Are you suffering from anxiety or panic attacks? If you have consulted a doctor, you might have been prescribed anti-anxiety medications to control your symptoms. One of the most popular anti-anxiety drugs in America is Xanax, which is also known by its generic name alprazolam. Alprazolam belongs to the benzodiazepine class of drugs. Other popular benzos include Valium (diazepam), Klonopin (clonazepam), and Ativan (lorazepam). These benzos are mostly used to treat anxiety, stress, and sleep problems.
If you are thinking of taking Xanax, you might be wondering about how long it takes before the drug takes effect. Is the effect of Xanax immediate? Or do you have to wait a few days before you can feel its effects?
The Time It Takes For Xanax To Kick In
If you are taking Xanax, it will generally take 15 minutes to an hour for the effects to kick in. Within this time frame, you will start experiencing the effects of the drug. Xanax is absorbed by the body very quickly. Xanax is a relaxant so you should feel a sedative, relaxing effect within one hour of taking it. Most people feel the peak effects within the first hour or two.
How long does Xanax last? Xanax is a short-acting benzo meaning the drug’s effects are very brief, lasting only two to four hours. There may be some residual effects but usually, these effects don’t go over 4 to 5 hours.
However, these approximations are not applicable to everyone. There are many factors that could affect how long alprazolam’s effects can be felt. How a drug affects you will differ depending on your body’s metabolism, age, height, weight, and gender. Your state of health like your kidney and liver function could also factor in. Some people are also more tolerant of some drugs than others. For example, if you have been taking Xanax for some time, how the drug will affect you now may differ from the very first time you took the drug.
What If I Can’t Feel The Effects Of Xanax?
You’ve taken your Xanax dose but you’re not feeling any effects even after a couple of hours. Is there something wrong with you? Or is there something wrong with the drug? These are just some of the questions you may be asking if you don’t feel anything after taking the drug.
There are different possibilities why you’re not feeling alprazolam’s effects:
Drug tolerance
If you take a drug regularly, you could develop a tolerance for it. Being tolerant means your body is no longer getting the desired effect like before so you may need to increase your dose to get the same effect. Before you increase your dose, consult your doctor about the problem. Do not self-medicate. Increasing your dose without the supervision of a medical professional could lead to drug addiction.
Incorrect Dose
Another reason why you’re not feeling the effects of alprazolam may be because you are not taking the correct dose as advised by the doctor. Are you taking less than what was prescribed or worse, maybe you went over the correct dose and your body developed tolerance? Again, the best course of action is to consult with your doctor.
Fake Xanax
Another reason why you may not be feeling the usual effects of Xanax is that you may be taking a counterfeit version of the drug. Where did you get the pills you are taking? If you did not get it from a legitimate pharmacy, the drug that you may have bought could be fake. This is often the case with people who are taking Xanax recreationally and do not have a prescription for the drug.
The presence of counterfeit drugs is becoming an increasing problem in the United States. With the rise of prescription drug abuse, it has become harder to get legitimate prescriptions of commonly abused meds including opioids and benzodiazepines. Even if you’re suffering from an anxiety disorder, your doctor may still be cautious about prescribing you Xanax. Instead, doctors may prescribe other drugs that are less addictive and habit-forming.
Because of the difficulty to get Xanax prescriptions, many people who are struggling with Xanax addiction turn to illegal means to acquire the drug. Some people try to buy alprazolam from the streets or from social media. The problem with these drugs is that since they are being sold illegally, there is really no guarantee that they are indeed the real thing.
In many news reports, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has issued warnings about the presence of counterfeit drugs in several states. Xanax is one of the drugs that is often counterfeited. According to the DEA, these fake Xanax pills are often laced with synthetic opioids called fentanyl. Fentanyl is a very potent opioid and even just two milligrams of this substance could cause a drug overdose.
Xanax is a highly addictive drug. Before you take this drug, consult with a doctor first. If you or a loved one is struggling with Xanax abuse, help is available.
Contact Morningside Recovery today.