Can Xanax Addiction Be a Disease?

Addiction is more of a neurological disease than a physical one. The brain becomes conditioned to associate something in particular with pleasure. Pleasure can come from a high or buzz, or from numbing pain for escape. Many people bring up the topic of “an addictive personality,” genetics and so forth. There are a few schools of thought on this subject, but at the very least people do have a predisposition to addiction, according to their environments and personality traits.

How Is Xanax Addiction a Disease?

Xanax treats anxiety, panic and fear disorders. These types of disorders or tendencies are common in those who are more susceptible to addiction. Xanax is highly addictive, and users can quickly become tolerant to its effects. In turn, users have to take more of the drug and even rely on it to function, whether it mitigates anxiety or not. The combination of tolerance, withdrawal and fear make Xanax addiction a physical disease and a mental one.

How Xanax Addiction Works

Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, is famous for his “conditioned reflex” theories with psychology and psychophysiology in the study of animals. Most of us know this as the “dog and the dinner bell” in which the bell stimulates the dog to salivate for food. In the same manner, Xanax and other drugs are stimuli to those who are addicted, regardless if the drug is effective or not. For many the mere sight or smell of a drug is associated with pleasure.

Perhaps it is a misunderstanding for someone to ask, “Why don’t you just quit?” For addicts, it is a disease of the mind and body in which they’ve lost control. Without the proper help and tools of good detox and holistic rehab centers, it can be extremely difficult to recover alone.

Xanax Addiction Help

Like many antianxiety drugs, Xanax has become part of our pop culture as an answer to our stressful problems. It’s this acceptable attitude towards these drugs that can lead people to addiction, regardless of intentions.

If you or someone you know is using benzodiazepines such as Xanax, addiction can easily develop. Please give us a call today at our toll-free, 24 hour helpline to find out about Xanax addiction treatment. We are here to listen to and help you.

How Culture Influences Xanax Abuse

People today are used to being around pills—whether seeing them in their family medicine cabinet or among people their own age for a variety of ailments. Prescription drug use is widespread in our society, evidenced by the growing number of people dependent upon prescriptions and the number of ads in the media.
Even those who are not likely to abuse may find themselves tempted. It’s not uncommon for school kids to share pills with each other at school or at a pharm party—a social gathering where booze and drugs are shared. Sometimes the pills are labeled, but sometimes not. Given the dangers in mixing drugs and alcohol together, the effects can be deadly.

The internet, cell phones, music, books and films have brought the once distant drug culture front and center. The internet makes it easy to self-diagnose, as well as providing easy access to prescriptions by mail or recipes for getting high.

Xanax is often used for anxiety and depression—not an uncommon occurrence among hormone-raging young people. Some self-diagnose and self-medicate, moving on to something stronger for a greater high. Addiction to Xanax can take hold in as little as eight weeks. By then, experimentation may have begun with other drugs, creating a dangerous situation and possible co-occurring issues.

Regardless of the drug of choice being used, most people interested in sobriety will benefit from the expertise and programs offered at a treatment center accredited by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). SAMHSA is the regulatory arm of the federal government for treatment centers offering opium-based addiction treatment—most likely the best place for help with any addiction because of the difficulty associated with treating opiates.

A comprehensive approach to treatment is incorporated, using a variety of techniques and programs to address the physiological and psychological factors associated with dependency. Xanax rehab offers 12-step work, individual and group therapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, workshops, aftercare for transitioning back into life outside of rehab, and a variety of other approaches to maintaining sobriety.

Finding a Xanax Addiction Treatment Center

All it takes is a phone call to start the healing process that will give you your life back from Xanax. Are you struggling with an addiction to alprazolam or Xanax? Our toll-free helpline is open 24 hours a day to help you connect with a treatment center that will meet your needs. Call today, and break the cycle of Xanax addiction now.

Recommended Ways to Take Xanax

If one takes the recommended dosage without adding more throughout their day, adding more in a sitting or using it for longer than suggested, the chances of developing a habit decrease. Dosage is based on your medical condition and response to therapy. Xanax comes in a tablet form, taken by mouth once daily usually in the morning or as directed by your doctor. It should be swallowed whole; do not crush or chew the tablets. This medication may cause dependence, especially if it has been used regularly for an extended period of time, or if it has been used in high doses. In such cases, if you suddenly stop this drug, withdrawal reactions including seizures may occur. Report any such reactions to your doctor immediately. When stopping extended, regular treatment with this drug, the dosage should be gradually reduced as directed to help prevent withdrawal reactions and may need Xanax addiction help.

Avoid eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice while being treated with this medication unless your doctor instructs you otherwise. Grapefruit juice can increase the amount of certain medications in your bloodstream. Consult your doctor or pharmacist for more details. Inform your doctor if your condition persists or worsens.

Taking Xanax For The First Time

When taking Xanax for the first time, it is very important for a patient to have made their doctor aware of any other substances they may be taking, including other medications, alcohol or herbal remedies. These substances could interfere with Xanax and cause adverse reactions. If a patient has discussed these things in detail with their doctor, they can safely begin taking the medication.

On the first day of using Xanax, the patient should avoid certain activities that necessitate high levels of coordination, focus or alertness. This will just be until the patient is accustomed to how Xanax will affect them.

Tablets should always be handled with dry hands. They should never be crushed because this will interfere with the time-release formula. If the patient notices any unusual side effects (depression, impaired memory or speech, agitation, a manic state, anxiety between doses or dependence) after they have been taking their prescribed dose for a few days or weeks they should report these side effects to their physician.

