Social Anxiety Support

Nocturnal85 · 11-20-2009, 09:44 PM

Decided to post some background info to introduce myself and kind of show you all the situation I'm in. If you don't want to read my life story you can just go to the bottom and see the question.

I did a quick search but didn't find anything on taking nootropics with xanax togethor.

I have had social anxiety for a long time, I started to notice pronounced anxiety my freshmen year of high school and it became progressively worse.

I grew up working in small businesses with my father and have always enjoyed working in that kind of environment. He is one of my inspirations for pursuing a degree in Accounting. I knew that communication skills would be important in this profession because you must be able to give advice to clients/managers/decision makers/etc...

While in high school I tried to put myself in uncomfortable situations to "face my fear" as they would say thinking that I would eventually come more comfortable but I did not have much success with that.

I am a Junior this year and I have several classes(marketing/business communication/business law classes) that require me to give presentations. I've done 10 presentations this semester so far including all classes). Before my junior year I only had like... 1 class that I ever had to give a presentation in.

I gave my first presentation this fall and had horrible anxiety symptoms but managed to get through it. I consider myself fairly intelligent and I do well on tests and written communication and well.... basically anything that doesn't have to be expressed orally. I have horrible heart palpitations, my mouth gets dry, and I literally feel like the weight of the world is crashing down on my shoulders. Sometimes I have to completely stop talking during the presentation due to the palpitations.

So I finally got up the nerve to go and see my doc who was very understanding. At first I was prescribed to take .25mg of xanax twice a day. I didn't feel much effect from my .25mg morning dose before class so he at my next visit to the doctor he increased the dosage up to .5mg twice a day if needed.

I find that with only .5mg I am free of anxiety for most of my classes. In my accounting class while on the xanax I was comfortable volunteering to go up to the board to show how I answered a problem on our homework or tests. I would not even have the guts to do this before taking xanax. I now volunteer to answer questions from the professor every day in class and I am eager to attend most classes.

When it was time for the second presentation I used .5mg xanax but still had the heart palpitations and there was still significant anxiety.

I called my doctor and we agreed that I should try using a beta-blocker to control the heart palpitations so he gave me a large supply of 40mg Propranolol pills that I only take on days that I present. I now take 40mg of Propranolol before presentations and the heart palpitations are not present.

Lately for my presentations I have tried 1.5mg and 2mg of xanax. I find that any less than 1.5mg and there is still enough anxiety to effect the presentation. but with 1.5 or 2mg there is no palpitations, no anxiety at all really, but at these dosages there are points during my presentation where my mind seems to go blank and it takes me like 10 seconds to start speaking again because I have to recall where I left off in the presentation. I have never experienced this symptom before using 1.5mg xanax so that's when I decided to try 1mg but I still had the symptom at this dosage as well.

Just yesterday I stumbled across nootropics and I see that they can improve cognitive function. I have yet to do much research, but I thought it would be a good start to post here and introduce myself and hopefully receive some advice on this question to guide my research. From the brief research I have done, I see that many of the nootropics have anxiolytic and sedative effects when used.

Is there a nootropic that you guys would recommend to help with the cognitive side effects of xanax?

I have seen some positive testimonies on nootropics but I really have no idea about the compatibility of benzos and nootropics. I obviously don't want to come too sedated or potentiate any of the negative side effects of the xanax.

Sorry if this is a stupid question or something I should be able to figure out with common sense.

Hope this post was coherent as I am tired as hell it's 1 A.M. and been a rough week for me. I appreciate any advice. Thanks.

P.S. my xanax regimine right now is around 3 days a week, only .5mg on days without oral presentations and 1.5 or 2mg on the shuttle ride to classes I have to give an oral presentation in.

Nocturnal85 · 11-21-2009, 01:03 PM

Well I'm going to start with ginkgo biloba extract. I'm thinking 200mg daily, and on presentation days I will dose 2.5 hours before my presentation.

Ginkgo Biloba trees can live up to 1,000 years!

May also pick up some DMAE they should have both products I need at my local vitamin world.

I'll keep you updated.

