Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults — 19.1% of the population — each year, according to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America. Yet just shy of 37% of those suffering from an anxiety disorder seek or receive treatment, proven clinically effective time and again with advanced medication.
A class of medications called benzodiazepines can treat short-term anxiety. Two such medications are Farmapram and Xanax. Both drugs are prescribed for an array of anxiety disorders.
What Is Farmapram?
Dubbed the “Mexican Xanax,” Farmapram may not be well recognized stateside because it is that country’s brand name of the drug alprazolam, a benzodiazepine (aka “benzo”) used to treat anxiety and panic disorders. Alprazolam is also commonly prescribed to treat off-label conditions, among them insomnia, depression, nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy, and social phobia.
Benzodiazepines For Anxiety
Anxiety disorders often involve excessive worrying, panic attacks, and even physical symptoms such as sweating and a rapid heart rate. Benzodiazepines like Farmapram pills are commonly prescribed to counteract these symptoms of anxiety and panic disorders because they tell your brain to release GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric acid, a neurotransmitter that makes the nervous system less active.
Because “benzos” are essentially tranquilizers, they cause the following effects:
- Memory disruption: Benzodiazepines can lead to anterograde amnesia, in which the formation of new memories is temporarily blocked.
- Anxiety reduction: Benzodiazepines are “anxiolytic” because they essentially loosen anxiety’s grip on your body.
- Sleep-inducing: Benzos fight the insomniac symptoms of anxiety and make you sleepy.
- Nervous system calming: These drugs have a soothing, sedative effect on the nervous system, helping to reduce agitation.
What Are the Most Popular Benzodiazepines?
Apart from Farmapram, marketed in Mexico, and Xanax in the U.S., other well-known benzodiazepines include:
- Diazepam: Known best by as Valium, diazepam is FDA-approved to help manage anxiety disorders and treat alcohol withdrawals as well as seizures and muscle spasms.
- Lorazepam: Under the brand name Ativan, it’s used to treat everything from anxiety caused by depression and phobias to seizures, plus chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting, and as a surgical anesthetic.
- Clonazepam: Also known as Klonopin, clonazepam is like Xanax in that it’s effective in acutely treating panic disorders, agitation, and anxiety.
Is Farmapram Xanax?
We’ve all been prescribed medicine and been given a choice when we get to the pharmacy counter: brand-name or generic? They both share the same active ingredient, but they may differ in other ways — like in color or flavor — that don’t affect the drug’s efficacy.
Farmapram and Xanax are not quite the same. You might opt for the generic version of medication because it’s cheaper on your insurance and out-of-pocket costs, but it is still FDA-regulated and approved for sale. While Farmapram may share the same active ingredient as Xanax to treat anxiety and panic disorders, proceed with caution if you’re thinking of purchasing some. Farmapram is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — its ingredients may be dangerous or unevenly dosed, and the batch you receive (whether buying it online or bringing it back from Mexico) may potentially be counterfeit or sourced from a disreputable or illegal pharmacy.
As Xanax, alprazolam tablets are sized according to dosage. Smaller tablets start at 0.25 mg, and larger tablet bars (typically printed with the name Xanax) carry a 2 mg dosage that is designed to be easily divided into smaller portions. However, Farmapram bars may not be labeled at all, incorrectly dosed, or contain questionable ingredients you may be unaware of. Thus, users may experience unknown side effects from Mexican Xanax.
Are Farmapram and Xanax Addictive?
Though FDA-regulated benzodiazepines are safe when used as prescribed, there is the risk of addiction with chronic, long-term use.
“Because benzodiazepines are controlled substances with abuse potential, special attention must be directed toward (a) patient’s addiction history before these agents are prescribed,” notes the AAFP.
In the AAFP report, “Addiction: Part I. Benzodiazepines — Side Effects, Abuse Risk and Alternatives,” those prone to substance abuse may seek out benzodiazepines (whether Farmapram, Xanax, or other versions) in search of “emotional anesthesia” — an effect sought by drug addicts who have grown increasingly incapable of handling life’s emotions and stressors.
Overdose on benzodiazepines is rare, but one’s risk increases when mixing it with other substances, especially alcohol.
Signs of Farmapram or Xanax Addiction
Signs of a Farmapram addiction may not be readily evident.
“Taking too much and running out of your prescription, being overly focused on when you can take the next one and feeling you can’t live without it could be signs that you’re developing a benzodiazepine use disorder,” notes a WebMD study.
Signs of a chronic Farmapram or benzodiazepine addiction manifest more subtly in others and may include changes in a person’s appearance or new behaviors that can impact interpersonal relationships or performance at work or school. Visible symptoms may include anxiety (the problem the drug is meant to treat), insomnia, loss of appetite, headaches, and weakness.
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Benzodiazepine Withdrawal
A troubling aspect of Farmapram addiction is the potential for growing dependent on the drug and experiencing tangible, severe withdrawal symptoms.
