Meds - Xanax inquiry

[Guest guest]

I guess this is mostly directed to Dr. :

As you may remember, I am a fellow RLS sufferer who has been

experiencing fairly good control of symptoms with a combination of

Permax (very small dose each evening and bedtime), St. 's Wort,

caffeine and alcohol control ,and therapeutic Yoga.

I have a history of periodic bouts of depression, which , unfortunately

is visiting me again. Because I have gone through a lot of

antidepressant trials, all of which ended with increased problem with

'jumpy legs', my doctor and I decided to go with a small dose of Xanax,

to help me with the anxiety and early morning wakefulness. I looked up

Xanax on the www, and wow, was there a lot of talk about heavy duty

withdrawal problems! I don't intend to take a high dose, or to take it

every day, but was wondering if you have any advice on Xanax for

RLS/depression sufferers?

I would also be grateful for any comments from others with similar

experiences i.e.. depression control with RLS.

Thanks all.

Margaret , 47

Alberta, Canada

[Guest guest]

Just had to jump in with a few comments on Xanax, as it is a drug I seem to

be taking a LOT of lately. I also have a history of depression. In fact, I

was admitted to hospital on October 15th, suffering from a very bad and

dangerous bout of depression. I was on Serzone, but the dosage was maxxed

out, so the doctor decided to switch me to Manerix, an entirely different

class of anti-depressant. I was also taking Xanax at bedtime, along with

Neurontin, and while the doctor didn't interfere with my RLS drugs, he did

increase the Xanax to 3x a day due to my most pronounced need for it. While

I was in the hospital, I took .5 three times a day.

I got home on Tuesday, the 3rd of November, having endured a series of six

ECT's. Everyone seems to agree that I'm certainly more cheerful than I was

a few weeks ago, but my memory is totally shot, and my anxiety levels have

gone through the roof. It doesn't help having a 14 year old who doesn't

seem to want to forgive me my absence. Anyway, my doctor called me last

night just after dinner to check up on me (much appreciated) and told me to

double my Xanax: to take 1 mg. 3x a day. Lord knows I don't want to have

to stay on this many drugs forever, but for now ... I can't stop shaking

without it. I didn't honestly expect that coming home would be this hard on

everyone. My husband has been a saint and continues to be one, and my 11

and 8 year olds are doing fine. I suppose, realistically, that everything

will settle down eventually, but I sometimes wonder if I'd rather be back in

the hospital. Less pressure. I don't know which is worse, depression or

RLS. For now, my RLS doesn't seem to be bothering me: the 900 mg. of

Neurontin I take at bedtime seems to do the trick. They withheld that med

the night before each ECT as they didn't want to be giving me any anti

seizure drugs, and it wasn't too bad. The first few nights I didn't sleep

at all because I was scared, but then I knew what I was in for, and they

did start giving me sleeping pills, so I slept all right. My legs,

mercifully, are the least of my problems right now.

Anyway, just wanted to say that I really like Xanax: it was helping me

sleep better before the depression hit bad, and before my adventures in

hospital. Now, I absolutely rely on it to keep me from trembling my way

through the day. I'm just hoping that things settle down soon, because I'm

not sure how much stress I can take before snapping again. I don't honestly

feel that strong yet, and November has always been a rough month for me.

I've got enough therapist & doctor appointments lined up to sink a ship, so

maybe that will help keep me afloat!! I'm waiting for my morning dose of

Xanax to hit - I think it's starting to, as my heart isn't pounding quite as

hard as before .....

Hope you guys are strong & happy today!

Hugs,

Eve

>

>I have a history of periodic bouts of depression, which , unfortunately

>is visiting me again. Because I have gone through a lot of

>antidepressant trials, all of which ended with increased problem with

>'jumpy legs', my doctor and I decided to go with a small dose of Xanax,

>to help me with the anxiety and early morning wakefulness. I looked up

>Xanax on the www, and wow, was there a lot of talk about heavy duty

>withdrawal problems! I don't intend to take a high dose, or to take it

>every day, but was wondering if you have any advice on Xanax for

>RLS/depression sufferers?

>

>I would also be grateful for any comments from others with similar

>experiences i.e.. depression control with RLS.

>

>Thanks all.

>

>

>

>Margaret , 47

>

>Alberta, Canada

>

>

>

>

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