# xanax worked for my presentation



## gt1987 (Nov 13, 2006)

yesterday i got a prescription for xanax (generic) ...i pretty much told the nurse i wanted it, and the doctor had the prescription ready before he even talked to me. i figured there would be at least SOME degree of difficulty getting a benzo, lol...

i have had to do 2 presentations this year and the first one ended up with me cackling like a haloween witch, while the other one i simply walked out on. my hopes weren't too high for the .5mg dose so i took 2 about an hour before.

well i was pretty disappointed while i was standing up there because my heart was beating out of my chest like it usually does, but miracuously i could speak perfectly-no cracking or trembling whatsoever. i was sure i wasnt going to make it through before i started but ended up doing great and getting an A+.

i have another tomorow so im gonna take 1.5-2 mg for that one. Xanax is a miracle drug


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## sprinter (Nov 22, 2003)

Maybe it would have worked better if you took it a little sooner so it had more time to kick in. Also a lot of people take beta-blockers to prevent the heart palpitations.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Always test the benzo at home to see how you will react to a certain dose first, then you can better choose the appropriate dose for a presentation. Beta blockers might help too.


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## gt1987 (Nov 13, 2006)

is there any OTC or herbal remedies for heart palpitations? i cant go to the doctor before tomorrow so beta blockers aren't an option. will a higher dosage of xanax have any effect?


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

a higher dose of xanax should do the trick


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## gt1987 (Nov 13, 2006)

had to do another presentation today, took 2 mg of xanax for this one and it went even better than the first. now that its all done i cant believe i had sch high anxiety over a 5 minute presentation..i feel sorry for those who have trouble getting prescribed benzos


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## AlekParker (Oct 31, 2006)

Wait a sec isn't 2 mg a lot of xanax?? I take .25 mg before anxiety situations but don't really feel much. Maybe I'm not taking enough of it? 

Anyone know how much you can take in a day? Also, sometimes i take it then go out later and drink. It usually makes me feel a buzz faster. Do you think this is OK?

Also, does anyone also experience dilated pupils taking Xanax? I took it the other day and this girl i was with pointed them out. I told her that it was just because the room lights were dim lol.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

.25mgs of xanax is a really really small dose. Thats .125 of klonopin. I take 1mg at a time of klonopin so, others take more.


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## AlekParker (Oct 31, 2006)

Dayyum. So you take 1 mg at a time, how many times a day? Or is this just in anxiety situations? Maybe i will up a dose. Thanks a lot, i've been taking xanax (the version that melts in ur mouth and tastes good lol) acutely, but it hasn't helped as much as i wanted. I should def up my dose. Thanks man. Any other recommendations are totally appreciated!


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

AlekParker said:


> Dayyum. So you take 1 mg at a time, how many times a day? Or is this just in anxiety situations? Maybe i will up a dose. Thanks a lot, i've been taking xanax (the version that melts in ur mouth and tastes good lol) acutely, but it hasn't helped as much as i wanted. I should def up my dose. Thanks man. Any other recommendations are totally appreciated!


I take anywhere between 1-3mgs once a day if needed(anxiety situations)


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

AlekParker said:


> Wait a sec isn't 2 mg a lot of xanax??


Well, it's more than most patients take in a single dose. Xanax comes in tablets of 0.25, 0.5, 1 & 2 mg. Since 2 mg tablets exist, this should prove that somebody actually takes that much at once -- that's the size I take. My psychiatrist is OK with me taking 4 mg at once if needed.



AlekParker said:


> Anyone know how much you can take in a day?


The recommended max for anxiety is 4 mg a day; 10 mg a day for panic disorder.



AlekParker said:


> Also, does anyone also experience dilated pupils taking Xanax?


I've never noticed that and I seem to be the top consumer of Xanax on this board. I've never heard of that as being a benzo side effect. It probably was just that dim light as you said.


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## Rob (Sep 25, 2005)

gt1987 said:


> yesterday i got a prescription for xanax (generic) ...i pretty much told the nurse i wanted it, and the doctor had the prescription ready before he even talked to me. i figured there would be at least SOME degree of difficulty getting a benzo, lol...
> 
> i have had to do 2 presentations this year and the first one ended up with me cackling like a haloween witch, while the other one i simply walked out on. my hopes weren't too high for the .5mg dose so i took 2 about an hour before.
> 
> ...


This will sound gay but i wanted to cry when i read this.
I walked out on a presentation last week cause I was pre-panic attack and it would have reached threshold has i not. Its an AWFUl experience.

Ive tried beta blockers and paxil and they barely help. Since i have a speech class next semester ive been asking my docs for xanax and they wont give it to me. So youve made me decide to call another doc tommorow. The thing that gets me worse is shaking, trembling and i twitch to, my face does at least, i HATE it. Heart race, red face, palpitations, voice cracks, lips tremble, anything you could imagine happens.

Any other specs about exactly how bad you were and how much xanax really helped would be appreciated it a lot, xanax is my last chance before i might have to do something dumb, like drop out lol


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Xanax can only help so much. I dont even think with benzos I could do a presentation.


