Anxiety and Xanax?

[freexfallin]

ETA: I meant for the title to read "SEIZURES and Xanax," not "Anxiety and Xanax." That's another one of my problems, though...typing the wrong word.

Hi all,

I've been experiencing a whole laundry list of health problems for several years now. I really think most of my problems are neurological and caused me to develop anxiety attacks, but I don't know. I just know that a lot of my problems started BEFORE I ever began having issues with anxiety.

My main problems are as follows:
EXCRUCIATING pain on the back-right of my head that is there pretty much 24/7. It feels like someone jabbed a knife through my skull. It hurts so bad I can't put it into words.
Poor balance (I can't stand still because I sway and feel like I'm going to fall)
Awful memory
Trouble remembering words
Smelling burnt smells at times (doesn't happen really anymore, but it used to all of the time about 2 years ago)
Involuntarily biting my tongue when I'm about to nod off to sleep
Going into a sort of dreamlike state when I close my eyes...I start envisioning choppy, dreamlike scenarios, but I know they're not dreams because I'm half awake and JUST closed my eyes
Inability to concentrate on anything
Urinating every 40ish minutes
Episodes where I feel on the verge of losing consciousness
Gagging fits
24/7 pressure/pain in the center of my chest
And yes, panic attacks when I go in public, but they don't happen all of the time and sometimes even happen when I'm in bed at home, so I don't know if they're even panic attacks necessarily.

On Tuesday, I went to a doctor finally and gave her a list of the problems I've been having, and she wrote me off as a case of anxiety and handed me a prescription for Xanax before even asking me about any of the other problems. I told her I was concerned I had a brain tumor, and she laughed at me. I'm really frustrated. I told her so much of this was happening long before I started having panic episodes, and she just kind of went "okay."

I was going to try the Xanax to see if it at least helped me not be in a constant state of worry about what my body is going to do without my permission next, but then I read that it can cause seizures in those who are already prone to them. I've read that a lot of my problems can actually be types of seizures like the smelling burnt smells, suddenly biting my tongue in my sleep, and dreamlike hallucinations or whatever they're called when I close my eyes. So now I'm afraid to take it because I'm afraid it'll trigger a really bad seizure that will kill me or something.

Does anyone know if Xanax really is a seizure risk?

I'm so frustrated and just don't know what to do with myself besides sit in my bedroom and cry. I don't feel well enough to do anything else, and apparently no one believes me or wants to listen to me.

Oh, and I'm 22/female if it makes a difference. :)

[biceps72]

benzos will not cause seizures-- in fact high doses of benzos are sometimes used to help treat seizures.

Hopefully you can find an MD that will listen.

Imust say it sounds a lot like you have health anxiety!! That is very common. Benzos can help with symptoms! You might want to ask your MD for an anti-depressant to help withyour fears!

good luck to you.








ETA: I meant for the title to read "SEIZURES and Xanax," not "Anxiety and Xanax." That's another one of my problems, though...typing the wrong word.

Hi all,

I've been experiencing a whole laundry list of health problems for several years now. I really think most of my problems are neurological and caused me to develop anxiety attacks, but I don't know. I just know that a lot of my problems started BEFORE I ever began having issues with anxiety.

My main problems are as follows:
EXCRUCIATING pain on the back-right of my head that is there pretty much 24/7. It feels like someone jabbed a knife through my skull. It hurts so bad I can't put it into words.
Poor balance (I can't stand still because I sway and feel like I'm going to fall)
Awful memory
Trouble remembering words
Smelling burnt smells at times (doesn't happen really anymore, but it used to all of the time about 2 years ago)
Involuntarily biting my tongue when I'm about to nod off to sleep
Going into a sort of dreamlike state when I close my eyes...I start envisioning choppy, dreamlike scenarios, but I know they're not dreams because I'm half awake and JUST closed my eyes
Inability to concentrate on anything
Urinating every 40ish minutes
Episodes where I feel on the verge of losing consciousness
Gagging fits
24/7 pressure/pain in the center of my chest
And yes, panic attacks when I go in public, but they don't happen all of the time and sometimes even happen when I'm in bed at home, so I don't know if they're even panic attacks necessarily.

On Tuesday, I went to a doctor finally and gave her a list of the problems I've been having, and she wrote me off as a case of anxiety and handed me a prescription for Xanax before even asking me about any of the other problems. I told her I was concerned I had a brain tumor, and she laughed at me. I'm really frustrated. I told her so much of this was happening long before I started having panic episodes, and she just kind of went "okay."

