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Not me but my older brother. He claims he suffers from panic attacks and takes Xanax all the time, so much so that he sounds drunk and sleeps all the time. He doesnt work because he either runs out of xanax or he only keeps a job for 3-4 days.
Right now he is out of xanax and he says he just lays in bed, unable to bath because the white tile in the bathroom freaks him out, he wont answer the phone because he stresses him out.
He refuses other meds because he claims they wont work and as soon as he gets some money he runs back to the doctors who prescribe 3 months of 1mg xanax tabs.
He says he takes up to 3 or 4mgs of xanax a day and he drinks with it,
does it sound like he has more going on than just panic attacks? My husband gets them, takes no meds and the attack goes away after 30 minutes. My brother is unable to function in general without xanax.
I dont know what to do with him because he wants to live with me, but I have 2 little girls and i know I would have to support him and I will keep hearing the same excuses.... no xanax no work, gets xanax but sleeps all day and no jobs etc....
Not me but my older brother. He claims he suffers from panic attacks and takes Xanax all the time, so much so that he sounds drunk and sleeps all the time. He doesnt work because he either runs out of xanax or he only keeps a job for 3-4 days.
Right now he is out of xanax and he says he just lays in bed, unable to bath because the white tile in the bathroom freaks him out, he wont answer the phone because he stresses him out.
He refuses other meds because he claims they wont work and as soon as he gets some money he runs back to the doctors who prescribe 3 months of 1mg xanax tabs.
He says he takes up to 3 or 4mgs of xanax a day and he drinks with it,
does it sound like he has more going on than just panic attacks? My husband gets them, takes no meds and the attack goes away after 30 minutes. My brother is unable to function in general without xanax.
I dont know what to do with him because he wants to live with me, but I have 2 little girls and i know I would have to support him and I will keep hearing the same excuses.... no xanax no work, gets xanax but sleeps all day and no jobs etc....
Yes, he's a drug addict. His drug just happens to be a legal one. If you let him live with you, you are a fool and worse, not the best parent for letting an addict into your house. Not trying to be harsh, it's just a fact. Go to a codependency meeting like Nar-Anon or Al-Anon if there is no Nar-Anon near you to learn how to maintain your boundaries.
And be vigilant. He will lie to you and promise you the world if you will take him in. There's a saying--how do you know when an addict is lying? Because his lips are moving.
All that matters to an addict is the addiction. The addiction must be protected at all costs.
I know he is an addict, but is it the addiction thats making him crazy or it is possible to live with panic attacks ll day like he claims he has? It sounds to me he has some kind of metal problem. When he claims he cant stand to look at white bathroom tile so he refuses to shower, freaks out when the phone rings, stays curled up in bed and doesn't eat. He says he has lost 50 pounds.
He was in the hospital for broken ribs, pneumonia and then he got MRSA in the lungs and almost died. But when he was in the hospital they had to tie him down because he was coming off the xanax.
They released him and a doctor gave him more xanax!! Now he found other doctors who keep prescribing this stuff. I don't understand why doctors prescribe this stuff the way they do?
Does he realize he is an addict? Perhaps you need an intevention with him. Don't take him in, do not enable him. There are many ways to deal with a panic disorder, he needs to see a professional doctor.
One of the best things for me was starting to exercise. The amount of stress in my life almost washed away while running. It doesn't work 100% of the time for me, but it is like night and day.
He need's professional help ASAP. Check him into a hospital with a pscyh ward. Let them handle him detoxing off of that stuff. It is not good to go off all of a sudden because it makes things worse all at once and it takes days. He needs to be weaned off of it but not by himself since he's an addict! Get him help now!!!!!
He was in the hospital with broken ribs, they got him off the stuff and they turned around and prescribed it back again!
He has no money, he lives with girl. She says he just sleeps all day, does the same thing when he has the Xanax. He has no money for help and refuses to admit he has a problem. He told me on the phone his gums are turning black and his front teeth look bad and he is peeing blood.
I don't know what to do, I want to help him, but this weird girl he lives with is like that character in the movie Misery, she wants to keep him staying with her living in squalor because she would be alone if he left so she often deletes my messages when I text him or turns off his phone. My brother sounds like he is in such bad shape and probably infectious I really don't want him in my home either!
