Is 2 milligrams of Xanax too much?

I’m on 0.5 twice a day as needed. I sometimes take it 3 times a day because what my doctor doesn’t know won’t hurt him. He and my therapist think I only take one every other day. Anyways I am in the middle of a full blown panic attack and I desperately need a fourth one. That would put me at 2 milligrams. I took my first one 12 hours ago then one at 11:30 and one at 3:30. Is this safe to do? I am literally freaking out right now at this level of anxiety I haven’t gotten in years.

In theory, it is possible because there are also 2mg pills.
BUT one should NEVER improvise with medications. If you need more you should ask the pdoc to raise your dosage.
If the doc doesn't know what you are taking they can't do their job.
Can you contact the doc promptly?

I did actually already take another one. It seems to be working. The first one I took wasn’t even a whole one. I do know the source of my anxiety and I should have the issue resolved in a couple days.

I take a 3mg Xanax in the morning but it is an extended release so I don’t know how to compare it to the immediate release and I also take 2 0.5mg immediate release Xanax during the day.

I am prescribed 1mg twice a day but I usually only take .5 once or twice a day. I have to take the full 2mg if I have a really bad panic attack. I wouldn't take more than prescribed it is easy to build a tolerance to it. Try to take the minimum amount needed for relief.

The 4th Xanax and a 5 milligrams melatonin did take care of the panic attack and I feel much better now. Although I don’t think I’ll wake up until noon tomorrow. And possibly with a hangover. But at least that bad anxiety is gone.

Its the weaning off that stinks ime.

So no its not too much in terms of like being harmful like an overdose per se, its more in terms of, will you "need more" the next time you take it, will things escalate, etc etc etc.

I have Xanax 1 mg three times a day as needed

I defiantly need the one at bedtime as sleep is so difficult for me. Some days the one is all I may need.

Other days I might need 3 or 4

Keep in mind if you were to run out sooner than you should, your Pdoc might give you enough to get you through but it’s possible they will start to wean you off the medication, which can be extremely hard but you can’t just quit Xanax or any benzo cold turkey as it’s very possible to have seizures.

If you feel the prescribed amount your Pdoc is given for Xanax isnt enough to manage your anxiety you might want/need to switch to a different benzo as they all work differently.

What I need to do is stay away from coffee. I had a Starbucks peppermint mocha yesterday and then today didn’t have any coffee and I haven’t taken any Xanax today. So it looks like my issue was the coffee. Thanks for the replies everyone.

with klonopin and xanax, one thing that helped me was remembering that xanax dosage (x) 20= valium dosage.

so...2 (x) 20= 40/valium, which was the upper end of the normal dosage back in the day, before valium fell from grace.

obviously, different people have different needs. even with valium, some people got by OK on 20, others were on constant refills, before it became a controlled substance.

my concerns, personally, are that the anxiety is not being dealt with...and then if you run out early or whatever, you'll be labeled 'drug seeking,' 'abuses medication,' 'manipulative,' etc....sometimes, they even add in a 'personality disorder,' because...they can, I guess (?).

That concerns me too because my doctor never remembers to call in my Xanax when he calls in my other meds and I try to find that line between asking and sounding like I’m drug seeking. But if he would just put it on the list of meds that need to be refilled to begin with I wouldn’t have an issue literally every time I see him.