11-20-2009, 09:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
Nocturnal85 Status: SAS Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: North Carolina Gender: Male Posts: 18	Nootropic with Xanax? Decided to post some background info to introduce myself and kind of show you all the situation I'm in. If you don't want to read my life story you can just go to the bottom and see the question. I did a quick search but didn't find anything on taking nootropics with xanax togethor. I have had social anxiety for a long time, I started to notice pronounced anxiety my freshmen year of high school and it became progressively worse. I grew up working in small businesses with my father and have always enjoyed working in that kind of environment. He is one of my inspirations for pursuing a degree in Accounting. I knew that communication skills would be important in this profession because you must be able to give advice to clients/managers/decision makers/etc... While in high school I tried to put myself in uncomfortable situations to "face my fear" as they would say thinking that I would eventually come more comfortable but I did not have much success with that. I am a Junior this year and I have several classes(marketing/business communication/business law classes) that require me to give presentations. I've done 10 presentations this semester so far including all classes). Before my junior year I only had like... 1 class that I ever had to give a presentation in. I gave my first presentation this fall and had horrible anxiety symptoms but managed to get through it. I consider myself fairly intelligent and I do well on tests and written communication and well.... basically anything that doesn't have to be expressed orally. I have horrible heart palpitations, my mouth gets dry, and I literally feel like the weight of the world is crashing down on my shoulders. Sometimes I have to completely stop talking during the presentation due to the palpitations. So I finally got up the nerve to go and see my doc who was very understanding. At first I was prescribed to take .25mg of xanax twice a day. I didn't feel much effect from my .25mg morning dose before class so he at my next visit to the doctor he increased the dosage up to .5mg twice a day if needed. I find that with only .5mg I am free of anxiety for most of my classes. In my accounting class while on the xanax I was comfortable volunteering to go up to the board to show how I answered a problem on our homework or tests. I would not even have the guts to do this before taking xanax. I now volunteer to answer questions from the professor every day in class and I am eager to attend most classes. When it was time for the second presentation I used .5mg xanax but still had the heart palpitations and there was still significant anxiety. I called my doctor and we agreed that I should try using a beta-blocker to control the heart palpitations so he gave me a large supply of 40mg Propranolol pills that I only take on days that I present. I now take 40mg of Propranolol before presentations and the heart palpitations are not present. Lately for my presentations I have tried 1.5mg and 2mg of xanax. I find that any less than 1.5mg and there is still enough anxiety to effect the presentation. but with 1.5 or 2mg there is no palpitations, no anxiety at all really, but at these dosages there are points during my presentation where my mind seems to go blank and it takes me like 10 seconds to start speaking again because I have to recall where I left off in the presentation. I have never experienced this symptom before using 1.5mg xanax so that's when I decided to try 1mg but I still had the symptom at this dosage as well. Just yesterday I stumbled across nootropics and I see that they can improve cognitive function. I have yet to do much research, but I thought it would be a good start to post here and introduce myself and hopefully receive some advice on this question to guide my research. From the brief research I have done, I see that many of the nootropics have anxiolytic and sedative effects when used. Is there a nootropic that you guys would recommend to help with the cognitive side effects of xanax? I have seen some positive testimonies on nootropics but I really have no idea about the compatibility of benzos and nootropics. I obviously don't want to come too sedated or potentiate any of the negative side effects of the xanax. Sorry if this is a stupid question or something I should be able to figure out with common sense. Hope this post was coherent as I am tired as hell it's 1 A.M. and been a rough week for me. I appreciate any advice. Thanks. P.S. my xanax regimine right now is around 3 days a week, only .5mg on days without oral presentations and 1.5 or 2mg on the shuttle ride to classes I have to give an oral presentation in.

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11-21-2009, 01:03 PM	#2 (permalink)
Nocturnal85 Status: SAS Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: North Carolina Gender: Male Posts: 18	Well I'm going to start with ginkgo biloba extract. I'm thinking 200mg daily, and on presentation days I will dose 2.5 hours before my presentation. Ginkgo Biloba trees can live up to 1,000 years! May also pick up some DMAE they should have both products I need at my local vitamin world. I'll keep you updated.