Xanax's Negative Effects On Your Body

The purpose of this paper is to go into extensive research on Alprazolam aka “Xanax” in the duration of this paper, it will be evident the impact that this drug can have on the human body and in my instances, it will be apparent not only how helpful it can be but how life damaging it can be, if not taken safely and carefully. This report will go into extensive detail on the psychodynamics of the drug as well as the pharmacokinetics. Alprazolam is quite powerful and mind altering the affects that it can have on the body can be very intense, especially if not taking carefully which is why it is vital to make sure that you take the recommended doses taken by your doctor, failure to do so can result in death.

Xanax is a benzodiazepine that is most often used to treat anxiety. The effects of benzodiazepines mainly come from their ability to alter the movement of the inhibitory transmitter known as GABAa. GABA is triggered to release when it then can bind to the GABAa receptor. The binding of the two causes the ion channel to open and chloride ions are sent across the cell membrane. This causes the inhibitory factor by depolarizing the membrane (Griffin et al., 2013).

I’m not a doctor but I don’t think anybody should be taking Xanax at all if it’s not prescribed or if you really don’t have a real or reasonable reason to take them, if you do not suffer from any of the things that doctors prescribe them for then there no reason someone should be taking them because of the fact that Xanax are addicting after taking them for a while. The reason I feel that you shouldn’t take them if not prescribed besides the fact that they can become addicting is because you really don’t have reason or a disorder for taking them so if you’re taking them just to feel that low or that high and your constantly taking them you can actually hurt your body your brain or even your nervous system. You can actually get really sick from these and then you’ll probably have to take another type of medicine just to get you back to normal because you have to remember Xanax is to calm your brain and body down from some sort of anxiety and if you never suffered from that and you’re taking them that means your brain and your body was always at a low it

After a few years of being treated with Xanax my husband became addicted to them. This put a strain on our marriage, our

side effects of analeptics are increased heart rate, agitation and the kind of paranoia and disorientation

Medical research, conducted in Great Britain and the United States, has revealed that patients of all ages taking antidepressant drugs can become addicted to the pills. They are also put at an extreme risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior (“Antidepressant Drugs”

Lastly, what effects to antidepressants have on mood, behavior, and suicidal tendencies? In her article, ‘The Hidden Harm of Antidepressants’, Diana Kwon, a science writer with a Master’s degree for McGill University in neuroscience, she reviews several studies about the use of antidepressants, and had found the safety data on some of these drugs have been withheld from the public. She mentions research done in Copenhagen by some researchers at the Nordic Cochrane Center, and how they discovered that “pharmaceutical companies were not presenting the full extent of serious harm in clinical study reports…” (Kwon para 2). These clinical study reports are then used by people at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve or deny new

There are three commonly abused drugs, and they are opiods, Central nervous system (CNS) depressants, and stimulants. Opioids such as Vicodin, Oxytocin, or Codeine, are taken for pain relieving. The side effects for opioids like oxycotin can be constipation. CNS depressants such as Xanex are usually taken for anxiety and sleeping disorders. Stimulants such as Adderall, are usually taken by people who have Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They are taken usually to increase the level of nervous activity in the body. The side effects for taking Adderall is that it can raise one's blood pressure which makes the heart work harder (Hamilton, 2009). People don't usually see these medication over the counter because these usually have a strong effect, which is why they need to be prescribed. Prescription drugs always has risks to taking them, which is why doctors need to consider all the risks and benefits before prescribing the drug. Pharmacists take into account all the drug interaction, history of medications taken, and even the weight of whom they are about to prescribe the medication to. Doctors usually knows

However, it’s effects can do serious damage if not taken in moderation. College students find themselves turning to pills to take the edge off their stressful schedules. At some point alcohol and other drugs fell into the mix and Xanax abuse became a real problem on college campuses. Addicts’ brains start to forget how to relieve stress without the drug and their brains start to malfunction. Eventually depression and suicidal thoughts set in and the effects start to get more difficult to reverse. If caught by themselves or by a loved one, recovery should come very easy. Plenty of resources and professionals exist to handle this very

There must be special attention toward the patient's addiction history before these agents are prescribed. An understanding of the toxicity and side effects of benzodiazepines, abuse patterns and alternative anxiolytic and hypnotic agents may help clinicians to be safe from issues of medico legal case.

