A friend of mine has a friend whose daughter attempted

[Upthevibe]

suicide by overdosing on pills (Xanax and some type of anti-depressant). She's OK and is getting the appropriate treatment. My question is this: My friend was told by one of their other friends that this young lady (around 25 years old) had a prescription for 5 mg. of Xanax a day! I said that I thought it was impossible that ANY doctor would write a prescription for a 25 year old who weighs around 140 lbs. to take 5 mgs. of Xanax a day. I'm NOT asking for any advice or anything like that. I'd just like input if this sounds completely bizarre. Thoughts?

[rainy]

1. Im guessing she meant .5

[dhol82]

2. That is actually a pretty standard dose

It is used for anxiety and panic attacks.
I will assume she has that kind of problem.

[Upthevibe]

4. Wow....I've had anxiety, panic attacks, etc.

but 5 mgs. a day sounds outrageous....

[unblock]

3. not a doctor, but i believe this is a reasonable dosage for panic disorder.

though my understanding is it would be excessive for more typical anxiety.

i would expect the doctor to ramp up to this dosage, but if the patient reports that it's ineffective, i would think most doctors would just keep upping it.

the prescribing doctor should be asking questions about the patient's mental health, but often the prescribing doctor leaves most of that to a cheaper therapist.


my two cents for what it's worth.

hope she gets better therapy/treatment going forward.

[Upthevibe]

6. Great input...I'm just so shocked....

5 mgs. just seems so high!

[HopeAgain]

5. Alprazolam (Xanax) should be reclassified as a Schedule I

It is nothing but trouble, in my opinion. If a 25 year old female was getting enough medication from a doctor to take 10 pills of .5 mg/day, the doctor's license should be yanked.

[janterry]

8. well, that put it more succinctly than I did

but I tend to be closer to your opinion...........

it's certainly addictive.

[Upthevibe]

9. That's what I thought too....

I guess a lot of it has to do with tolerance but I'd think that other meds would be introduced before the dosage would get that high..

[dhol82]

11. I think you are confusing dosage with number

Many medications come in different dosages.
Penicillin can be 250mg or 750mg. Neither would necessarily be an overdose.
Can’t think of them off the top of my head but there are some meds that are prescribed in micrograms. That is not an under dosage.
It all depends on the medication and how it is formulated.
I have always wondered why some vitamin pills can’t be made smaller than horse pills.

[dhol82]

10. I think the Rx was for one 5mg tablet per day

Why would a doctor prescribe .5 (if it even comes in that dosage) if the standard is 5?
Does not make sense.

[marylandblue]

12. 0.5 mg is a starting dose, you can go up to 4 mg or more

But I wouldn't recommend it. Maybe in the short term or for occasional use it's okay, but IMHO doctors don't recognize enough the potential for abuse or addiction at high doses or longterm. Anxiety can be treated with antidepressants which are much safer and non-addicting.

[dhol82]

13. OP stated 5mg

We do not know the medical history or what she was started out on.

[Upthevibe]

14. Yes...correct...I did state 5mg. a day...I don't

think I even knew that Xanax came in that amt. in one pill...

[janterry]

7. There are a lot of md's who will

prescribe that. I would urge your friend to help her daughter feel empowered in her treatment - to use the resources that her providers give her. But also use whatever ancillary treatment options she can to augment that. (Yoga, exercise, social supports).

There are many recovery resources out there. Hopefully she will feel, in time, interested in exploring them (it's the act of exploring them that can be so healing).

[Upthevibe]

15. I'm still surprised that a Dr. would prescribe that much...

but it's true that I have no history on this young woman...It's just my immediate reaction was, "that can't be right." A Dr. isn't going to prescribe 5 mgs. of Xanax a day. I guess I just thought that was extreme no matter what the history....

[janterry]

17. I'm in my 50's

So, I've seen a lot. IME, MD's will keep upping or changing meds in an effort to treat symptoms. They want to 'solve' the problem. The thing is, we don't know as much as we say we do.

And meds - while they can answer some problems........at least in mental health - they can also contribute to problems.

I could go on and on.....but I'm sure most everyone here has seen some negatives to medical model treatment.

[left-of-center2012]

16. Dosage depends on why she was taking it

Xanax Dosage

If it was for "panic attacks":

“... doses in the range of 1 to 10 mg daily were used. The mean dosage employed was approximately 5 to 6 mg daily.

Among the approximately 1700 patients participating in the panic disorder development program, about 300 received XANAX in dosages of greater than 7 mg/day,
including approximately 100 patients who received maximum dosages of greater than 9 mg/day.

Occasional patients required as much as 10 mg a day to achieve a successful response.”

[Upthevibe]

18. Very interesting study....I really hadn't realized all of the

conditions that might warrant such high doses. I had panic attacks in my 20's and 30's right around the time medical officials were just discovering what they were. Fortunately, a Xanax (I think maybe .5 or 1 mg.) under my tongue would help a lot. I guess some folks have constant issues and anti-anxiety medication is what's available to help them function....