I did try to find a free rehab to get him help and he said he didnt want to be around those trashy people. lol Funny coming from my brother who is living in a hotel and been unemployed for years. He wanted our dad to pay for a high priced rehab in Malibu.
I don't know, I think it's tragic and he will probably end up dead. He claims he will be living ion the street soon because the girl he lives with will be unemployed within the next couple weeks. Our Dad has turned his back on him now and wont help anymore.
He needs to taper off VERY SLOWLY under the supervision of a doctor. Benzos, particularly Xanax, are quickly habit-forming because of their short half-life, and how quickly they "kick in" compared to other benzos, such as Ativan. But it is extremely dangerous to come off cold turkey, especially from a high dose. He'll be at serious risk for seizures, and even death. I was told it was comparable to coming off heroine addiction, possibly worse. Depending on how long he's been taking it, it can take weeks to months (or more) to taper off, but it's the only safe way to do it, and the only way to minimize withdrawal. Of course, if he's not willing to admit he's an addict, then some intervention will have to take place to get him to see it.
I'll get personal, here, though it's not something I'm comfortable with discussing publicly; I'm speaking from my own experience. I was diagnosed with panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder back when I was 20, because I was having debilitating, daily panic attacks. When I wasn't having panic attacks, I was having near-constant "anticipatory anxiety", which made me agoraphobic for an entire summer.
I was put on Xanax, .25 mg, and it worked at first, but when it would lose its effectiveness, my doctor upped my dosage, and kept upping it. At the end, I was taking 6 - 8 mg a day for years, 2 mg tablets, all prescribed. Please note that I was not taking this stuff to get high. I never got high on it. I was taking it to feel normal and at the end, the amount it took to feel "normal" was insane. I tried to drop down to "only" 4 mg on my own, and was nearly incapacitated for over two weeks, couldn't walk, slurred my words, couldn't get out of bed, had heart palpitations, vertigo - it was horrible. I stabilized at that dosage after two weeks, but it was a very risky thing to do, alone, and I was afraid to drop down any farther. I was so ashamed, afraid to tell anyone, even my family. I made an appointment with a doctor who specialized in benzo addiction. She had me taper down .25 mg every 2 weeks to a month (depending on how I felt). She made it clear I was not to go down any more than that at a time. It took over a year to come off.
My life completely changed once off. I haven't even had to deal with panic attacks (knock on wood), which was my fear (I was prescribed them for legitimate concerns, after all), and I learned safe ways of managing my anxiety without drugs.
The only reason I'm sharing my story at the risk of finger-pointing is because I cannot stress enough how dangerous it is to try to come off Xanax, yourself, especially cold turkey. It HAS to be done under a doctor's strict supervision. Google Xanax addiction, and that should be enough to scare the crap out of anyone.
I wish you and your brother all the best. It's not going to be an easy ride for any of you.
He has no money, he lives with girl. She says he just sleeps all day, does the same thing when he has the Xanax. He has no money for help and refuses to admit he has a problem. He told me on the phone his gums are turning black and his front teeth look bad and he is peeing blood.
I don't know what to do, I want to help him, but this weird girl he lives with is like that character in the movie Misery, she wants to keep him staying with her living in squalor because she would be alone if he left so she often deletes my messages when I text him or turns off his phone.
It sounds like dear brother is trying to set up a triangle with his girlfriend as "the enemy", himself as "helpless victim," and YOU as "savior."
Don't fall for it.
He made his own bed - literally - so let him lie in it.
The most I would do is try to get him admitted for a 72-hr. psyche eval, but if a person doesn't want to help himself, there really is very little you can do.
Take care of yourself and your own family. He's a big boy.
It sounds like dear brother is trying to set up a triangle with his girlfriend as "the enemy", himself as "helpless victim," and YOU as "savior."
Don't fall for it.
He made his own bed - literally - so let him lie in it.
The most I would do is try to get him admitted for a 72-hr. psyche eval, but if a person doesn't want to help himself, there really is very little you can do.
Take care of yourself and your own family. He's a big boy.
the prescribing doctor(s) need to be held accountable for this situation as well.
I think the brother needs to be in a hospital or rehab center.
Don't baby or enable him but how about one more try at helping him? It isn't as though one would enjoy that lifestyle. I mean he could be doing/addicted to worse drugs. I take xanax as prescribed and they don't make me sleepy or doped up.
If he gets straight then can't stay that way with or without therapy, then cut him out of your life.
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