Signs and Symptoms of Benzo Withdrawal
Short-term benzo withdrawal, notes the AAFP, shows primarily as anxiety symptoms in addition to increased heart rate, insomnia, and sensory hypersensitivity. Seizures and delirium, while less common, are other more acute symptoms that tend to occur if someone tries to quit using Farmapram, Xanax, or other benzodiazepines abruptly.
Prolonged withdrawal symptoms over several months, like continued anxiety and insomnia, in tandem with depression, have been observed in people who have curbed or ceased their benzo usage after developing a dependency on them.
Benzo Addiction Treatment Programs
If someone you care about develops an addiction to Farmapram, you can see them through to recovery and sober living with several effective treatment options.
Psychotherapy for Benzo Addiction
A core component of addiction treatment, psychotherapy helps people understand the root causes of their addictions to develop better, healthier coping mechanisms. The American Psychological Association maintains that psychotherapy not only remains effective for treating a variety of mental and behavioral health issues, but its effects are more significant than those from many other treatments.
For Farmapram addiction, a dual diagnosis may be likely to treat both anxiety and the addiction to the benzodiazepines initially used to treat it.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Benzo Addiction
Cognitive-behavioral therapy for Farmapram addiction is designed to help individuals recognize harmful behaviors, thoughts, and emotional patterns related to their drug use and teaches them actionable strategies for managing cravings, identifying triggers, and letting go of the belief that one needs a drug to function.
At Elevare Behavioral Health, CBT follows three phases, including a functional analysis, behavior identification, and relapse prevention. Changing negative thoughts and adopting new, positive outlooks via CBT is integral to finding and harnessing your sobriety.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Benzo Addiction
Another invaluable therapeutic modality is dialectical behavior therapy. DBT focuses on mindfulness, emotional regulation, and distress tolerance — skills that can help address the underlying issues that may be fueling a substance use disorder.
Through DBT, addiction-centric components of therapy can help ease discomfort associated with drug withdrawal, decrease urges and cravings, establish new skills in addiction recovery, and address attachment issues, vulnerability, and accepting emotions.
Exposure Therapy for Anxiety
By gradually exposing someone to the stimuli or subtle signs or addictive cues that may trigger their anxiety or urges to abuse a substance, you can confront your craving for a particular drug, understand it, reshape your perspective on it, prevent relapses, and overcome substance abuse without fear or anxiety. This is where exposure therapy for Farmapram addiction can be so helpful alongside CBT, DBT, and other treatment options.
How Long is Benzo Addiction Treatment?
The duration of one’s treatment for Farmapram addiction depends on you as an individual and the nature, severity, length, and circumstances of your problem. Some programs may last just a few weeks, whereas others — such as inpatient residential treatment — may last a few months.
Benzodiazepine Detox
Many people who enter drug addiction treatment may worry that during detox for Farmapram or Xanax addiction, they may experience intense, uncontrollable withdrawal symptoms. This is normal and no cause for concern. Whether inpatient or outpatient, detox is designed to clear the body of a drug as withdrawal symptoms are closely managed under medical supervision.
A period of detox sets the stage for further stages of a personalized treatment plan.
Residential Treatment for Benzo Abuse
Inpatient substance abuse rehabilitation is designed for people with severe addiction or addiction relapses. Residential treatment for benzodiazepine addiction involves living at a non-hospital, licensed residential facility (such as one of Elevare Behavioral Health’s centers) while receiving tailored, intensive therapy — a structured, positive, hopeful environment free from distractions and triggers.
Outpatient Treatment for Benzo Abuse
There are times when inpatient care may not be necessary. You might be transitioning out of a residential program, or the nature of one’s problem doesn’t call for 24/7, in-house care. Here, outpatient rehab is one option that affords you the flexibility to tend to other obligations in your life while you learn to live without drugs. Outpatient treatment for Farmapram or Xanax addiction offers more flexibility since you can continue to live at home and go to work and school but attend therapy sessions regularly.
Aftercare for Benzo Abuse
After completing a formal treatment program for Farmapram or Xanax addiction, look at aftercare like a sobriety maintenance program, where therapy, support groups, check-ins with your therapist, and other resources help you stay on track.
Treating Anxiety Without Medication
Medication for a substance use disorder — especially when one’s addiction is already to a medication like benzodiazepines — isn’t the only option. A significant part of Elevare Behavioral Health’s approach to treating anxiety disorder and benzo addiction is through one of our many holistic, non-pharmacological therapies.
If you believe that you or a loved one is in the early stages of a benzodiazepine addiction, contact us today for help.
- Facts & Statistics | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA
- Alprazolam – StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf
- Diazepam – StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf
- Lorazepam (oral route) – Mayo Clinic
- Clonazepam – StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf
- Research shows psychotherapy is effective but underutilized
- Addiction: Part I. Benzodiazepines—Side Effects, Abuse Risk and Alternatives | AAFP
