# Generic Xanax and Alternatives



## Grandfather Flump (Jul 21, 2004)

Hi Everyone!!! My wife has suffered from IBS-D for the past eight years and while the D is not particularly servere in the last 18 months she has started having accute anxiety attacks. Attacks usually occur when she feels she doesn't have easy access to a toilet - in cars, on the subway/train and unfamiliar places. Recently she has started feeling anxiety at work - she works in admin for a company with predominantly male employees, there's only one lady's toilet. If she is having a bad day (as far as D is concerned) and she sees someone else go in there she can't relax until the toilet is vacant again. Each time she has an attack her world shrinks. At the moment our movements are restricted to a 5 minute radius around our house.As I said my wife's diarrhea not severe and fairly controllable. However stopping the diarrhea does not stop the anxiety; when needed one capsule of immodium usually puts everything on hold for 24 hours but then the uncertainty of when her next bowel movement will be also creates anxiety, especially if she has work the next day.I'm going on a bit but one more piece of info before I ask my questions. We live in Japan, which when compared to the UK and US is still in the medical darkages when it comes to IBS (a general unawareness of the problem, though when we talk to people about it they always seem to know someone who exhibits IBS like symptoms or in fact have a similar problem themselves) and mental health (a taboo subject).At present my parents send Imodium out to us from the UK where you can buy it over the counter. We would like to try Xanax which at present is only in it's first stage of trials in Japan. My wife actually applied to participate in the trials, but felt in the end she didn't want to risk the train journey to the hospital. Searching the internet I have discovered various websites selling Xanax and as far as I understand it, you need a prescription to buy brand Xanax but generic Xanax is freely available mail order. Are there any difference between generic and brand Xanax? There seems to be a companies making it, is one better than the others? Is it something that has to be taken everyday or can it be taken when needed? Any older alternatives that we might try?I've written enough. Sorry for going on. Hope you can help.


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## Tiss (Aug 22, 2000)

I don't know why xanax would just be going through 'clinical trials' in Japan---it's been around forever! It is in a class of drugs called benzodiazapiens (sp?). It includes xanax, klonopin, atavin, valium and others but I don't know the names. They are controlled drugs because they can be addictive so personally I wouldn't buy anything like that over the net. Alot of people seem to get relief though from the benzos as far as D and anxiety. Since you live in Japan I don't know how you go about getting these drugs.This may sounds stupid but do you have psychiatrists in Japan? That is who prescribes my benzos for me. Good luck. Maybe someone on the BB can give you some info. I think it is so sweet that you are so concerned about your wife.


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## Grandfather Flump (Jul 21, 2004)

Hi Tiss,Thanks for your response. We've been to a number of psychiatrists but none of them have been particularly helpful - the usual advice has been to get a grip and take medicine to stop the diarrhea which doesn't help, councilling is not provided. It's more like going to your physician with a cold and he hands you a prescription, to the point were people line up in the waiting room waiting to be seen, no appointments. There are people who offer, what can best be described as "psychiatric services", but they don't seem to hold any medical qualifications or training - I wouldn't trust them as far as I can kick them.Having read the info on this site it does seem the Japanese are very far behind Europe and the US. My Japanese is not good enough to decipher Pfizer's website to answer your query about why Xanax is not available over yet. Have to say I was surprised when I read Xanax had been about since 1993(?). From what I understand drug developement and approval often moves in an Easterly direction, first the US, then Europe and finally Asia. This is also a culture were mental health problem have been traditionally swept under the carpet, or locked in a room upstairs - not unlike the UK and the USA fifty years ago, perhaps demand for such drugs hasn't been there till now. Speculation.The anxiety attacks have thrown our relationship into turmoil. I try to be understanding, which as far as my wife is concerned means not talking or doing anything about the problem and avoiding situatons which cause anxiety. We were managing to have a fairly normal, active life before the anxiety attacks started. Now I end up bottling up my frustraion at the situation we're in and then blow a fuse over the hole situation every three or four months and we have a massive argument. The argument does motivate her to visit the doctor and try new treatment but so far nothing has been successful and the dissappointment prevents her doing anything else until the next time we argue. Doing nothing is easier than doing something, even if it means severe restrictions on our lives. She says, putting pressure on her makes the problem worse, but then if I don't.... it just goes round and round, no moving forward. I don't want to argue, I want to be supportive but not of her doing nothing. She lived with IBS-D for nearly six years without ever going to doctor. The situation is not healthy for either of us. Not as sweet as you thought maybe.


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## Grandfather Flump (Jul 21, 2004)

Sorry went off on one there.


