Taking a xanax before speech

[Acoustic101]

17 years old and suffered from anxiety when HS started but my whole life I have never really had problemss with giving speeches until now. Other day I completely froze in front of my science class and had a full fledged panic attack ( something I havent had in awhile) and it was the worse feeling ever.

I have went the non medication route to fix my general anxiety and it's worked but on th rare occasions I really need something to calm me down. I was thinking one Xanax before a speech ( or during a panic attack) would help but i don't want any negative side effects or addictions happening. Really just need it for presentations.

[Buttercup]

The most common thing prescribed for performance anxiety are beta blockers- they hinder your adrenaline production therefore getting rid of shaking hands, increased heart rate and so on. I have taken them with no negative side effects/addiction problems.
Xanax will chill you out but will probably make you really sleepy and a bit too relaxed to give your presentations. best thing to do though is chat to your doctor about it and he/she will prescribe what they think is best.

[alankay]

Xanax would be good if the issue is anxiety causing you to lose your train of thought but if physical symptoms(racing heart, shaking, tremor, tics, very shaky voice) is the real issue a beta blocker is better. I've used both(valium and inderal, about 40mg) for speeches and found the more I did them(speeches), the easier they got and was able to use less of the meds in time. Alankay

[Siegfried]

IMO giving Xanax to a seventeen year old cause he feels anxious before talking in public is overkill. Actually, it's perverse. I'm an academic and I've given presentations on Xanax in the past: not a brilliant idea...

If you must take smt, ask your doctor for ethyl loflazepate 2mg and take a pill some 45 minutes before the event.

[Enduronman]

Hey there,

Performance anxiety is a very common occurence in those with GAD/SAD/PANIC or may even be a stand alone condition or disorder also. Both of my daughters had the exact same issue at school when it came to "Time for a speech or public performance moments" yet didnt really have much problem in general, until then. Our family Dr had prescribed xanax for them both to use at school, and was kept in the nurses office for them to obtain as needed prior to these scholastic requirements. Although I do also agree with the fact that a beta-blocker would be a more suitable approach to dealing with these situation, most Dr's will not prescribe them to adolescents who's brain is not fully developed and does not have high BP readings and this is a case where "maturity" of the patient plays a major role. Therefore, xanax may be the best approach in this particular case on an as needed basis so that you may pass your testing and requirements of the school corp or systems. No, you wont fall over and pass out in the classroom and it will just calm you down.

As far as the (ethyl loflazepate) suggestion goes, this product that you mention isnt even available for use in my area as I have seen this optional medication typed here before. I called the local, biggest, and busiest pharmacy to inquire about this product and the pharmacist was like "Uh, what?"..No, we don't even have that in our systems and nor do I even know what it is or used for?..I am in the US. I also did some research on that product and it is the most vague information of any particular medication I've ever seen. The only thing I learned about it is that it is a "pro-benzo" developed around 1985 but I still couldnt find by "who?"..So, I browsed around and found some other people making comments about "getting it from Mexican Dr's".. I'm glad that this product proved successful to you Siegfried but as far as getting a Dr of ours to prescribe this, when the pharmacist doesnt even know what it is or carry it either..probably isnt going to be useful to us in this case especially if we gotta go to Mexico to find it..Jus sayin..

Maybe you could shed some light here and give us an idea what country or region you're in because no one around the central US has a clue about this medication you suggest friend?..

Enduronman...

[Siegfried]

Mea culpa! I'm based in Europe! Here it's sold under the label Victan and it's the benzo typically given to people suffering from GAD, and panic disorder. It's really one of those drugs that "everybody takes once in a while" here so I took it for granted that it was available there, too.

It's a pro drug whose metabolites are in the benzo family. It's a very popular drug here among MDs because it gives you a powerful anxiolytic effect without killing your concentration or making you sleepy. The downside is that its effect is not immediate. People usually take it sublingually when they are having an attack, but since it's a pro drug, from my experience, that is not a very effective route of administration (you should take it orally, of course). But if you give it its time (hence my 45 minute recommendation), it's like an SSRI after 6 months of treatment. It's also very popular among PhDs as the drug typically taken before dissertation defenses...

Still, not worth going all the way to Mexico to get it!!! ;-)

[Enduronman]

Thank you friend!

That explains it. We anxiety sufferers here in the US are not offered this medication to use as an anti-anxiety assistant. I believe from the resources I have available here it is that American Physicians don't give it a whole lot of credibility or usefulness to those of us over here. I will give you an example of what an American Dr's proceedure may be if encountered by a patient with strictly anxiety but not also linked with depression. Although, ALOT of Dr's over here also truly believe that depression is always the root cause of the anxiety and in some cases it may be but not as often as they throw AD's at American patients. A Dr here will start with hydrox which is just a super-charged anti-histamine/anti-anxiety medication first to see how the patient reacts. If that doesnt work for anxiety yet it will produce grogginess and mild sedation, then they'll go to buspar which is supposedly an anti-anxiety agent but it's a prehistoric medication that may have worked back in prehistoric times when the world wasnt so over-saturated with useless social s**t everywhere. Then if that doesnt work, they'll usually go to a med in the benzo class and try like lorazepam or something to that effect. I am not a fan of any of the above (3) mentioned but they do proove to be useful to some, but not all. Xanax has a more solid, stable, useful track record here in the States for those that take it as prescribed, as needed, and once the right range of mgs are acheived for each individual person it is a very useful substance. Yes, there is a darkside to it also but merely just depends upon the person themselves and their personality type as to whether they become a true addict or not. The biggest problem over here is painkillers (opiate) that create huge issues for people, familys, and also with crime as well. It is a way bigger concern here then benzos are..

I wouldnt buy anything in Mexico because you never know what it even is!! LOL!!

Enduronman..

[Yanni]

Yeah as Enduronman said there's sort of a negative stigma about prescribing schedueled drugs for any reason unless everything else doesn't work. For example, most GCP will provide Gabapentin and strong NSAIDS for chronic pain, but not opiates.
Some people may abuse these drugs, but it doesn't mean they don't work for those of us who have to take them. I was taking a quarter of Xanax for a while until I was deemed allergic to it.

but xannies slurred my speech hard, I would go with betas before a speech

[Siegfried]

I really don't get why so many people are still being given Buspar. I thought it was mostly given to people with addiction issues (alcoholics, say), otherwise benzos would be the first line of treatment.

Also, since you have to wait a number of days for Buspar to have any effect, you might as well take an SSRI...

[Acoustic101]

Sorry for no response, and thanks for all the answers but I have a better question to ask.

Usually when I have bad anxiety I also get feelings that I always deny being depression like being tired, no motivation, other thinking, sorta deperonalized, and confused. The more and more I look up on these symptoms though, the more they seem to actually be depression. So, do most people get depression mixed with anxiety as well? If so, do most anxiety medications help with depression and how should I take them? I don't want to depend on a daily pill for the rest of my life so can you take a pill during depressing/anxiety intense times and bring your self out of them for good?

[Acoustic101]

Male, and my doctor prescribed me some metopryonol (50mg). Took one today and the tense feeling in the chest was suppressed, no shaky hands/voice and everything else is good. Can you take this pill once a day and be ok? Kinda wanna see how I do with a speech now