In this article we will figure out how much Alprazolam works.
The drug is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream and quickly relieves symptoms, therefore it is suitable as an emergency in a stressful situation - after 15-20 minutes. The maximum concentration of the drug in the blood is achieved 1 to 2 hours after administration. Valid for 2-3 hours.
It is a drug that belongs to the category of tranquilizers. The drug is available in tablet format. This medicine is included in the list of psychotropic medicines and is subject to quantification.
Reviews about Alprazolam abound.
Composition of the tablets
This tool is released in only one form - in the form of tablets. They are packed in a jar. They are also packaged in blisters of ten or fifty pieces. Alprazolam belongs to the group of anti-anxiety tranquilizers. The medicine is rarely prescribed for long-term treatment, since there is a danger of addiction.
The active component of these tablets is the same substance, alprazolam. Auxiliary ingredients are potato starch along with magnesium stearate, lactose monohydrate and low molecular weight povidone.
Mechanism of action
Alprazolam tablets are prescribed in short courses in order to quickly relieve nervous breakdown. Antidepressant has muscle relaxant and anxiolytic activity, and, in addition, has anticonvulsant and hypnotic effects. This tool is taken to relieve anxiety and unreasonable anxiety.
The drug "Alprazolam" allows you to increase the duration and quality of sleep, reducing the time of falling asleep and waking up. The presented tablets relieve brain excitability by dulling the body's reflexes. The anticonvulsant effect involves relieving muscle tension and eliminating cramping. This leads to relaxation of the whole organism, and, in addition, to emotional calm.
Pharmacological properties of the drug
The drug acts as a high-potential benzodiazepine, enhancing the inhibitory effect of aminobutyric acid in the nervous system. The mechanism of sleeping pills is as follows: during ingestion, the active ingredient is rapidly absorbed in the body. The maximum concentration of this substance is observed two hours after administration. In the liver, the active component is metabolized, and the resulting metabolites are excreted from the body naturally with urine.
Indications for use
Alprazolam tablets are prescribed by the attending physician when diagnosing the following pathologies:
- The presence of a person’s neurosis, anxiety, irritability, anxiety disorders, anxiety and emotional stress. At the same time, patients experience a deterioration in the quality of sleep, along with nightmares, insomnia and frequent waking up in the middle of the night.
- With somatic diseases, accompanied by increased sweating, and, in addition, heart palpitations, bulimia, impotence or anorexia.
- Staying a person in an anxiety-depressive state, leading to a decrease in mood and loss of interest in everything that happens around.
- The drug is often prescribed for withdrawal or, on the contrary, agitation, against the background of suicidal actions and endogenous depression. Indications "Alprazolam" must be strictly observed.
- In the presence of neurosis, accompanied by loss of appetite, and at the same time, a change in weight.
- The presence of depression in a person during a disease, for example, due to oncology or fear of heart attack.
- The drug is prescribed in the treatment of alcoholism or drug addiction.
- The presence of phobias in humans of various nature, including the fear of open space and the like.
- The presence of tremors and panic attacks.
Mode of application
The number of tablets for treatment depends on the dosage, age, condition of the patient and the sensitivity of the body to the components of the drug. Tablets, according to the instructions, are taken orally three times a day, regardless of food. The capsule is not chewed, but swallowed in its entirety, washed down with a large amount of still water. In order to drink the medicine, you need at least half a glass of water.
The daily dosage of Alprazolam is not taken at a time, it is divided into three doses. By the way, most of it is recommended to take before bedtime, as this will contribute to sleeping pills on the body. For example, the daily dose of tablets is 2 milligrams: in this case, the patient takes 0.5 milligrams in the morning and afternoon, and immediately before bedtime, the dosage is 1 milligram.
The maximum daily dose of the drug should not exceed 10 milligrams. For elderly patients after sixty-five years, the maximum norm is 1.5 milligrams per day. You can not start treatment without the prescribed dosage. Therapy should be started with a minimum dose of 0.25 milligrams per day and gradually increase. Thus, in three weeks it is brought to normal. Depending on the diagnosis, the patient is assigned the following amount of the active component:
- If you have anxiety, you need to take 1.5 milligrams three times.
- As part of the treatment of depression, 3 milligrams is taken three times.
- In the presence of phobias or panic attacks, the dosage is 3 milligrams three times.
The course of taking "Alprazolam" is long or, conversely, short:
- Long-term treatment with Alprazolam is rarely prescribed because of the many side effects that this drug can cause. Such treatment is prescribed for chronic depression and anxiety.
- A short course of therapy is carried out when it is necessary to stop an acute and at the same time sudden attack of fear, as well as when it is necessary to relieve a nervous state. A short treatment course lasts, as a rule, no more than seven days. In this case, the dosage is 0.5 milligrams three times a day.
Alprazolam and addiction
Against the background of prolonged use at high dosages in patients, it is very likely that addiction develops along with the formation of drug dependence. This is especially true in patients prone to drug abuse.
Reviews about Alprazolam confirm this.
Cessation of medication
A feature of these tablets is the cessation of therapy with long courses of admission. This must be done gradually, otherwise the patient can not avoid the next occurrence of the previous symptoms, for the relief of which the drug was prescribed.
