Xanax XR and Anxiety: What Users Say

• fli...
• March 14, 2011

For Tinnitus "I have been taking Xanax XR for about 8 years. Prior to that, I took Xanax every 4 hours. My tinnitus is so loud it cannot be tested, and after a lifetime of living with tinnitus, I sought help. Xanax XR is better than Xanax for me because you take it once a day and it continually releases, preventing ups and downs and the autonomic functions check, which increases T after sleep. Panic attacks are gone from residual nervousness tinnitus causes. Definitely my quality of life is better, although Xanax XR is not a cure."

• ZZy...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 17, 2013

For Panic Disorder "This has been very effective at helping me control panic disorder with agoraphobia. I am on 2 mg 2 times a day and have been for 5 months or so. I have not found it to be a panacea; I still have occasional attacks that require the intervention of regular alprazolam 0.5 mg, but, in general, this medication has been helpful in evening out my feelings of anxiety throughout the course of a typical day and certainly helps to eliminate some of the rebound anxiety that comes with the use of regular alprazolam."

• sha...
• May 3, 2011

For Panic Disorder "I've been taking Xanax for 7 years. Been taking Xanax XR for the past 2 years. It's great. Before I started taking the XR, I was taking 2 mg bars 2 or 3 times a day and would start to have panic attacks after taking one in about 5 hours and would always wake up around 4:30-5:00 AM in severe panic, heart pounding, shaking uncontrollably, vision distorted, sweating, and totally paranoid. After taking the 3 mg Xanax XR once in the morning, all that stopped."

• McF...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 12, 2017

For Panic Disorder "Switched from Xanax 2 mg 1/2 to one tab 2x daily (AN for anxiety, PTSD, panic disorder) to Xanax XR 1 mg twice daily with .5 Xanax once daily AN for panic. The only thing Xanax XR did was give me waves of relief, along with waves of anxiety also. Went through my Xanax script quicker as it helped greatly compared to XR and needed less. Alprazolam is meant for short-acting anxiety relief. XR is a marketing scheme, cost $26 compared to $0 for Xanax (with insurance). Clonazepam or diazepam is much more suited for longer-acting benzos that help with anxiety. Xanax XR makes it more difficult to stop using and get addicted much easier than safely taking your regular Xanax, as can break them apart. If you feel you need less one day, one week, you can wean yourself easier."

• don...
• June 1, 2011

For Anxiety "I started using Xanax XR about 2 years ago, and it has been a lifesaver for me. I was suffering from really bad anxiety that would bring on bad panic attacks that sent me to the ER twice. My doctor started me out at 1 mg once a day, then she decreased it to 0.5 mg about a year ago, and that's what I've been taking. I hated the way I felt for a day or two when I was brought down to 0.5 mg, so that has made me too scared to even try to start weaning off of it. I can function perfectly well on this medication."

• hap...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 15, 2017

For Panic Disorder "I take it at night in order to sleep because of a bad insomnia side effect from a MAOI. But now, if I miss just one night of the med, I wake up with paralyzing anxiety - chest tightness and heart palpitations. This drug does its job most of the time, but it creates physical and psychological dependency and an AM hangover. I am looking to wean off of this soon once my new psychiatrist introduces other med changes. I see other users below saying they cut them in half - my psychiatrist said that is dangerous because of the XR properties. That is why the XR pills are not scored. I repeat - regular use of this med creates dependency."