[butterflyelvis]

OK, so back when my friend was in the hospital this last time he started taking Klonapin (excuse spelling) and it wacked him out. He spent two weeks off his rocker and no one seemed to know what the hell was going on until one day his father was there when he was acting weird and I was there we talked about the whole thing and his dad didn't even know they had put him on that stuff and apparently he had been on it way back just after his injury and it wacked him out then....

ok, so today i went to see him and he's all insane again!! I asked him what he had taken and he said Zanex (excuse spelling) and that it was making it hard for him to concentrate.

I'm freaking out. I can't take another episode of that. It just kills me to see him like this.

he says those things ease tension in his muscles and stop some tremors in his hands....

Argghhh. Does anyone know anything about these drugs or have any suggestions!!

Help!

[Lucydog]

Xanax. Its used as as sedative and to control anxiety disorders. It acts on the central nervous system so its not surprising hes wacked really. Why is he taking this int he first place, does he have any medical history that is relevant?

[Bob C]

butterflyelvis, on Jan 20 2010, 06:56 PM, said:

OK, so back when my friend was in the hospital this last time he started taking Klonapin (excuse spelling) and it wacked him out. He spent two weeks off his rocker and no one seemed to know what the hell was going on until one day his father was there when he was acting weird and I was there we talked about the whole thing and his dad didn't even know they had put him on that stuff and apparently he had been on it way back just after his injury and it wacked him out then....

ok, so today i went to see him and he's all insane again!! I asked him what he had taken and he said Zanex (excuse spelling) and that it was making it hard for him to concentrate.

I'm freaking out. I can't take another episode of that. It just kills me to see him like this.

he says those things ease tension in his muscles and stop some tremors in his hands....

Argghhh. Does anyone know anything about these drugs or have any suggestions!!

Help!

This really sounds like medication overkill. It sounds like his tension problems could be be controlled with a little bit of valium.

[MxDisasterGrl]

Xanex s are highly addictive. They are used for anxiety disorders, but also if used on a regular basis you can become dependent on them and they can cause anxiety if not taken again. I had this issue when i was in rehab. I tell people i didn't actually "wake up" until my last few weeks in rehab, but even after being home for months i still know i wasn't all there. I was on a lot of fentynl, lyrica, xanex, etc..... I agree w/ it sounding like a drug overkill. I found out that there is this certain kind of medicine, but don't remember the name, that i CANNOT take. I actually punched a nurse out cold right after surgery in the ICU. Gave her a purple eye. Scratched and drew blood on my sister, and spit on another very close friend. They took me off that med and i was better. Drugs are always messing you up, just as fast as they fix you i feel. But some are necassary and some aren't. He has to figure that out for himself, if he can.

[butterflyelvis]

He has to figure that out for himself, if he can.
[/quote]

Thanks guys (gals) I'm going by today to see how he is. I think I'm going to tell him how much it upsets me to see him like that. he's sacrificing his sanity for a small and possibly percieved measure of pain relief. I hope it doesn't backfire, but I think I owe it him to say something. Not all preachy like his mom or anything but as a friend. He's so smart and witty and when he's on this stuff, no joke, you'd think he was some crazy guy that had wandered in from the streets. (no offense to crazy guys from the street)

[edlee]

Many of these types of medications, take getting used too. They all affect different people in different ways,,, which is why a "good" doctor will adjust the dosages to get that "happy medium" between effectiveness and the "crazy guy from the street".

It could be the right med but the wrong amount,,, for him.
ed

[jules]

I completely agree with Edlee on this every drug affects different people in different ways, according to the literature (BNF etc) Xanax is not seen as addictive, however if you stop it suddenly you can have a sudden return of symptoms, this is withdrawl as opposed to addiction, they are actually very different things. Addiction occurs when you become chemically or psychologically dependant on the drug or the effect of a drug, in this case patients are unlikely to be addicted but are likely to suffer from an immediate return of symptoms. I don't mean to split hairs on this but it is a difference that I think is important because of the negative conotations that come with "addiction" and I wouldn't want people to be put off going on to what could be a very helpful drug because of it.