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## Rob (Sep 25, 2005)

Noca said:


> Xanax can only help so much. I dont even think with benzos I could do a presentation.


Really?
Does it incompacitate performance?

I understand knowing what to say makes a big deal, but for me its all about the panic attack. Ive tried everything (well not everything) to prevent my body from going into that state, nothing has worked.
I understand a pill is a pill, and Ive actually have self medicated with a low dose of opiates before a presentation, and although it kinda kept my heart rate lower and slighty eased the shaking, it was like having a panic attack in your sleep.

People may not understand when I say this feels like the end of the world, and Ive been through sh** in my life that would make people crap thier pants, but for some weird reason im more afraid of how i feel in that situation than any amount of pain ive ever been through in my life, so im kinda in a hurry to figure something out in the next 2 months before this critical discourse speech class begins. I hope it does something at least.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Rob said:


> Noca said:
> 
> 
> > Xanax can only help so much. I dont even think with benzos I could do a presentation.
> ...


I meant I couldnt do presentations even with the help of benzos


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## Rob (Sep 25, 2005)

Noca said:


> Rob said:
> 
> 
> > Noca said:
> ...


WOW. Im sorry, I know EXACTLY what it feels like. This issue can easily ruin my life, because I plan on taking my education into grad school, and if i have to suffer for the rest of my life over this (by dropping out) I will freak out, and I have a 3.5 gpa too. Makes no sense.
I can deal with 99.9% of things life throws my way, presentations are that .1% i cant. But i will do everything in my power to overcome this, and hopefully you will do the same. Good luck!!


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## gt1987 (Nov 13, 2006)

These two presentations were all i thought about for 3 months...Id wake up with a burning in my stomach and feel like the world was over. When i was on Xanax i actually wanted to do the presentations ...had i not of taken it i probably would have started crying or just not showed up for my presentation. Nothing else worked for me, and i was planning on getting drunk before. i don't have any anxiety about my upcoming speech class because i know i can keep my panic attacks under control with xanax. i highly recommend you get some


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## kelly.canada (Nov 20, 2006)

Rob - I take Lorazepam and a Beta Blocker for presentations. They work wonders for me. Before Lorazepam, I could usually do presentations fine - I would get a normal-amount of nervous beforehand, and for the first bit of the presentation, I would appear nervous. In other words - presentations do not bother me TOOOO much (it's class participation that makes me nervous). Therefore, for me - someone who is OK with presentations, but hates feeling nervous and wants to do them perfectly - they have really REALLY helped me feel very calm and confident.


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## Lilangel27 (Oct 6, 2006)

How does everyone else go about geting Xanax? I went to my psychiatrist, and didn't out right ask for anything. She prescribed me lexapro, and since have pushed the dosage up 2 times. It's at 20mg now, although I read that taking 1 SSRI usually don't help with anxiety? Can I expect her to prescribe something else later dwn the road after we know how my body reacts to Lexapro over time?

I really would like a benzo as well, although not exactly sure how to ask for it....I have anxiety when i'm talking to her (which I can see as being good, therefore she can see it for herself....), so I don't feel like i would out right ask for it.....But a benzo would e GREAT to take before I go to an appt......or presentation, or anything of the sort.


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## Zephyr (Nov 8, 2003)

> i figured there would be at least SOME degree of difficulty getting a benzo, lol...


Um, typically there is. You're lucky, because a lot of doctors won't even prescribe benzos. I always had to do my presentations medication-free. They were hell.


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## guitarik (Apr 18, 2006)

Your lucky you get them,I don't know how many times I've heard the phrase, The pills won't give you the skills.


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## salty (Mar 21, 2006)

on a related note, klonopin worked really well for a presentation i had to give yesterday. it was a group presentation and we each had to speak around 10-15 minutes. at first i took two 1mg pills about an hour and a half before the class, and then a third under the tongue about 45 minutes before.

it worked really well and i wasn't nervous at all, but after the adrenalin of giving a presentation wore off i was _really_ tired. luckily i didn't have school or work today because i ended up sleeping for like 12 hours and have been tired all day...


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## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

To the OP, that's what I generally use Xanax for and I had to use it before several presentations I had to do for this semester. It kicks it a lot quicker than Klonopin and it's practically out of your system after the presentation. It's not like Klonopin where it makes me drowsy all the whole day to the point where I'm yawning all the time and the teacher thinks I'm really bored. I actually started up klonopin again and I definitely see my aggressiveness rising again.

No. The pills don't make you a better presenter per se, but at least you'll get the nervousness factor reduced or out of the way so that you can concentrate on what you're delivering. At least that's how it works for me.


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## lost in a box (Nov 11, 2003)

> I don't know how many times I've heard the phrase, The pills won't give you the skills.


In many cases with us SAD-ers, we _do_ have the skills, we're just unable to use them because of our anxiety.

i hate to advertise meds, but xanax is what got me through presentations and job interviews. i'm competent in my field (i'm now a university prof). but i doubt i would have got this job without benzos.

and the good thing about it is, after doing several presentations that went well thanks to xanax, now i can sometimes do them without meds. i've built confidence.