Used alone or in combination with other CNS depressants may lead fatal respiratory depression and to physical and psychological dependence.

The second most commonly abused prescribed drug is sedatives/depressants. These types of pills are used for anxiety and sleeping. If these types of prescriptions are abused it can make the person really high and not remember what they are doing. Signs can be excessive sleepiness, slurred speech, and acting really mean (Davis).people usually look for this kind of drug because they are depressed and the want to try to hide something in their life. This drug slows down the heartbeat so if someone takes to many it can cause their heart to stop. The two most commonly abuse depressants are valium and

As the Rolling Stones called them in their hit song, “Mother’s Little Helper”, “Mother needs something today to calm her down, and though she 's not really ill, there 's a little yellow pill, she goes running for the shelter of a mother 's little helper, and it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day”, benzodiazepines were and extremely common medication in the 70s and 80s and many households had their bottle of Valium. The dependence on high dosages of benzodiazepines such as Xanax and Valium are a major clinical concern. According to Michael Liebrenz of the University of Bern, “This form of dependence is not confined to users who exceed a set amount of diazepam equivalents, but is typically found in patients who have a high-dose, long-term and/or otherwise problematic use, such as mixing BZDs, escalating dosage, using BZDs for recreational purposes, obtaining them by illegal means, and/or experiencing negative social consequences” (Liebrenz, 2016, p. 1). So the problem is not only found in patients who take large dosages, but in patients who also abuse the drug, combine multiple types of benzodiazepines and other drugs, and purchase them illegally in order to be under the influence of a benzodiazepine. This is why, for the last decade, less and less prescriptions of benzodiazepines have been dispensed in the United States. However, “over the last 20 years the quantity of benzodiazepines on each prescription has increased” (Brett, 2015, p. 152).

Normally side effects are mild; with more impairing side effects being less frequent. According to the same pamphlet, the most common side effects are “constipation, daytime sleepiness, diarrhea, dizziness, dry mouth, headache, nausea, sexual problems, shakiness, trouble sleeping, and weight gain.” Also mentioned elsewhere are “Serotonin syndrome” which can include “confusion, hallucinations, loss of coordination, fever, rapid heart rate, and vomiting” and that the medication can worsen your depression and can increase the risk of suicide or self-mutilation. Having any of these would be very intrusive upon a person’s normal functioning. Antidepressants also usually take “at least 6 full weeks to begin to get the full effect” (United States) of their depression lessening. This long lag time between when treatment begins and when depression alleviation starts is another concern, as alternative methods can begin working right away and if you need to switch antidepressants, it takes another 6 weeks for the next one to work. The long treatment time is another drawback of using antidepressants as “most people need to keep taking these medicines for 6 to 9 months,” (United States) yet later in the same pamphlet it is stated that not much is known about the long term use of antidepressants because the “research studies generally only

The efficacy and safety of the drug in patients under the age of 18 years is not established. With renal / hepatic insufficiency and long-term treatment, control over the picture of peripheral blood and liver enzymes is necessary. Patients who did not take previously psychoactive drugs respond to the drug at lower doses compared to patients taking antidepressants, anxiolytics or alcohol. With endogenous depression, alprazolam can be used in combination with antidepressants. With the use of alprazolam, patients with depression have seen cases of hypomanic and manic development. Like other benzodiazepines, alprazolam has the ability to induce drug dependence in long-term admission in large doses (more than 4 mg / day). With a sudden discontinuation of alprazolam, there may be comeback syndromes, such as depression, irritability, insomnia, increased sweating, especially with prolonged admission (more than 8-12 weeks). When patients develop such unusual reactions as increased aggressiveness, acute excitations, feelings of fear, thoughts of suicide, hallucinations, increased muscle cramps, difficult sleep, superficial sleep, treatment should be discontinued. During pregnancy Xanax is very dangerous due to its toxic effect on the fetus and increases the risk of congenital malformations when applied in the first trimester of pregnancy. Admission of therapeutic doses in later periods