# Anxiety, Xanax and D--11 months later



## california123 (Jun 8, 2003)

When I first started posting on this board, I had been diagnosed with IBS-D. None of the GI meds, diet changes or anything stopped the multiple daily D that had lasted for six months. Finally took a Xanax to quell the anxiety, and the D stopped. Psychiatrist diagnosed me with anxiety/stress-induced D and prescribed Xanax .5 twice a day plus Effexor XR .75 a day--the first for anxiety and the second for anxiety/deprsssion plus the fact it has a possible side-effect of constipation. It all worked so well and I felt great. After about 4 months, I tried stopping the Xanax but the D came back. After about 6 months, I slowly reduced the Xanax to .25 morning and night. Well, I'm now down to .25 Xanax just in the morning and continue with the .75 Effexor and the D is not back. I know it is partially because my external stress has diminished, but also know the meds are doing a good job. So for those who have not tried Xanax for chronic D, just thought I would let you know that it can be taken responsibly without the dosage having to become larger and larger. It has been almost a year since I started taking it, I never increased the dosage and I'm now down to 1/4 of where I started. Take care.


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## Tiss (Aug 22, 2000)

That is good news. So glad you found something that's worked for you. Tiss


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## juck (Nov 6, 2003)

california123,how r u?i am in almost the same boat as u.i have anxiety issues anyway but i am going thru a divorce and it has sent mr really into problem ville.i started remeron a couple months ago and it has helped depression but the anxiety was still a major problem,i didnt get diarrhea i get crampy pain,which causes more anxiety.si my doc just added xanax .25 twice daily to my regimen,it has helped instantly,but my question to you is when do u take ,like how many hours in between?if u go to long when does withdrwal set in like a day later?i have been spacing them out like 10 am then like 6 pm.it is really helping me deal with this tough time.


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## california123 (Jun 8, 2003)

I'm doing fine, thank you. If you are taking .25 daily, I would not worry too much about withdrawal because that is a fairly low dosage...people take 10 times that in a day. What my psychiatrist told me is that if you lower the dosage and the problem you had before comes back then that means you still have the problem and shouldn't lower the dosage. If it is helping you I would stay with it for now. Again, you are on a low dosage and going through a divorce is no picnic. ARe people pressuring you to stop the Xanax? They're not walking in your shoes. Take care.


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## LD1 (Jan 20, 2004)

If xanax has helped you (as it helped me), consider talking to your doc about Paxil. It is the only psychiatric drug (out of many) that helped with my severe anxiety/anxiety induced D. I no longer need xanax on Paxil which is one less drug to have to worry about. (But I had IBS before I had anxiety, the anxiety came as a result of the IBS, so I am the opposite of California)


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## california123 (Jun 8, 2003)

Hi LD,You can have anxiety and not know it. The GI said I had IBS but the psychiatrist explained that I had anxiety-induced D which means my body showed its anxiety not through anxiety attacks but through the D. So I think we are pretty much the same, I just now know I never had IBS.I tried Paxil but it didn't control the D. Take care.


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## LD1 (Jan 20, 2004)

Yes, everyone is different in terms of medication. Who knows which comes first when it comes to IBS & anxiety. I was diagnosed with IBS over two years ago and was dealing with it fine, then one day (litterally) "BAM", anxiety hit and I could not get rid of it. My advice to anyone who has anxiety/IBS is to keep trying different meds and therapy. It's sad that people suffer b/c they have doctors who are determined to keep them on or off of a medication that could help. And on another note: a lot of doctors disagree over the use of xanax/valium. I know I've been told a wide variety of opinions on them: all from they are not addictive "at all" to they are "not good, and cannot be used long term". Who knows. I say, if something helps: use it.


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