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## Tiss (Aug 22, 2000)

That's OK! Stick around and you'll read alot of venting. IBS is frustrating to all of us that have it and sometimes I think we forget about how horrible it is for our signficant others.This is a good place to vent and not hurt your relationship with your wife. What about antidepressants like prozac or lexapro? Many people are having good luck with those for D and anxiety. I'm sure that even in Japan there has to be such a thing as Prozac.Where are you orignally from? I guess you are not Japanese.


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## Grandfather Flump (Jul 21, 2004)

Hi Tiss,Thanks for your understanding. I'm British, have living and working in Japan for the last 5 and a half years. My wife is Japanese. Will check up on prozac and lexapro they're probably sold under a different name here, Xanax will be called Selatomin (or something similar) when it goes on sale. There is a history of depression in the family and I think my wifes father takes medication for depression - bit of a family embarrassment. Not sure how open my wife will be to the idea (tarred with the same brush and all that), but guess if I do enough homework and get lots of info it's worth a try, which is why I've been searching for Xanax online, exploring avenue. Tried hypnotherapy, herbal medicine, Chinese medicine - which is very popular for all ailments here, accupuncture(spell?), aromatherapy as well as conventional medicines and treatment. Looking into Bach Flower remedies at the moment. I should say that my other half is far more open to alternative medicine than conventional medicine which she finds a bit intimidating. I am very sceptical but if there's a chance it will help I guess it can't hurt - and at least she's making an effort.How long have you been suffering anxiety attacks?


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## california123 (Jun 8, 2003)

If your wife is having panic attacks, Xanax is the quickest control for them--I speak from too much experience. The Xanax also stopped my D...I say order it online and see if it helps. Take care.


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## Tiss (Aug 22, 2000)

I don't know how you can be sure what you're getting over the net if you don't have a script. Cal123, they are living in Japan where they do not sell xanax. I would just be very careful if ordering from the net. Do you ever get to the states or back to Britain? I am so sorry that your wife is having such trouble. She's also got her culture keeping her from getting available help. Post this on the main BB and you might get more responses.


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## cadia (Jan 5, 2001)

You can order xanax online but there are a hundred rip offs out there, i did find a way though but they had shipping difficulties and returned my money without shipping it out, but there are other places. here is what you do go to google.com and type xanax online, a hundred sites will pop up, find one that has a good price maybe 30 1mg tablets for like 60 bucks, shipping is expensive though, then type the website you want to order from into google.com with the word fraud and see what comes up, if nothing bad comes up like reports from people saying they are a scam then go ahead and order them. You'll probably get generic xanax and round blue tablet with a line down it, if you get regular xanax it will be a blue oval. When you get them cut a couple in half and start with a .5mg dose for your wife when she has a panic attack, it works in about 20 minutes. Be careful because you can become addicted if taken regularly, so i would recommend taking it only when she has an attack.Their are also herbs and vitamins she can try that she may be <more into> like magnesium in a powder form calms you down but you have to balance it out with calcium because maagnesium makes your bowels loose, you can try valerian roots that comes in drops under your tongue or natural remedies that are homapathic that you put under your tongue, i'm not sure if you can buy them in japan or not.Feel free to email me if you need more help, I always answer mail. I'm american and korean and japanese, my mom is korean and her dad she thinks was japanese. I hope you can get some medicine for yor wife so that she'll feel better, for now just reassure her, dont take her anywhere there isn't a toilet, because us ibs'ers like to map out our toilet areas all around town and we stick to it and because ibs is so embarassing she is probably feeling so ashamed and overwhemed that she doesnt have control of her own body at times and she might feel like she's a burden to you making you worry and stuff, that's how I felt the first couple of years with my hubby and finally i just let it go and explained things to him. it may just take her a bit, ibs plays really badly on your body and mind, you feel so bad at times you just dont know what to do.Now i dont know if you've ever heard of Paxil, but it's a SSRI and it's very good for anxiety and panic attacks, i was put on it during my pregnancy and i'm still on it and it works wonders, I haven't had a panic attack in a very long time and it helps when i'm out or i'm having a <bowel attack>. You can buy Paxil online also, But you have to keep on taking it daily. Let me know if you need anymore info i'd be glad to help further.


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## Grandfather Flump (Jul 21, 2004)

Hi Everyone,Thank you all so much for your mails. My wife and I both appreciate them very much. Will do some research over the weekend and let you know how we get on.


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## Jennifer7 (Nov 13, 2000)

A few other natural things to try are: Vitamin B-6, GABA & L-Theanine(aka Sun-Theanine). Do some searches online about these. They help with anxiety. I can't vouch for them personally, but there are people who say they are very helpful, and there are no problems with addiction.As far as dealing with your wife...try to be encouraging instead of pushing. Ask her what would help her. I know you want her to improve instead of standing still. But she needs tools to move forward, whether it is medication or Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, or both. And speaking of CBT, check out this website:www.stresscenter.orgI wish you and your wife the best!


