# Can Xanax help my IBS. Feedback please !!!!!!



## jblarson (Oct 23, 2002)

My Dr put me on Xanax yesterday. I need feedback on how it is reacting with other IBS/D sufferers. This is my family dr. My Gastro dr hasnt done anything for me. I really need to get my nerves under control. Just a trip down the street in the car causes problems.Jay


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## ohnometo (Sep 20, 2001)

Xanax is used for anxiety..It can be very addictive so be careful and follow the directions.but it may give you some relif until you find some other ways of getting relief from IBSAlso, other things might help you and that is learning about your triggers for IBS. Taking a look at the foods you are eating maybe an idea and also Hypnotherapy helps many folks with anxiety.


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## knothappy (Jul 31, 1999)

I use it when I have to go somewhere that I cannot back out of. My reg. doc prescribed it , not my GI, but it really does help you to settle down and that settles your IBS, I fear taking it a lot because of the addiction everyone speaks of.


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## phyllisfin (Jan 27, 1999)

I've been taking xanax for several months, .25 mg twice a day, if needed. Usually, I take only one. They certainly have helped with the continuous panic attacks I have been having recently (because of IBS or mayhbe something else). I'm not going overboard on them since I know they can be addictive, but at least I can function. Once I find out what my problems are (tests were done this week), then they can go by the wayside. Phyllis


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## Guest (Nov 16, 2002)

Use Xanax with caution and be aware of its addictive qualities. It's appropriate for short-term use. In the long-term scheme of things, it can mask symptoms and end up causing us to not get the kind of treatment or therapy that we really need.Evie


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## kamie (Sep 14, 2002)

Jay, I have a refillable prescription of Xanax and I have more unused bottles of the stuff sitting around than I will probably ever use before they expire.I take them and then I don't and then I loose the bottle and so I go get a refill when I need it aand then one day I clean out my drawer or my purse or the glove compartment and lo and behold there's the unused Xanax.A lot of people only hear about the addictiveness of the medication.Evidently if your doctor prescribed it it would be nice to give you a little positive feed back because the doctor would not have prescribed a medication that does have a reputation of being addicitve, if he didn't think you needed it.so, for the plus side, Xanax is an extremly effective medication for anxiety.It is also a very very good anti spasmodic.I have IBS C. Xanax has been known to ease mygut spasms aand bladder spasms that were very very painful.I also have a heart problem and I am told to take Xanax when I feel anxious or when I think I need it because stress is not good for my heart these days.Infact, I took a Xanax today.You see, my husband has been gushing blood out of his rectum for a few days now.Needless to say, I've been a little distressed and anxious.Especially since he's had 2 colonoscopies since September and he was still gushing blood.So I was a little distressed and a little anxious and when I got a little weepy and shakey and my arm began to hurt, I took me a little Xanax.So, be prudent and take your med when you need it and work with learning to breath right and meditate and work out the balance.There are boards out there for people who use Xanax.If you go read the messages you will find that most Xanax users don't even use the stuff every day because they are aware of the addiction factor so they use the med selectively so as not to build addicition and to keep from building up a tolerance so you won't have to move on to a higher dose.So if you use your medicine like a medicine, an enforce prudence with personal self discipline, you should be fine.I'm an ex cigarette smoker.No smoke in over 20 years.the only way to really overcome an addiction or the tendency to, is to work on self discipline and the consciousness of the having a delicate balance with the body.It is all about finding balance.Good Luck,Kamie


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## Guest (Nov 16, 2002)

Kamie, Honey.... I am sorry but I have to disagree with your statement:"Evidently if your doctor prescribed it it would be nice to give you a little positive feed back because the doctor would not have prescribed a medication that does have a reputation of being addicitve, if he didn't think you needed it."I have known doctors who have prescribed Xanax and like medications as well as other classes of medications that are addictive more than likely because nothing else could appease the patient. Some may even do it just to get a patient off their back. If the patient cannot legally come back against the doctor for having prescribed the medication, then the doctor can prescribe anything that they want without worrying about being sued... and even though it's sad, that situation is alive and well.From what the medical professionals with whom I work every day have told me, there may not be any harm in taking Xanax on a short term basis.... and not more than 3 times a week, but to take this medication on an ongoing PRN basis can be a dangerous crutch. Use it with caution.Evie


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## Guest (Nov 16, 2002)

FYI: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...c;f=32;t=000044


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## kamie (Sep 14, 2002)

Good Luck Jay.


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## Davis 2002 (Jan 6, 2002)

Xanax will turn you into a spaceshot Valium,Xanax,Klonopin, all made me tired during the daytime and they are all bad for memory retention


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## atl75 (Feb 19, 2002)

In response to the orignal question, absolutely. It's widely known as a CCK antagonist, which is a substance that has a DIRECT effect upon gut motility and anxiety. http://www.algy.com/pdi/FAQ//xanax2.html


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## jo-jo (Aug 19, 2001)

I was thinking about asking my doctor for some of this stuff but I am scared because of it's addictive qualities. I have to do something about this anxiety.


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## kamie (Sep 14, 2002)

JoJo, I'll say it again. Xanax has been a good med for me.It does not turn me into a zombie and I am nowhere near addictied.I suppose that could be true for some but I'm just not there.For me the "risks" of the medication are just as worrisome as the other meds I take for my heart.I have to ask again.......since I depend on my heart medication for my life would then that make me addicted to my heart meds?After all, If I don't take my heart meds my heart races and I'll have insomnia for days and get crankey and irritable and crazy and about the 10th day of having my heart rate staying over 100 I'll weep at the drop of a hat and freak out at nothing and be angry and be depressive and just generally not have any energy at all and forget about exercise because if I even try to walk 10 feet I'm out of breath.But give me my heart meds and poof.......I'm fine with a pulse of 70.So I say, what ever makes you well and hang all the grief.It's your body.You have to live in it.Make your decision based on the quality of life you want.Discuss the risks and the benefits with your doctor.Then decide.Good Luck and Good Health.Kamie


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## kamie (Sep 14, 2002)

Xanax material:It is most useful in the "classic" generational PNE with childhood onset; gastroesophageal reflux or irritable bowel syndrome, with panic attacks not phobic anxiety. Panic attacks and phobic anxiety are often confused. Panic attacks occur "from nowhere" often waking the person up from sleep or while the person is relaxing after work. ___________________________________One of the things I thought was interesting in what was presented was the clarification of real panic attacks from phobic anxiety.And that IS a very important fact to consider when trying to decide if the medication is the right one for each individual case.I have been wondering recently if some times panic attacks, the kind described here in the Xanax material, might infact be hidden heart problems.Like Paroxysmal atrial tachycardia which often leads to needing a pace maker.Or Atrial fibrillation which results from an underlying heart problem.Right before I was given medication for my heart problem I was waking up at night gasping for breath. Some people would have said that I was not resting well and that I was having anxiety attacks in my sleep.The Cardiologist says it's my heart.Heart disease runs in my family.Extreme HBP runs in my family.All the women.Diabetes Runs in my family.Breast Cancer runs in my family.Odds are, given my family medical history, we have a heart condition going on.However, one too many nights of waking up gasping for breath, one may surely become anxious and just might need that devil drug Xanax lest they angst themselves into heart failure.Kamie


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