[butterflyelvis]

thanks for all the insights.. I really appreciate it. i talked to him the other day--by the way he was back to himself and actually quite upset to learn that he had once again been a bit out there. he's actually a bit worried that he was given atavan (excuse spelling) which along with klonapin does have that "crazy talk" affect on him. he said the nurse came in and said "here's your atavan, no wait, I mean Xanax."

he says he's been taking the Xanax for a while and it doens't have the crazy affect on him and that, as some of you guys have said, took some tweaking to get the right dose...

I really appreciate you guys talking about this issue...I think it's tough for alot of people not just SCI folks. And I just got so worried thinking that "here we go again" and knowing how nursing homes can be..if something is on your chart they just toss it in the cup and give it to you and don't really know what effect it has unless someone tells them and if the effect is that it's making you crazy then you don't know to tell them.

And I feel like I'm in a useless sort of position--Im not family, I'm not his girlfriend, I'm just a friend and so i don't have any say or sway with the nurses, they aren't going to talk to me about his meds--which of course I understand they aren't allowed to do that...

but!!! I think he's ok and although I hate to think about the wrong meds being given, I know it happens.

[Tetracyclone]

When my Dad was in a nursing home he couldn't remember the physical appearance of his meds, so every single night he insisted that the nurse explain each one in the cup. This caught several mistakes.

[Inger]

Klonopin is generally used to treat severe panic/anxiety disorders and as an anti-seizure med. As you've heard, Xanax is generally used to manage anxiety disorders. The posts from others who have mentioned that different people react differently to these meds is abosultely, positively correct (I have a history with some psych meds myself, and it's a delicate balance to get to what works). It could be that he is receiving an incorrect dose or that the meds are interacting badly with something else he's currently taking. Although you can't do much about it through MD's or nursing staff, HE certainly can, and it sounds like he has his own concerns about being made loopy with what he's being given.

[MxDisasterGrl]

I'm sorry if i was "incorrect" w/ the addiction thing, but i have quite a few friends that "eat" xanexs like they are candy. They need it to live like some addicts need cocaine. I've seen it happen with too many people. Not saying the drug doesn't work, not saying that it isn't needed or ok, just stating that i have people in my life right now that are some where on the streets just trying to find some xanex bars! I thought it was the "feeling" that's addicting more or less. Although i know what you're saying. My friends just like the "feeling" so much they spend all their money looking for it in them.

[jules]

Sorry if I have offended you, that was not my intention, will keep quiet from now on, was only trying to help

[gordonr]

jules, on Feb 1 2010, 10:43 PM, said:

Sorry if I have offended you, that was not my intention, will keep quiet from now on,

Don't be ridiculous.

Your profile says you have some kind of advanced education and professional responsibilities. That would argue you also have some intelligence and judgement from which all of us might benefit.

Thus the idea that you should curtail your self-expression merely because sombody else disagrees with you (unless of course you can passive-agressively gult-trip them into defferring to you) is, as noted above, silly.

Your comments are useful on their own merits, with or without agreement, within the mosiac of larger experience, and regardless of how any particular participant reacts to them.

Quote

...was only trying to help

Of course. As am I. As are we all.

Best Regards,

Gordon

P.S. Please clarify for me: Which of the two people in your photo is "Jules"?

[gordonr]

MxDisasterGrl, on Feb 1 2010, 10:33 PM, said:

My friends just like the "feeling" so much they spend all their money looking for it in them.

MX,

This statememt says a lot about the confusion surrounding addiction.

We often think of addicts as involontarily "hooked" on certain substances. And addicts themselves often attribute their continued use to the difficulties of withdrawl.

However, most addicts are in it for the buzz. They just like it.

And that means two things:

They can be dependent on substances which are not technically addictive.

And they will more or less deliberately relapse on addictive substances from which they have already succeeded in clinicly freeing themselves.