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## Grandfather Flump (Jul 21, 2004)

Thank you all again for your replies. Unfortunately all the medications you guys mentioned have, so far, lead to a dead ends. Xanax apparently cannot be exported to/ imported into Japan. Checked the rules and they are a bit vague - you can only import a maximum 24 "pieces"/less than a "months supply" of any non-licenced prescription drug. Thirty tablet boxes are too big - tried no luck. Prozac - and I have to say I was a bit surprised by this one - as of April this year it was still going through the application process for clinical trials. Have posted on a message for foriegners living in Japan to double check on that. No Paxil either. Lexapro - haven't found the Japanese brand name yet.The herbal medicines or "quasi-drugs" as the Japanese customs call them, fall into the same category as prescription drugs, less than 24 "pieces" per month, think I might have nore chance of bending the rules with them though. The Vitamin B6 and L-Theanine Jennifer7 mentioned are easily obtained in Japan. LTheanine, I have discovered, is a compound derived from Japanese Green Tea and there are number of companies producing it for various medicinal purposes. Will go in search for it at my local pharmacy later.The glimmer of hope for the prescription drugs is a web site called inhousepharmacy.com. They have a UK, US and Japanese website. Followed Cadia's advice and checked on google for bad reports and it came up clean. The Japanese website sells paxil and prozac, the packages shown have English labels and look authentic but not sure how reliable the site is and how they get around the Japanese laws.Thanks again will let you know of any developments.


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## incense (Aug 11, 2004)

I suffer from IBS, although my symptoms tend to be more focused on C than D, along with morning anxiety. I'm new to coping with all this, but hopefully I can be of some assistance.I did study abroad in Japan last Fall (Kansai Gaikokugo Daigaku, in Hirakata-shi, which is between Ōsaka and Kyōto). While my IBS only sparked up badly again recently, I did seem to have some symptoms while in Japan. I absolutely hated using the public restrooms in Japan, which are typically atrocious, and riding the train/subway was always difficult when I wasn't feeling well. I can certainly understand your wife's reluctance to go out! I will say that most "Mr. Donuts" chains have very nice bathrooms with western style toilets, and they were my sanctuary in times of distress (although I don't think the donuts I ate there helped!) I don't know how well you guys eat, but my host mother always made very well balanced meals. I hesitate to call it ï¿½traditional,ï¿½ but perhaps that's what it is. I felt so much better when I ate healthily like that in Japan as opposed to being a pig in America.







But there's certainly a good number of MakuDonarudo scattered all around Japan!I know that it's really hard to get medicine of any sort in Japan, and that it's typically expensive. Furthermore, the gigantic stigma the Japanese have regarding drugs -- especially ï¿½recreationalï¿½ drugs, such as marijuana, which most of my Japanese friends ranked up there with heroin -- have led to extremely stringent import laws on any sort of drug that could have the potential of being addictive. Don't try to take Vick's inhalers into Japan!I don't know if your wife considers herself "religious" (a foreign word in conceptions of Japanese religious understanding and practice) or not, but as a practicing Shin Buddhist I know that my daily chanting of the nembutsu and Shoshinge helps me greatly. Modified zazen (specifically bonpu zen, to be technical, since I'm not doing it for enlightenment due to the context of Shin) has been decently useful, but I'm often too lazy to do that on schedule. But 20 minutes of zazen can be extremely effective after a month or so of earnest practice. I recommend zazen as opposed to meditation because while most forms of meditation emphasize concentrating on a single thing, such as breath or a mental image, zazen is about total awareness without judgment of ones experiences. I think that this is more applicable to IBS, because if the symptoms come during work or during an activity a person must be able to be aware of that activity instead of discarding everything. Closing ones eyes and focusing on deep, rhythmic breathing can certainly be useful, of course, but there are some situations where that's not an option. Being aware of the anxiety that occurs within me, instead of focusing away from it, can often be more useful. Being aware of and understanding the chain of deluded mental processes that leads a person into anxiety allows a person to recognize when this chain begins to form and to sever it before it grows and strengthens beyond his or her control. It's like you said in terms of the way your wife has been dealing with IBS: as much as ignoring it is easier, approaching it will be required in order to adequately manage it. Practicing zazen regularly and diligently will allow a person to enter zazen quickly and at will. Furthermore, when your wife is able to sit zazen for 20 minutes, 40 minutes, or even longer, I think that will give her much more confidence in going out into the world.Sorry if I came off a little too much on the religious side, but I hope that this will be of some use to your wife.


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