If I were to take a Alprazolam before bed would it help avoid a panic attack in the morning?
May 28th, 2009
I am beginning to understand my panic attck pattern a little better and I am thinking that I am going to wake up very anxious. Wouls it help to take a Alprazolam before bed to avoid an ealry morning attack.
By: Liz
About the Author:
By: Liz
About the Author:
May 31st, 2009 at 4:46 am
It could, but the best result would be to take it before you enconter the situation that causes the anxiety. This is based on Xanax being an anti-anxeity immediate release type medication. If you take it @ bedtime ,it may help you sleep better that’s all
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:22 pm
hello,
I do understand your problem. Your are having Panic Disorder. Have you seen psychiatrist?. Panic attack can be due to other medical problem also eg. hyperthyroidism, pheochromocytoma etc. You should have thorough check up first.
Alprazolam is a short acting antianxiety ( half life 12 hours). It can help you to reduce the panic attack fast but be careful not to use for long duration. It may cause dependency towards it.
You should consult your psychiatrist and they can advice you to for antidepressant eg SSRI ( fluvoxamine, escitalopram etc ) and suggest cognitive beavioural therapy (CBT) and relaxation technique for you.
Do not drink coffee before sleep please.
June 5th, 2009 at 2:02 am
It might. It won’t hurt to try. Just don’t take more than you should because they can be very addicting and you really don’t want that. You also might want to seriously consider doing yoga at night before you sleep. I used to have panic attacks about 5 years ago and one day it just stopped. I don’t know if it’s because I got a little older or what but one thing that really helped me was this book called The Self Esteem Companian. You can search it on Amazon. I was looking for self help books and found this book at the book store. It really doesn’t have anything to do specifically with panic attacks but it really helped me. There are exercises (mental and visual) in there that they have that are really awesome. You should check it out. Maybe you could take the Alprazolam right when you wake up. Seriously though, that book might really help you,.
June 8th, 2009 at 2:38 am
No, it wouldn’t. Alprazolam (generic for XANAX) is too short-acting.
Alternate solutions:
1. Switch to an SSRI-type anti-depressant that raises serotonin and usually prevents panic attacks (like Lexipro, Celexa, Zoloft) over a longer period of time.
2. If SSRI-types don’t work and you need to be on a Benzodiazepine (this is the name given to a group of medications similar to Alprazolam),
you could try Ativan (lorazepam) which lasts about 6-8 hours or Klonopin, which is stronger and lasts the longest)
I really recommend you try to resolve the panic attacks (if you can) by working with a doctor trained in Cognitive/Behavioral therapy. It is the ideal treatment if it works. Some people, however, apparently must have the help of a medication to get them through, and the SSRI’s are usually the medication of choice.
Benzodiazepines are processed by the liver…and when your liver enzymes get depleted after years of taking a benzodiazepine, a person always has to go up in dose to compensate. It can be very addicting, so should be used continuously, over years, only as a last resort.
June 9th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Congratulations…feeling them come on IS the key to stopping them. I guess it worked for me to take one right when I felt one coming on,taking it before bed could form a bad habit,Xanax is very habit forming,and if you start taking it before bed routinely you will be taking it when its not needed.if you do start taking xanax as you feel one coming on then eventually you can train yourself to calm down before the attacks occur.