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## styler5 (Oct 7, 2006)

Xanax really helped me a lot, but I hate the fact that it lasts so shortly and has no permanant effect. I'm now destined to take it for life and afraid it might interfere with other medications I might have to take when I get older.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

*Re: re: xanax worked for my presentation*



akstylish said:


> Xanax really helped me a lot, but I hate the fact that it lasts so shortly and has no permanant effect. I'm now destined to take it for life and afraid it might interfere with other medications I might have to take when I get older.


Klonopin lasts longer, try that.


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## styler5 (Oct 7, 2006)

*Re: re: xanax worked for my presentation*



Noca said:


> akstylish said:
> 
> 
> > Xanax really helped me a lot, but I hate the fact that it lasts so shortly and has no permanant effect. I'm now destined to take it for life and afraid it might interfere with other medications I might have to take when I get older.
> ...


I thought Xanax and Klonopin were basically the same... :um


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## Jessi222 (May 20, 2009)

Rob said:


> This will sound gay but i wanted to cry when i read this.
> I walked out on a presentation last week cause I was pre-panic attack and it would have reached threshold has i not. Its an AWFUl experience.
> 
> Ive tried beta blockers and paxil and they barely help. Since i have a speech class next semester ive been asking my docs for xanax and they wont give it to me. So youve made me decide to call another doc tommorow. The thing that gets me worse is shaking, trembling and i twitch to, my face does at least, i HATE it. Heart race, red face, palpitations, voice cracks, lips tremble, anything you could imagine happens.
> ...


I have definitely dropped classes due to presentations however then I didn't realize that there was medication for this. I have been prescribed both propanolol and xanax and find they both work wonders. I usually take .5mg of xanax 30 minutes before or a pill of propanolol and they both work great. I had the exact same symptoms as you had and I really felt that if I could stop the shaking voice, twitching, shaking hands I would be fine and I was right. I think the propanolol works well to slow down your heart rate so you don't get the physical symptoms kicking in and the xanax just helps me chill out and I think as a result of being more calm I dont get physical symptoms. Don't get me wrong I still HATE to speak in public and will avoid it if possible but atleast this makes it manageable and possible because before I couldn't even make out a sentence in front of a large audience. Anyways good luck to you, definitely give medication a shot before dropping the class because I wish I had in the past!


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## DontTrustheGov't (Jun 5, 2008)

akstylish said:


> I thought Xanax and Klonopin were basically the same... :um


They are similar in that they are both benzo's. They are members of the same family if you will.

Klonopin takes about 1 hour to work and lasts for a total of 6 hours. Xanax takes about 10-20 minutes and works for about 2-3 hours. Of course the duration of action is somewhat different for everyone but these are the rough numbers of what it was for me.

I took Klonopin 4mg/day and tapered down and now I take .75mg/day Xanax. The Xanax is helping me much more than Klonopin ever did.


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## Harmonic (Jan 29, 2012)

*Suggestion*

Hello all-this is my first post. I have been in pharmaceutical sales for several years and called on multiple physician types (including psychiatrists). For years I didn't know much about anxiety, depression, etc. However, I sought treatment myself after stress from life events really affected me. Also I have battled anxiety for several years; I simply thought it was a problem I had! My anxiety was usually the result of being "on the spot" and/or leading a presentation in a meeting. I experienced many of the symptoms on this board but mostly battled a racing heart and blushing.

The majority of family practice physicians (based on my experience) hear about anxiety and/or depression on a daily basis. They are willing to treat it and recognize the negative impact it has on health if untreated. If you have a legitimate need for anxiety treatment, ask your doctor to treat it. If they tell you it's all in your head, find another doctor or even see a psychiatrist.

Also, I think it helps to have a solid relationship with your primary care physician. Unfortunately, drug seekers cause physicians to be hesitant about prescribing certain medicines. Be honest in your description of symptoms and the impact they have on your life. Yes, certain medicines definitely help under the right circumstances. Finally, know that you are not alone. Anxiety is more common than you might realize! Hope this helps.


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## Donzy (Feb 19, 2012)

*will Xanax help me in quitting my job?*

I have 0.25 xanax with me and I want to take it before sitting with my boss to tell her that I want to quit my job. I know it may sound stupid, but I am really stressed about this meeting as I know that her reaction will be very difficult to handle. She depends on me so much and she will be devastated when she hears the news, and for you to know, the working environment in our company is not very professional, it's more of an intimate climate. That's why i can't do it by email (it would have saved me a lot). This issue has been stressing me out so much the past few weeks, I need to tell her ASAP and I keep on postponing it as I want to avoid facing her, I even have high heart beat rates when i think about it. But it must happen, the sooner the better. Do you think that if I take one xanax pill before sitting with her, will it make me confident and calm and not hesitant to tell her? if yes, is half a 0.25 pill enough? it's my very first time to take it and I am a pretty cautious person when it comes to taking medicines. PLEASE HELP!
Thanks.


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