Your OP. post has a wrinkle: I’m on 0.5 twice a day as needed. I sometimes take it 3 times a day because what my doctor doesn’t know won’t hurt him. He and my therapist think I only take one every other day I am just showing that 3 a day would equal 1.5 mg a day. While it sounds like your doc/therapists think you take one = .5 every other day? That would be around double the amount that you are Rxed, if I am right, my maths might be off. I've wrote many a posts and a few about Benzos. and how easy tolerance and the increasing self-administered doses seem okay. I can relate. I was there and came of a very long taper involving longer acting clonazepam- reducing while adding a longer half-life diazepam to ease slowly down. And with all I learned and taught myself about that class of meds - benzodiazepines and using everything from pregabalin to supplements like magnesium, L-theanine, melatonin,. Breaking innovations in CBD oil and a change in diet. It wasn't hell . Trust me , lucky I have heard way to many stories of the hell if you keep building up tolerance and keep going down that hell hole. Again maybe you can find some of my posts and threads on here about it but after long studies and debates with, frankly young recklessness that actually proposed there are no tolerance, withdrawal, much less cognitive decline as GABA receptors diminish = tolerance grows I am not really into showing all of the research tonight. I have posted it over and over. You maybe able to find it here as my screen name or on google under metamorphosis and the subject. I love research but reasearch often wears me thin I'll just end by saying please don't keep upping your prescribed amount anymore and just be honest with your health team because it's better to figure out the issues now Than to try and pull a digging tolerance and/ or addiction out of a growing and deeper hill. Please, don't be in anyway reticent to talk to your docs. now.Especially with other Naturalpathic ways including diet, supplements, lifestyle and therapies ( CBT, ACT), psychotherapy with or without allopathic anxiolytic meds Which all holds much more promise now, than before. I ideally believe in a center that not only has traditional Docs. but nutritionists that work in conjunction. It is an idyllic setting that isn't available or to expensive for many (me). I have just have seen to many very bright people disappear from my life from psychotropic tolerance/ addiction. Please talk to your doctors about this. Just read your above post, if you are not happy with any of your healthcare docs/pdocs/therapists don't hesitate to express how you feel to them. They are hired and payed to give you the best care physically and mentally, provided!

Hey @MountaindewedI was wondering if you smoke cigarettes? I do not have the links on hand but smoking increases the metabolism of xanax and clears if from your system a lot quicker. Many times people that smoke will need more frequent dosages. OP do you think you need a higher dose or more frequency?

or the xr? i think its generic now.

I don’t smoke. I kind of wish I had never gone on the Xanax. My Ativan was working decently and I was only taking 3 a week not 3 a day. I feel like I have a full blown addiction and I don’t know what to do. I’m wondering based on how difficult it was last time to get it filled if my doctor will take me off it when I see him on Monday. I have about 60 Ativan I think if he takes me off the Xanax I can slow taper onto the Ativan. But honestly I wish I had never gotten myself into this mess in the first place.

They hopefully wouldn’t cold turkey you because of seizure risk but instead taper you off the Xanax but you need to tell the doc what’s going on...

I agree. Be honest and tell the doc how much you have been taking. That way they can taper you off.

That is not a very big dose ,especially with tolerance. You'll be fine with 2mg . Ativan has a longer half-life than xanax, so it seems likely you get rebound anxiety with Xanax? It is insidious though, the way it takes more and more to achieve the same calm.

My doctor didn’t say anything about the Xanax specifically but he doesn’t want to make any med changes right now because of all the stress I’m under from my physical problems and he thinks the time change has messed with me a bit and that I’m having lingering side effects from the infection I had a couple weeks ago. So he’s still prescribing the Xanax. But I don’t think he actually called it in as usual so it will probably be a problem actually getting it filled again.

not to scare you, but...

i've seen doctors use benzodiazepines to make the patients like them more, come back more...

and then use the drugs as a bargaining chip, to "punish" bad behavior and "reward" good behavior/compliance. its a high stakes (for the patient) game of behavior modification, basically.

there's lots of benzodiazepines still on the market...some are long acting, most are at least longer acting than xanax.

I mean we never even talk about the Xanax. Ever. I never ask for an increase or anything. We don’t say anything about it. When I need a refill the pharmacy deals with him. He’s the director of the clinic I go to and it’s one of the best in the surrounding states. I doubt he’s being shady.

And I am always consistent in my behavior towards me. I am always calm and level headed. I never get angry at him or try to be the doctor or anything like that. So I don’t think there’s any good or bad behavior thing going on because there’s literally no behavior issue going on in the first place.

"That is not a very big dose ,especially with tolerance. You'll be fine with 2mg . Ativan has a longer half-life than xanax, so it seems likely you get rebound anxiety with Xanax? It is insidious though, the way it takes more and more to achieve the same calm" Be careful with how you give advice online. You are not this person's doc/pdoc .You'll be fine can actually be a very dangerous/ careless thing to say. Opinions , I get it. I give my own thoughts but always talk to your docs/pdoc thanks Please do not edit my post again

Be careful with how you give advice online. You are not this person's doc/pdoc .It can actually be a very dangerous/ careless thing to pontificate personal opinions. . I give my own thoughts but always talk to your docs/pdoc thanks

Who edited your post ?