When you start taking Xanax, you should monitor your body carefully to see how it reacts. Do not worry unnecessarily. Only a few of the people taking Xanax and following the instructions given by their doctor, have experienced side effects and were not able to benefit from the medication. It is in your interests to keep all your appointments with your doctor and honestly report how you feel.
Before you begin any course of treatment, you and your family should discuss the risks and benefits of taking a medication for your condition. It is entirely possible that your doctor will recommend counselling or therapy whether in parallel to prescribing Xanax or instead of Xanax.
The most common side effects include:
- lost concentration or absentminded behaviour;
- headache and drowsiness — you may also feel irritable;
- poor physical co-ordination or your speech may be slightly slurred;
- nausea, vomiting or constipation;
- any difficulty in sleeping;
- any significant change in your weight — sometimes accompanied by a loss of appetite;
- any loss of interest in sex or in your ability to get or maintain an erection.
- in a very small number of cases when people have had alcohol or other drugs in their system, they have experienced seizures and convulsions;
- you find it difficult to understand danger or you begin to act in an uninhibited way;
- you feel depressed or, in rare cases, think about committing suicide;
- you have trouble breathing or you are staggering;
- your heart is racing;
- you have difficulty in urinating;
- you begin to itch, sweat heavily or develop a rash — symptoms of an allergic reaction;
- your vision blurs or you feel dizzy and unusually drowsy; or
- you hear voices or hallucinate.
Tell the medical professionals immediately that you have taken Xanax so that they can take the necessary steps to protect you.
It is dangerous to stop taking Xanax suddenly. This medication becomes effective when it achieves a stable level in your blood stream. Stopping suddenly risks withdrawal symptms. The best approach is slowly to reduce the dosage so that you can get used to lower and lower concentrations in your blood. It may take months of slow reductions in your dosage to slowly wean you off this drug. A failure to follow this regime may cause you to revert to your previous state of agitation, anxiety and panic attacks, but accompanied by increased anger, nightmares, muscle cramps and, in rare cases, seizures. In some cases, you are encouraged to substitute Valium because it offers relief and is less often abused.
Finally, if you think you have taken an overdose, you should seek emergency attention. A Xanax overdose can be fatal particularly if you have mixed it with alcohol or other drugs.
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