The duration of withdrawal of Alprazolam is usually from two to four weeks, which depends on the dosage. This requires every three days to reduce the dose by 0.5 milligrams. In the event that a reduction in dosage of 0.5 milligrams returns the previous signs of anxiety, a milder withdrawal is required.
special instructions
As part of the prescription of this medication, the doctor must make sure that the patient has not taken any other tranquilizers and is not sick with alcoholism. The effectiveness of therapy with Alprazolam tablets will be significantly lower in people suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction and taking various types of antidepressants.
They should not be taken in combination with other sedative medications that cause drowsiness. A long course of pill therapy can cause a patient with depression to be very dependent on Alprazolam, which will be difficult to get rid of. In this regard, it is forbidden to increase or decrease the dose without consulting a doctor.
In the event that the dose is reduced quickly, you can feel the withdrawal symptoms of the tablets, which will be expressed in the form of vomiting, nausea, sweating, insomnia, feelings of anxiety and the like. When during treatment the patient begins to complain of hallucinations, and, in addition, convulsions, the occurrence of aggressiveness and thoughts of suicide, it is necessary to consult a doctor.
Alprazolam during pregnancy
You can not take this tranquilizer during pregnancy. The active substance that is contained in this drug at the beginning of pregnancy can cause impaired development and growth of the fetus. In the last weeks of pregnancy, taking the drug is rare, but it gives a violation of the development of the nervous system of the unborn child.
In the event that a woman took tablets of this drug immediately before childbirth, this can lead to a decrease in pressure and temperature, and, in addition, to respiratory failure and weak sucking reflexes in the newborn.
The active component of the drug is able to penetrate into milk, therefore, while feeding Alprazolam is prohibited. If the reception of these tablets is still necessary for the young mother, she should transfer her child to artificial feeding.
Drug interaction "Alprazolam"
Taking pills against the background of simultaneous treatment with other medications entails the following consequences:
- In the case of simultaneous treatment with other psychotropic, and at the same time anticonvulsant and painkillers in the form of drugs or sleeping pills, depression of the nervous system is possible.
- An overdose of Alprazolam tablets is possible, along with an increase in its effectiveness in the case of oral contraceptives, Ketoconazole, Paroxetine, and Fluvoxamine.
- Alprazolam increases the toxicity of Zidovudine.
- Alprazolam inhibits breathing while taking it with clozapine.
Side effects
According to reviews of Alprazolam, tablets can sometimes give the following side effects:
- The appearance of a feeling of fatigue, drowsiness, slow reaction, depression, dizziness, disorientation, tremor or insomnia.
- The presence of dry mouth, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, impaired liver and kidney function. The appearance of jaundice is not ruled out.
- The presence of anemia, chills, fever, sore throat, thrombocytopenia and neutropenia.
- The development of enuresis, urinary retention. It is also possible to decrease libido and dysmenorrhea.
- Low blood pressure and tachycardia.
- The development of allergic reactions.
- Weight changes along with visual impairment. Side effects of Alprazolam are described in detail in the instructions.
Drug overdose
Treatment with psychotropic drugs should be carried out strictly according to the instructions. In case of an increase in the dose of the drug from 500 milligrams per day, an overdose is observed in patients. The signs of an overdose of Alprazolam can be easily recognized by the following symptoms:
- The appearance of blurred consciousness along with a decrease in reflexes.
- The appearance in a person of drowsiness, shortness of breath and bradycardia.
- The development of tremors and decreased pressure.
So, if you take Alprazolam as a sleeping pill, you need to be careful.
Contraindications
The medicine has a large number of various contraindications. These pills are prohibited in the following diseases and conditions:
- Against the backdrop of a coma.
- With myasthenia gravis and angle-closure glaucoma.
- In the presence of severe depression.
- Against the background of poisoning with alcohol.
- The presence of respiratory diseases.
- Patients under the age of eighteen.
- The presence of an allergic reaction to the drug.
Analogs of Alprazolam
These tablets can always be replaced with some other option with the same composition and hypnotic effect. Among the analogues of Alprazolam, preparations in the form of Alzolam, Zolomax, Neurol and Helex are very popular. The doctor should pick them up.
Alcohol interaction
Combining Alprazolam and alcohol is strictly forbidden, since this drug enhances the effect on the body of alcoholic beverages. In the event that a person drinks alcohol during treatment with this drug, this can lead to sharp changes in blood pressure. Moreover, in some cases, the appearance of a stroke was observed.
Some people with the simultaneous use of this drug with alcohol have reported chills. In addition, this combination can lead to vomiting or dizziness. With the simultaneous use of alcohol with this drug, blood coagulation is impaired in people, which leads to hemorrhages and bleeding. Incorrect treatment can lead to depression of the nervous system.
Reviews on Alprazolam are presented below.
Reviews
Reviews about this drug are different. Specialists who are engaged in psychiatric and narcological practices use this drug quite widely. Doctors of a different profile, these tablets are prescribed less often.
Judging by the reviews, patients especially do not favor this drug and explain this attitude with a lot of undesirable reactions that occur while taking it. In addition, complaints related to withdrawal syndrome are very common.
It is noted that even with the observance of dosages, one or another adverse reaction is often observed. There are comments in which it is reported that at first the drug helps to cope with a difficult mental state, but at the end of treatment it is very difficult to wean the body from it.