Snorting Xanax

Recreational users have found other uses for using prescription medication to increase or speed up the effects of the drug. For instance, snorting powder created from crushing the tablets can increase the high felt by Xanax users. Although the effects of the drug may not last as long, it will enter the bloodstream sooner if it is snorted rather than swallowed.

Snorting Xanax can cause:

• Drowsiness
• Dizziness
• A dazed feeling
• If an overdose of Xanax is taken, seizures and vomiting

Side effects of snorting any medication (including Xanax) include:

• Nosebleeds
• Headaches
• Sinus infections
• Collapsed nasal passages

If you are snorting Xanax regularly, it is highly recommended that you stop since it can cause irreversible damage to your nasal cavities, and is more effective when taken orally. Snorting Xanax will fix these substances directly into your lungs and sinus cavities, thus causing sinus blockages and other serious problems. It creates a high probability of blood vessel blockages, intestinal blockages and many other serious ailments.

On top of the possible physical damage, it’s still ambiguous that snorting Xanax pills can be more effective than consuming them orally. It is very much possible that binders and fillers in a tablet could act as a buffer that stops these substances from coming in contact with the mucous membranes until such time as these are blown out if the nose is blown. In this way, less amount of drug might be absorbed if snorted than it is swallowed.

Injecting Xanax

There is information out there regarding users who have experimented with injecting Xanax. The drug itself is not soluble in water but users have found that using alcohol helps in this process. Combining both, aside from injection, is very risky. Nonetheless, injecting prescription medications is extremely harmful and not even recommended by most drug users found on various blogging websites. Some have found it to be painful to their systems in the process.

Xanax Help

If you or someone you know is struggling with a Xanax addiction, we can help. Please call our toll free number at (877) 571-5720. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to answer your questions on Xanax treatment and addiction.

Xanax Effects

Xanax (alprazolam tablets) is in a class of drugs called benzodiazepines and can be very dangerous when quick “cold turkey.” Many people will feel their heart racing in their chest as if they’re going to explode. Also, others will feel that they’re experiencing a heart attack and will cry for no reason. Shaking occurs as if one is experiencing seizures.

Celebrity Xanax Overdoses

However, for some, the results of taking Xanax aren’t always done in moderation. Michael Jackson is the most recent celebrity who was found with large amounts of Xanax in his system. The latest reports tell that he would take more than 10 Xanax pills a night, “asking his employees to get the prescription sleep medicine under their names and also personally traveling to doctor’s offices in other states to obtain them,” CNN reported. The reports have been uncovered from a 2004 Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department document that had private interviews with two of Jackson’s former security guards.

Another celebrity who was reported to have multiple drugs in his system resulting in death was actor Heath Ledger. Ledger passed away from an accidental overdose of six different drugs — painkillers and sedatives — the medical examiner said. The 28-year-old film star died “of acute intoxication” from the combination of two strong painkillers, two anti-anxiety medicines and two sleeping aids, according to the medical examiner’s office. Among the drugs found in his body aside from oxycodone, Percodan and Percocet were the anti-anxiety pills Valium and Xanax.

Celebrity Xanax Users

French cragsman Alain Robert known as a “spider-man” has admitted that Xanax helps him to overcome fear of climbing tricks. Alain Robert, who is now 43, has become famous for getting on skyscrapers worldwide by means of hands and legs only without cords and special equipment. In December 2004 Alain Robert has climbed to the highest building in the world – skyscraper “Taipei 101” in the Taiwan capital. In general he has conquered about 70 skyscrapers worldwide, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Empire State Building in New York.

Also, according to US Magazine, Paris Hilton is also suffering from an addiction to Xanax. After being arrested for a DUI, she had apparent panic attacks while in prison and was prescribed the pills to cope.

According to a report by the Sun, Winona Ryder had to have her stomach pumped at a West London hospital after she collapsed twice on a British Airlines jet last November. A passenger reported Winona turned deathly white when she passed out. While it hasn’t been confirmed, according to the report, it is believed that Winona took too many Xanax pills to calm her fear of flying.

John Mayer has admitted to carrying around Xanax to help with his downward spirals. He admits that at times he can get very depressed and uses the drug to pick him up.

Hills’ Star, Spencer Pratt, has been reported to have had an addiction to prescription pills such as Valium and Xanax for years, despite having been to rehab. To kick his addiction, Pratt used marijuana and thus far, has been reported to have stayed away from the pills with this new habit.

Xanax Help

If you or someone you know is struggling with a Xanax addiction, we can help. Please call our toll free number at (877) 571-5720. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to answer your questions on Xanax treatment and addiction.

Street Names

With any drug, it is important to know what some of the street names are. Xanax is sometimes given a nickname based on the color or dosage.

• Z-bars
• Bars-white pills
• School bus-yellow pills
• Yellow boys-yellow pills
• Footballs- blue pills
• Handlebars-white pills
• White boys-white pills
• White girls-white pills
• Bicycle parts-white pills

Other Terms/U.S. Street Prices

Xanax is in a class of drugs called benzodiazepines, which are commonly referred to as benzos. With the different amounts of Xanax available, the price also differs. Here are the typical amounts available:

• .5 mg pill is typically around $1.00 to $2.00
• .25 mg = $.75
• 1 mg = $2.00 to $3.00
• 2 mg = $4.00 to $5.00

The prices also often depend on the difficulty and the expenses the dealer had when obtaining the pills.

Xanax Help

If you or a loved one is addicted to Xanax, it is important to seek help. Xanax is a highly dependent drug. Once addicted, the effects are devastating. Many lose their jobs, dreams and ambitions. But, there is hope. If you are interested in receiving information on Xanax detox or rehab, please call our toll free number at (877) 571-5720.