Best,

Gordon

[AndrewB]

From my personal experience with these drugs, ANY benzodiazepines, Xanax, Klonipin (which i was taking), Valium, Atavan, It ALL SHOULD BE AVOIDED IF POSSIBLE. these drugs are the hardest to come off of, I'm still having withdraw symptoms and i haven't had one in months.

[jules]

Thanks GordonR like I said I was only trying to help, and didn't want to offend anyone. I just didn't want the original poster to be put off by a drug being labelled as addictive when like I said technically it isn't. This information doesn't come from a drug company or anything that could be biased but from BNF (British National Formulary) which is the book/website that all Drs and Pharmacists (amongst others) use to get all of their drug information from - interactions, contraindications, doses etc.

[Susie_nkc]

My ex was on Klonipin... and it worked for a while... the he was a chore to deal with... The mind f*@k that comes with spinal cord injury... I have found that after 15+ years... and believe me it took most of it! that with you being calm around him... you will find it will calm him... no one wants to be like that... so understand that... not saying you don't... but give it more understanding... don't bring him issues that he can't do any thing about... give him hope that tomorrow will be better!
my ex is now on Respridol... depicote... and zanex.... I have found that the zanex... makes him where he needs more. I don't care for that part of it... but what do ya do?
my ex is also paranoid schizophrenic... but the meds he is on now has him leveled out.

[butterflyelvis]

wow, seems this is generating some talk. I think meds are an issue that lots of people have, not just SCI. i work in a nursing home and almost every CNA there is on something...Paxil, Xanax, something that starts with an L, and a bunch of others that I can't recall the names of... depression and anxiety stuff mostly...

everytime you turn on the tv there's a new drug and if you listen to the possible side effects alot of them are way worse that the reason you're supposed to be taking the med in the first place; nausea, dry mouth, sexual disfuntion, trouble sleeping, headaches, social disfunction, frequent and sudden urination, belief that you might be an alien, desire to eat your neighbors petunias, and so on and so forth.

but having never had a need for these drugs I really don't have much room to talk. I know that they can be very helpful and i guess if ever there was a time you might need a little help, dealing with a SCI would be one of them.

I guess what actually worries me the most is how often the wrong drugs are given and how often a doc prescribes something that were he or she to read your chart he'd see that he was maing a mistake.

[HottWheelz]

butterflyelvis, on Jan 20 2010, 05:56 PM, said:

OK, so back when my friend was in the hospital this last time he started taking Klonapin (excuse spelling) and it wacked him out. He spent two weeks off his rocker and no one seemed to know what the hell was going on until one day his father was there when he was acting weird and I was there we talked about the whole thing and his dad didn't even know they had put him on that stuff and apparently he had been on it way back just after his injury and it wacked him out then....

ok, so today i went to see him and he's all insane again!! I asked him what he had taken and he said Zanex (excuse spelling) and that it was making it hard for him to concentrate.

I'm freaking out. I can't take another episode of that. It just kills me to see him like this.

he says those things ease tension in his muscles and stop some tremors in his hands....

Argghhh. Does anyone know anything about these drugs or have any suggestions!!

Help!

As said, Xanax is very, very addictive. It is generally used for sleep, anxiety disorders, and as a sedative. Has he been diagnosed with some sort of anxiety or mental disorder? I agree with what someone else said, that he may just be getting medicated too much, overkill. I suggest finding out if he has any such disorders, checking the meds he is on, and doing some research on the meds. Use Rxlist to find information on drugs. http://www.rxlist.co...ipt/main/hp.asp Have his father talk to his doctors, get as much information as possible so he knows exactly what his son is taking and why. The more he knows the better. Now days there are so many doctors that are quick to write scripts thinking it will help, when it can actually hurt. As a close friend, it's important to have someone like yourself and his father watching over his care, and making sure he isn't being over-medicated. Don't be afraid to ask the doctor questions either, it's his fathers right to know exactly what is being done to his son. Hope he's doing better soon.

This post has been edited by HottWheelz: 05 February 2010 - 11:06 PM