Imagine falling asleep in your bed at night and never waking up again. For some at the end of their lives, this would be a blessing and a peaceful way to die. For many others -- especially young people today -- it is a tragic end to a young life that could have been avoided.
Xanax Abuse
Xanax is a prescription medication that is often prescribed to treat anxiety and panic attacks, as well as sleeplessness and various other ailments. It is also one of the most widely abused prescription drugs on the market today, with teens and younger adults abusing it at frightening rates! What's worse is that many young adults today mix this drug with other drugs such as heroin, cocaine, alcohol, and others. While the drug is mostly safe when used as directed, it has a nasty side effect of suppressed breathing. This side effect is what most often kills abusers of the drug. While it is possible to overdose on just the Xanax alone, most of the deaths from supressed breathing function is related to mixing it with alcohol and other drugs.
Suppressed Breathing
The suppressed breathing side effect is the real killer with this medication. In low doses, the suppressed breathing can help you to relax -- the main purpose of the drug's use. This suppression is usually very mild, and won't complicate one's health, but when breathing is suppressed too much, the weight of the ribcage is too heavy for the suppressed lungs and the breathing gets shallower and shallower until the individual simply stops breathing completely and slips away.
Because there are no violent convulsions or signs that the breathing is stopping, most overdoses are not discovered until long after the victim has expired. In many cases, those that overdosed and died were sleeping right next to their significant other who had no idea the person was dying right next to them.
How to Avoid Xanax Overdoses
The easiest way to make sure that you do not die in this fashion from a Xanax overdose, is to simply not take Xanax. If you need to take this medication for a legitimate medical reason, consider asking your doctor if there are safer alternatives, and make sure to keep the doses low.
Again, the main reason that people die when taking Xanax is from mixing it with other drugs or alcohol. If you feel that you have taken to much of Xanax or have mixed it with alcohol, treat the situation like a concussion. The worst thing you can do is to lay down and go to sleep. Try and keep yourself awake, or have someone you trust check your breathing regularly. If you do stop breathing, you have a limited amount of time to start breathing again before the heart completely stops, then you have a limited amount of time until the lack of oxygen causes brain damage and death.
Always be careful when using prescription medications.
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