[wonder.bread11]

My brother was prescribed Xanax about 5 weeks ago. He's now taking 3 1mg xanax each day. He IS nicer&less emotionally overloaded but how is he going to stop the Xanax or does he have to take it the rest of his life in order to be less of a jerk? (Self-absorbed, argumentative, defensive, impulsive...)

[Jai]

You can get addicted, but hopefully it will not be prescibed his whole life. Only he has the power to be less arrigant.

[Matt]

You can get addicted after the first pill.

[blursd2]

Xanax is an anti-anxiety drug, and it is highly addictive. It only takes a couple of regular doses before one's body develops a dependance -- the good thing is it is not like a narcotic where withdrawals can be life threatening. At the very worst he is just going to feel like crap for about a week if he stops taking it, but then he will be normal again.I don't know that Xanax makes one'less of a jerk'but it is a powerful CNS depressant ... if he is taking three one miligram pills everyday he'd probably be content staring at a wall all day (at least initially). It is also common to develop a certain level of tolerance to Xanax, so the more he takes it the more his body will get used to it, and the calming effects will lessen marginally.Xanax is usually prescribed for stress related issues ... not being self absorbed, argumentative, or impulsive. There is a completely different realm of pyschoanalytic drugs to deal with those specific issues.

[lisa450]

Theoretically, it takes one dose for psychological addiction.There are many other ways to produce the same results as Xanax, though--and some of them are not addictive. Get him to complain to his doctor and get an alternative. Withdrawals suck.

[Bogstomper]

Becoming addicted is a myth. I have been taking them for 6 years straight and I am fine. I was going to quit but after a day or so I decided I didn't want to. So I just kept taking them and I have never been happier. That's why you really just have to ask yourself: which came first, the chicken or the egg? A simple 4mg dose isn't sufficient for someone like myself. My needs command the full force of a quality, high-dose suitable only for those who've been hospitalized for lengthy periods of time. A one-week bender usually consists of upwards of nine 10mg tablets. Life is a lot more simple when you're not preoccupied with issues like how much xanax you're taking. Just eat it and get a grip already.