[mvanessa1]

Hi, I have a lot of problems tolerating medications and have become tolerant to Xanax. I am very nervous about taking it. Any experiences?

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Seroquel and Xanax are two completely different drug classes. They work on the brain differently and have different side effect profiles.

Xanax is a benzodiazepene which is basically a tranquilizer and anti anxiety agent.

Seroquel is an antipsychotic, that has the additional benefit of being really good for anxiety. I take it for anxiety, and have no side effects, although a lot of people report weight gain on it.

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[BlessedRhiannon]

Currently, I take both Xanax as needed for anxiety and Seroquel for bipolar 2. I noticed a HUGE drop in anxiety about a week after starting the Seroquel. I still have to take Xanax when anxiety spikes, but I'm taking much less Xanax and my anxiety is much more manageable.

I have gained a bit of weight on the Seroquel, but I also feel much more able to do things like exercise and monitor what I eat, so I'm working on dropping the weight I gained in a healthy manner and if I can't, then I'll talk to my P-doc. The only other side effect I've had is extreme dry eyes/mouth/nose. I don't really mind this one so much, because I have severe allergies and the dryness has actually helped my allergies. I'm on what would be considered a relatively low dose for the treatment of bipolar, but when I tried to go any higher, it made me hypomanic, so I had to drop back to the lower dose.