such sweeping generalizations. Pharmaceutical medications have played a valuable role in helping people with a variety of severe mental illnesses to avoid lengthy hospital stays and much of the suffering that accompanies mental illness.

Not all medications work for all people, and all medications have side effects, but we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Nor should anyone offer medical advice based on a single experience with one individual over the period of one month.

We don’t defend some of the practices of pharmaceutical companies and have written about practices we disagree with, but you cannot deny that pharmaceutical companies do considerable good. Yes, a profit motive is involved, and yes, sometimes the profit motive appears to influence decisions in a negative way, but pharmaceutical companies do contribute positively to health care, including mental wellness, and medications are often necessary in treating a wide variety of illnesses.

By: wally

wally — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:27:03 +0000

I am writing this letter to help those who are suffering the effects of prescription drugs, and offer them a safe, effective alternative. Seven weeks ago, my sister went into another of her schizoaffective disorder-related relapses. Deciding that this would be a good opportunity to try something different, I began tapering her off her anti-psych meds, that were giving her horrible side-effects, and at the same time, started her on herbal therapies. After the tapering was over, I began with the detox vitamins and Omega-3. It’s been almost a month, now, since the tapering ended, and she is much better now, and improving every day. Please, go to a naturopath, and get off the toxic pharmaceuticals! Cure the disease, don’t just cover it up! And don’t be fooled, as half of Americans are, by the drug companies. They are only interested in huge profits, and pleasing their shareholders.

By: What To Do When Waiting for Bipolar Medications to Take Effect | Bipolar Beat

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 19:39:50 +0000

[...] shorter acting medications to address associated symptoms, such as anxiety/panic or insomnia. Benzodiazepines, such as Xanax, can be used judiciously to more rapidly reduce acute anxiety symptoms, and then be [...]

By: kristina

kristina — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:04:17 +0000

yes this year has been a rough year the doc put me on lexapro for depression and that made me sudcide they added abilfy and got better for a while but the side effects weere too bad and so i started to see another doctor he diagnoise me with bipolar and should of been diagnoise years ago well my insurance would not cover him so he put me on kolopin and resdual and seem to be doing ok for a while than had to switch drs they put me on lithum and haldol and coggentin had to go to the er due to allergy reacction now i said screw it and just been taking half kolopin a day seems to be doing ok but i had been off them for 4 days and went into some major withdrawls i dont think dr treat u good they treat u like guinea pigs