Neurosis. Causeless concern. Depression. Loss of sleep ... Have you encountered similar symptoms? We think that at least once in a lifetime, each person has experienced something similar. Doctors advise you not to waste time with the appearance of those listed by the symptom and begin treatment, so as not to start a problem, to which cramps and panic attacks can be added. In such situations, a drug is required that is able to quickly stop all manifestations of the disease and alleviate the patient’s condition. It is Alprazolam, the instructions for use by which the doctor will definitely give the patient a note before writing a prescription. This medicine has been used for a very long time and has been able to prove its effectiveness. Therefore, despite the appearance of more modern drugs in pharmacies, experts are still inclined to favor Alprazolam "when you need to quickly help the patient. Today we will consider the instructions for use" Alprazolam ", prices, reviews and analogues of this tool.
Brief description of the drug
In the instructions for use of Alprazolam, the main characteristics of the drug are described in detail. From them, you can immediately determine exactly how the tablets affect the patient's body. Doctors prefer to treat with this particular drug, as it simultaneously acts in three directions:
- as an antidepressant;
- as sleeping pills;
- as an anticonvulsant drug.
Due to this, tablets have a very wide range of applications, which is indicated in the instructions for Alprazolam. Despite this, you should not risk your health and take the medicine without consulting a doctor. The fact is that at the slightest excess of the dosage, the patient may have negative side effects. Many of them are able to exacerbate those symptoms of the disease that led the person to the doctor’s office.
The action of Alprazolam (this mechanism is described in the instructions and reviews) is due to the multiple increase in the influence of gamma-aminobutyric acid on brain functions. In a healthy body, this substance is ingested in sufficient quantities in order to slow down the central nervous system in time, reduce reactions to external pathogens and thereby normalize sleep. However, in some situations, for example, under the influence of prolonged stresses, acid production decreases sharply. As a result, a person feels constant anxiety, he may panic for no reason, depression and insomnia develop. Thanks to Alprazolam, the synthesis of the substance is gradually restored, and the effect is enhanced.
From the instructions for use of Alprazolam and reviews about it, you can find out that the drug does not adversely affect the cardiovascular system and respiratory system. In this case, all the components of the drug do not accumulate in the body, a few hours after taking the tablets they are excreted naturally.
Release form
This drug is produced mainly by Russian pharmaceutical companies, so the effectiveness of Alprazolam from different companies is approximately the same. Pharmacists have developed only one form of release of the drug - tablets. In the instructions for use of Alprazolam, this fact is also reflected. If somewhere you are offered a drug in the form of a solution or drops, then be sure of the seller’s dishonesty. You are definitely advised to purchase a fake.
In pharmacies, the drug is sold in a cardboard box or a plastic jar. Typically, each package contains fifty tablets of Alprazolam. Ten tablets are placed on each blister and five blisters are put in a box. Patients themselves choose which form of packaging is more convenient for them, since the number of capsules in them is the same.
The average cost of the drug varies about four hundred rubles. In the instructions for the use of Alprazolam, the price of the medicine is not indicated, so the cost of treatment in your particular case will depend on the price policy of the pharmacy chains in your city and the duration of the drug.
Composition of the tablets
If you carefully read the instructions for Alprazolam (the price of the tablets is considered acceptable by the patient reviews), the composition of the medicine will not be a secret for you. Each tablet consists of a basic substance and additional components. The main active component of the drug is alprazolam (this substance gave the name to the drug). Manufacturers produce tablets in different dosages:
- two hundred and fifty milligrams;
- five hundred milligrams;
- one thousand milligrams;
- two thousand milligrams.
There are a lot of additional substances in the preparation, among them stand out:
- povidone;
- potato starch;
- milk sugar;
- magnesium stearate.
The rules for storage of the drug imply the need to protect it from direct sunlight. Do not put the tablets in the refrigerator, they are shown the temperature regime in the range from fifteen to thirty degrees of heat. If you follow these recommendations, then the shelf life of Alprazolam is five years. Keep in mind that tablets are potent drugs. Therefore, storage rules must be very clearly observed.