I was going to try the Xanax to see if it at least helped me not be in a constant state of worry about what my body is going to do without my permission next, but then I read that it can cause seizures in those who are already prone to them. I've read that a lot of my problems can actually be types of seizures like the smelling burnt smells, suddenly biting my tongue in my sleep, and dreamlike hallucinations or whatever they're called when I close my eyes. So now I'm afraid to take it because I'm afraid it'll trigger a really bad seizure that will kill me or something.

Does anyone know if Xanax really is a seizure risk?

I'm so frustrated and just don't know what to do with myself besides sit in my bedroom and cry. I don't feel well enough to do anything else, and apparently no one believes me or wants to listen to me.

Oh, and I'm 22/female if it makes a difference. :)

[Paulie]

I would get a CT scan/MRI for your skull just so you can be %100 sure that there's no head trauma. Similar story: I used to have terrible pains in my shoulder after having surgery and was convinced that the surgeon had dropped a pair of scissors inside my shoulder during the process. I would panic and spend entire nights awake, tense and terrified about that idea.

I had an MRI done that showed everything was fine but I was still scared that my shoulder was going to dislocate. Xanax (1.5mg a day) has helped me cope w that anxiety/paranoia and now I can at least work, drive and reach for things w/out any fear. Im a 21yr old male, hope the info helps.

[alankay]

At your age I doubt you have a tumor. Try the xanax once and see how you feel. Benzos are used to treat siezures but that's mostly diazepam or ativan. If you get relief from the xanax it is anxiety but it does sound like it might be something else but again, at you age, anxiety often kicks in in early/young adulthood. Alankay

[freexfallin]

I'm not trying to be rude, but I really don't understand the "at your age, it's probably not a tumor" thing. You're not the first person I've heard it from. Brain tumors are one of the most common forms of tumors in children; they're not like breast cancer and heart disease where you only really have to start worrying about them when you hit your mid 30s or so. Same thing with the people who say "If you had a brain tumor, you'd be dead by now after 5+ years of symptoms." A simple Google search will tell you that plenty of people have brain tumors growing in their brains for decades before they develop symptoms. The fact that this all has been going on for so long really doesn't rule out much of anything besides, perhaps, the most fast-growing forms of tumors.

I'm just a little sick of people blowing my concerns off with misinformation.

[alankay]

You must be joking. You have to be. You would diagnose a tumor in a 22 yo straight away and have an attidue about me pointing out that at 22 you are very likely healthy and too reassure of that? Geez. Odds are.....she' not cancer ridden at 22. Just anxious. Alankay

[freexfallin]

I didn't say I think I'm cancer-ridden. It's possible, but after so many years of this, it's more likely that if I have a tumor, it's a benign one. Because the brain controls virtually every bodily function, a tumor (or aneurysm, etc. for that matter) need not be cancerous to cause serious problems.

No, I wouldn't straight away diagnose a 22 year-old or anybody with cancer. That's dumb. But I would suspect a neurological problem before I would suspect an anxiety problem in someone who is having trouble remembering the names of things, sways when she tries to stand still, has excruciating localized pain on the back of her head, forgets what she's doing in the middle of things, experiences numbness all over her body at times, and has on numerous occasions smelled burnt smells that no one else smelled, among other symptoms. I certainly wouldn't blow her off and tell her it's near impossible for her to have a brain tumor when that's blatantly untrue statistically.

You can add to that the fact that my mom had neurofibromatosis, too. Brain tumors are a huge issue in NF patients, and a parent is 50% likely to pass down the condition to his or her children.

I didn't have an attitude with you, by the way. It's difficult to point out the fallacy in someone's statement online without seeming as though you have an attitude, but that wasn't my intention. Yes, it does get frustrating when you've read from numerous sources that brain tumors can go undetected for decades and aren't specific to a particular age group, and yet everyone you voice your concerns to dismisses you as crazy and "anxious" because you're in your 20s. I know I'm anxious NOW. I also know I wasn't anxious at all when all of these problems started occurring. I didn't have anxiety attacks back when the 24/7 excruciating head pain started. I was just in a lot of pain. It wasn't anxiety then, so I'm curious how it's anxiety now.

[freexfallin]

Anyway, this is an anxiety forum, so of course the impulse is going to be to liken my symptoms to anxiety. I just wanted to know if Xanax was a seizure risk so I could gauge whether it's safe for me to take it. Thanks for your responses; I'll leave now. :)

[LynneeaAlicia]

I have been in your spot. I have had an MRI two CT scans and numerous other scans..... nothing.... can't figure out whats wrong with me. I have started taking xanax as needed but i don't want to take it long term so I just started Buspar. praying it helps and I can take xanax as needed. Feel better. I am 25 I completely understand how you feel. It sucks!

[Mysticsoul]

The only time I felt like Xanax would cause a seizure is when I went off of it - horrid for me!!