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What Does Xanax Feel Like- Answering All FAQs
You may have wondered what does Xanax feel like before taking it. Xanax belongs to the benzodiazepine class of drugs prescribed to treat panic and anxiety disorders. It usually requires less than an hour to show its relaxing and calming effects.
Xanax is the brand name for alprazolam. Xanax’s effects come quickly and disappear quickly too. Some people use Xanax recreationally for the calming effects it provides. However, the fast-acting properties of this drug may lead to its misuse.
As you already know, Xanax is an effective drug to control anxiety and panic. Using it for recreational purposes can pose certain health risks, particularly when combined with depressants such as alcohol.
In this article, you will learn- how does Xanax feel like? And if it feels the same for everyone.
What does Xanax feel like?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has consented to Xanax to minister certain anxiety disorders, including GAD or generalized anxiety disorder. It can minister various signs of GAD, including increased anxiety levels, muscle tension, and restlessness.
Xanax is a type of central nervous system (CNS) depressant. As already stated, it is in the benzodiazepine category of medicines, which includes drugs that delay the Central Nervous System.
Xanax functions by improving the results of a brain chemical known as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which encourages calmness and delivers a relaxed feeling to the person taking it. The drug reduces the excitement in the brain to minister anxiety and panic disorders.
People might undergo the following impacts from Xanax, as well as from different depressant medications or drugs:
- anxiety relief
- relief from insomnia
- easing of muscle tension
People might see that Xanax influences the mind. It may lead to temporary loss of memory, disturbing or vivid dreams, and feelings of irritability and hostility.
If someone consumes too much Xanax, they might encounter:
- shallow breathing
- a weak and rapid heartbeat
- clammy or moist skin
- dilated pupils
- coma or death, in circumstances of overdose.
The United States government has categorized benzodiazepines, comprising alprazolam, as Schedule IV controlled substances within the Controlled Substances Act due to their abuse possibility. This category makes it more manageable for the government to follow the prescription and dispersal of Xanax.
1. Does Xanax feel the same for everyone?
Xanax, or the generic version of this drug called alprazolam, does not affect everyone in the same manner. How Xanax affects you is based on numerous factors, including your:
- mental state at the moment you intake the drug
- weight
- age
- dosage
- metabolism
If you are consuming this anti-anxiety medicine for the first time, it is vital to understand the potential interaction and side effects before use. Keep reading on to know- what does Xanax feel like? And answers to other commonly asked questions.
2. What does Xanax feel like when used recreationally?
Many people take Xanax for recreational purposes or without any prescription. Such people describe the feeling as calming or sedating.
Unlike other drugs, like cocaine, that deliver a “high” or elated feeling, People taking Xanax mention feeling highly relaxed, tired, and quiet. These feelings might further lead to passing out for a few hours or falling asleep.
Some people have even noted blacking out or memory loss and not recalling what happened for a few hours after taking Xanax. Higher doses tend to have more substantial effects.
3. What does Xanax feel like when taken for panic or anxiety disorder?
If you take Xanax medication as planned or instructed— it’s generally prescribed to minister anxiety and panic disorders — you might feel “quite normal” after the initial dose.
The calming effect can help relieve panic or anxiety symptoms and relax your body’s response to stress or anxiety.
4. What does Xanax feel like when taken with alcohol?
Alcohol boosts the influences of Xanax on the user and slows down the time by how quickly your body will empty the drug from the system. If you consume the Xanax medicine and quickly drink alcohol, you might encounter extreme lethargy and long-term memory loss.
It is thus suggested that you evade mixing the two substances. The mixture may lead to harmful, even fatal side effects. These include:
- difficulty breathing
- confusion
- extreme drowsiness
- seizures
5. What does Xanax feel like when combined with other drugs?
It would help prevent combining Xanax with various other drugs due to the drug interactions. Xanax may interact with multiple medications, comprising some:
- oral contraceptives
- opioids
- antifungals
- heartburn drugs
- antidepressants
- antibiotics
These medications or drugs can stop the pathway that is accountable for removing or vacating Xanax from your body from releasing it as quickly as should occur. Over time, this might cause a poisonous buildup of Xanax drug and ultimately lead to an overdose.
Talk to your doctor or a well-known pharmacist about all the medicines you’re presently taking to ensure that they would not have any interaction. They can evaluate the risks and mention them to you.
You must also avoid mixing Xanax with drugs — even the drugs available over-the-counter — that can make you fall asleep, cause extreme lethargy, or slow your breathing. The compounded results of combining these medications may be harmful and put you at increased risk for fatal health issues or even death.