Therapeutic effects on the body
The instructions for the drug "Alprazolam" describes the entire mechanism of the drug and the therapeutic effects of the tablets. Doctors and pharmacists define the main effect of the drug as anti-anxiety, and sedative and hypnotic effects are considered accompanying. If you put off medical terms and speak in simple terms, then we can say that after the first days of treatment the patient's nervous and emotional stress decreases. Gradually, anxiety, fears and various obsessive thoughts disappear. The patient calms down, and sleep problems disappear. The hypnotic effect of the drug is due to a decrease in the period of falling asleep. In parallel, the number of night awakenings decreases, and the duration of sleep itself, on the contrary, increases. Pharmacists explain these effects by the fact that all external irritants that previously prevented from falling asleep cease to act on a person. The patient ceases to worry, think about troubles and problems. We can say that regular intake of tablets inhibits the reflex activity of the body and reduces the excitability of the central nervous system.
If we talk about pharmacokinetics, it is worth noting that all the substances of the drug are absorbed from the intestine. Their maximum concentration occurs approximately two hours after taking the pill. Metabolism occurs in the liver, and the drug is excreted from the body through the kidneys. Interestingly, with long-term use of Alprazolam (this is indicated in the instructions for use), the percentage of overdose is very low. You can get poisoned with the drug only if you significantly exceed the dosage in one step.
To whom is the drug indicated?
Judging by the reviews and instructions for the use of Alprazolam, the spectrum of its use is quite wide. Therefore, doctors appoint him very often, usually it is used as an ambulance for critical conditions diagnosed as neurosis. They are characterized by anxiety, increased emotional stress, constant irritability, anxiety, wandering pains of a neurotic nature, sleep disturbances, and so on.
An effective drug for anxiety and depression. They are accompanied by anxiety for no reason, loss of interest in the world, suicidal thoughts, sudden changes in mood, decreased body weight and appetite. Also, "Alprazolam" is prescribed for deterioration in mental activity and a decrease in overall physical activity.
The drug helps to get rid of neurosis caused by somatic disorders. In addition to the diseases already listed, tablets are indicated for repeated panic attacks, tremors and sleep disturbances. Usually the latter are expressed in insomnia, which in turn enhances the patient’s anxiety and irritability.
The instructions to Alprazolam noted that it is quite effective when it comes to a disease such as fear of open spaces. Usually it is very difficult to treat, and at least a week is needed to relieve the acute period. Unlike most drugs, Alprazolam copes well with this problem, stopping attacks after the first two days of taking the tablets.
Contraindications
The manufacturer in the instructions to "Alprazolam" always mentions that the drug belongs to the group of potent. Therefore, it is strictly contraindicated in certain diseases and health problems. Their list, unfortunately, is quite wide.
It is headed by a protracted depression in severe form with clearly identified suicidal tendencies. With such a problem, an ordinary local therapist should not prescribe treatment, since the patient must consult a psychiatrist. The specialist, evaluating the patient’s condition, will prescribe him a whole group of drugs to quickly normalize the condition and Alprazolam does not apply to them.
You can not take this drug after acute poisoning with certain substances (alcohol, opioids, sleeping pills and psychotropic drugs). Also a contraindication is the simultaneous administration of Alprazolam and psychotropic drugs.
The doctor will not prescribe the medicine we are describing when diagnosing glaucoma, severe diseases of the respiratory system, and heart failure. The list of contraindications include muscle weakness, the patient's age up to eighteen years and increased sensitivity to the active or auxiliary substances of the tablets.
In the instructions for the drug "Alprazolam" a separate line outlines the problems in which it can be drunk, but with some caution. Persons with a history of serious liver and kidney diseases need constant medical supervision during treatment. They need to be tested regularly and listen carefully to their condition.
