Originally Posted by
Sparkling_Fairy
It took me a few weeks to get an appointment with my GP and be diagnosed with actual vertigo and get medication for that.
Which vertigo medication are you on?
So I took 0.25mg every day for about 5 weeks.
...So I took my last one on Monday. Felt ok Tuesday but yesterday I felt super anxious! I have 3 left so I cut a 0.25mg in half last night and took that and it really helped, but I don't want to take anymore because now I'm starting to get worried that I'm going through withdrawal.
Is it possible to get addicted to Xanax from only taking the lowest dose once per day for a couple of weeks? Or is my fear of addiction possibly making me feel more anxious?
It is possible to develop a dependency to benzodiazepines (BZDs) within 5 weeks so you may be experiencing withdrawal, but it could also be psychological, or possibly a side-effect of the vertigo med.
While dependency can be an issue with BZDs, a far greater problem is that they actually worsen anxiety. Anxiety disorders and depression are emotional expressions of atrophy of parts of the two hippocampal regions of the brain caused by high brain stress hormone levels, mostly of cortisol, killing brain cells and inhibiting the growth of new cells. It is a type of auto-immune reaction which is why these disorders often worsen when the immune system is fighting infections. Both antidepressants and the cognitive, behavioural (CBT, REBT, etc) and mindfulness therapies stimulate the growth of new cells which create the therapeutic response.
The problem with BZDs is they have the same effect on hippocampal neurons as cortisol. They also reduce the effectiveness of antidepressants. [1]
Taking BZDs for a day or two for short-term problems such as fear of flying, or to ease the initial anxiety spike when beginning to take ADs is not usually a problem, but taking them daily for many weeks, or months often can be.
[1]
Boldrini M, Butt TH, Santiago AN, et al. (2014)
Benzodiazepines and the potential trophic effect of antidepressants on dentate gyrus cells in mood disorders.
Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. Dec;17(12):1923-33 (
Abstract |
Full text)
Sun Y, Evans J, Russell B, et al (2013)
A benzodiazepine impairs the neurogenic and behavioural effects of fluoxetine in a rodent model of chronic stress.
Neuropharmacology. Sep;72:20-8 (
Abstract)
Song J, Zhong C, Bonaguidi MA, et al (2012)
Neuronal circuitry mechanism regulating adult quiescent neural stem-cell fate decision.
Nature. Sep 6;489(7414):150-4 (
Article |
Study full text)
Wu X, Castren E. (2009)
Co-treatment with diazepam prevents the effects of fluoxetine on the proliferation and survival of hippocampal dentate granule cells.
Biol Psychiatry. Jul 1;66(1):5-8 (
Abstract)
For more on hippocampal atrophy see (while these discuss depression, they are just as applicable to anxiety):