6. What shouldn’t be felt when taking Xanax?
The consequences of Xanax must be mild but noticeable. If the drug seems to be having a substantial impact on you, you must seek an emergency medical lookout.
Symptoms to monitor for include:
- extreme drowsiness
- feeling lightheaded
- muscle weakness
- loss of balance
- confusion
- fainting
You must also seek an emergency medical watch if you encounter signs of an allergic reaction. Symptoms may include swelling of the throat, lips, face, and tongue and trouble breathing.
Similarly, if you encounter signs of withdrawal, you must reach your doctor instantly. Xanax is among the potentially habit-forming medications, so some people might form a dependency or obsession without recognizing it.
Signs of Xanax withdrawal can be severe. They include:
- depressed mood
- seizures
- thoughts of suicide or self-harm
- uncontrolled muscle movements
- confusion
- racing thoughts
- hostility
- hallucinations
7. What does Xanax feel like based on the dose you take?
Xanax’s doses are obtainable in milligrams (mg). They comprise:
- 0.25 mg
- 0.5 mg
- 1 mg
- 2 mg
The consequences of Xanax evolve to be more significant as you increase the dosage with time.
Doctors typically suggest that first-time Xanax consumers begin with the lowest dosage possible. Till you understand how the drug will impact you, it is more acceptable to take less and gradually build up to a more elevated dose.
High doses can be deadly. This goes for all the people taking Xanax or other drugs— from first-time consumers to individuals who’ve taken Xanax for many months or years as specified by their doctor. It would be best if you did not take a higher dose of Xanax than what has been prescribed by the doctor.
High doses are also linked to a puzzling difficulty called the “Rambo effect.” This uncommon side effect happens when Xanax users start exhibiting extremely unlike behaviors. This may incorporate aggression, theft, or promiscuity. It is not clear why a few people react in such a way or anticipate if it will happen to you.
8. How long does it take Xanax to show effects?
Xanax is consumed through the mouth orally and immersed quickly by your bloodstream. Some people might first start encountering the impacts of Xanax within 5 to 10 minutes of consuming the pill. Almost all people taking Xanax will feel the results of the drug within an hour.
One of the explanations why Xanax is so beneficial for ministering panic is that the prime impact of the Xanax dose comes fast. Most people will encounter it between one and two hours after consuming their dose.
9. How long will the effects of Xanax last?
The consequences of Xanax are concise. Most people will sense the most powerful impacts from the medication for two to four hours. Fuzzy feelings or lingering effects of Xanax may extend beyond the given time for several more hours.
How long it requires for the drug to affect you will rely on several factors. They are:
- your weight and metabolism
- other medicines you may be taking
- your age
It is likely to build up a tolerance to Xanax fast. If such a thing happens, you might begin to see it takes an extended time for you to feel the calming effects of the drug, and the sensations might wear off highly quickly.
10. What does it feel like when Xanax wears off?
Xanax has a half-life of about 11 hours. Your body will eliminate half of the dose from your bloodstream by that point. Everyone metabolizes medications differently, so any drug’s half-life is distinct from one person to another.
As Xanax unravels off, most people will discontinue feeling the relaxed, calm, and lazy sensations that the medication is linked to.
If you use this drug to alleviate signs of anxiety, such as racing heart, those signs may start to return as the drug is eradicated from your body or system. If you do not have these signs, you will start to return to feeling normal.
11. Is a Xanax comedown the same thing as withdrawal?
A Xanax comedown is not the exact thing as Xanax withdrawal. A comedown refers to the dismay of high emotions after the peak drug effects of a drug. Many people who use Xanax do not register a “comedown” because this drug does not cause a “high,” unlike drugs like cocaine.
However, a few people might encounter emotions of anxiety or depression, even if they have never had a problem with these ailments, as the chemicals within their brain adapt to the lack of the Xanax drug. This rebound depression or anxiety is usually quick.
12. What does Xanax feel like after withdrawal?
Xanax has a heightened possibility to be a habit-forming medication. Signs of withdrawal generally start two to seven days after the last dose. They can persist two to eight weeks after the start.
If you use Xanax, do not stop taking it without speaking to the doctor first. Some withdrawal signs can be alarming. You want to follow a schedule with your doctor’s surveillance to taper off the increased doses and finally quit entirely.
Signs of withdrawal are:
- sleep problems and insomnia
- seizures
- restlessness
- depression
- nervousness
- aggression
- worsened anxiety or panic attacks
- poor concentration
- suicidal thoughts
Your doctor can distribute medication to assist in easing these signs and prevent further difficulties.