Keep in mind that for those patients who have never before taken this drug, it is indicated in small doses. Even with this approach, the necessary effect is achieved from taking Alprazolam tablets (such information is not reflected in the instructions). If you have taken the medicine earlier, then the doctor will adjust the dosage upward.
Brief instructions for "Alprazolam"
Analogues of the drug in their total mass are accepted in the same way as the original. We will tell you in detail about how to drink Alprazolam tablets correctly, so that readers have the opportunity, if necessary, to correlate this information with the rules for taking similar drugs.
The general treatment regimen involves taking the pill three times at any time convenient for the patient. Food does not affect the absorption of the active component, which is very convenient for many people who work hard. It is not recommended to grind and chew the tablets; half a glass of clean water is enough to drink.
Each patient should know that the dosage of the medicine is selected strictly individually. The attending physician does this by evaluating the patient’s condition, age, severity and nature of his illness. Moreover, in the first weeks of taking the drug, the dose is often subjected to adjustment. Some patients note that after a couple of days of treatment, they increase drowsiness and impaired coordination of movements. In this case, the doctor reduces the previously prescribed dosage, continuing to monitor the patient's condition.
The treatment regimen is built in such a way that the most significant concentration of the drug falls on the evening intake. This contributes to the normalization of sleep and increases the effectiveness of treatment.
A feature of taking tablets is a slow increase in dosage. Initially, the patient should, as it were, enter the drug, which is achieved by prescribing the lowest possible dosage. Then it increases to the necessary therapeutic, but in the early days this happens due to the evening intake of pills. Every three days, the patient should increase the dosage by two hundred fifty to five hundred milligrams. Also, slowly and gradually, the drug is exited.
"Alprazolam" in the treatment of various diseases
Doctors often write in reviews that it is difficult to immediately correctly draw up a treatment regimen for a patient, since everyone needs their time and concentration of the drug to get rid of neurosis and depression. Therefore, when appointing, they focus on the instructions for use with Alprazolam (in the reviews the price of treatment is discussed quite often).
For example, with increased anxiety, the patient begins to take the medicine three times a day, two hundred fifty to five hundred milligrams. In the future, the dosage can be increased to one and a half thousand milligrams.
In depression, the initial dose is five hundred milligrams; during treatment, it can be increased four times.
Panic attacks require three times a day one thousand milligrams, the therapeutic dosage is three thousand milligrams.
The maximum possible concentration of the drug in the body should not exceed ten thousand milligrams.
Many doctors consider Alprazolam a universal remedy that allows you to draw up a long or short-term intake schedule. For example, if you need to neutralize fear or anxiety after any experienced event, then a course of several days is suitable. During treatment, only the initial dosage is used, it turns out to be quite effective.
For those patients who are diagnosed with chronic stress or anxiety, the doctor expects treatment for three to eight months. Such a duration allows you to bring the dosage from initial to therapeutic.
Analogs of Alprazolam
Analogues of the drug are determined by the active component. Instead of Alprazolam, you can ask your doctor to prescribe the following medicines:
- Zolomax.
- Xanax.
- Helex.
- Neurol.
All of these drugs differ from the original only in the amount of excipients. Therefore, the decision to replace the medicine is made only when the patient has an allergic reaction to any of them.
Drug Reviews
Patients taking the drug are generally satisfied with the result. They write that it is much stronger than many other similar drugs. "Alprazolam" was effective where psychologists, psychiatrists and pills of a different mechanism of influence could not cope.
Some patients warn that in the early days of treatment, weakness, lethargy, and increased drowsiness may occur. Symptoms are often supplemented by dizziness and apathy, but after seven days all the negative effects of taking the pills disappear.
The reviews contain information about the withdrawal syndrome. He is fully faced by everyone who abruptly stopped taking the medicine. They complained of cramps, muscle and headaches, irritability, aggression and tremors. Therefore, it is advised to gradually abandon the tablets so as not to expose the body to new stresses. It is best to reduce the dosage a little bit every three days.
Almost all patients recommend Alprazolam and characterize it as a very effective means.