Nursing Teaching on How to take Alprazolam

Nurse educated the patient and caregiver on how to take Alprazolam as follows:

  1. Take the medication dose at the same time every day, for the duration prescribed. This can help with maintaining the required therapeutic concentration of medication in the blood and maintain compliance with intake of medication.
  2. Maintain strict compliance with intake of the medication as ordered, with regards to dosage and frequency, to derive the benefit of the medication.
  3. Do not change the dose on this medication without consulting your doctor.
  4. Alprazolam can induce some nausea and vomiting, when taken on empty stomach. Taking the medication with a glass of water and some food or snack can help avoid these unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms.
  5. Take the regular tablet as a whole with a glass of water. If you encounter difficulty swallowing the whole regular tablet, check with your doctor if you may cut the pill and swallow it in pieces with a glass of water. Usually tablets that can be cut bear a scoreline, displaying the line of cut. Check if your tablet has any. For individuals with swallowing difficulties, other preparations of medication could also be available to help an easy intake. Check with your physician on the same.
  6. If you are prescribed Alprazolam extended-release tablet, swallow the tablet as a whole and do not cut or crush the pill. Cutting or crushing the extended-release tablet can result in rapid absorption of the drug into the blood stream, thus resulting in toxicity and compromised therapeutic effects.
  7. Alprazolam could also be prescribed as an orally disintegrating tablet. This orally disintegrating tablet must not be swallowed as a whole or chewed upon. Allow this tablet to dissolve in your mouth and swallow the dissolved tablet completely using some water.
  8. When taking Alprazolam as an oral syrup/suspension, use a measuring spoon/cup/dropper to measure the correct dose being taken, in order to avoid risk for over/under dosing. This oral suspension can be concentrated and likely to precipitate unpleasant nausea and vomiting sensations. Mixing the liquid medication into a salad or snack and consuming it after gentle stirring for a few seconds can help avoid the unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms.
  9. Alprazolam can induce dizziness and make one drowsy. Starting the medication at a low dose and gradually increasing the dose, to help optimum control of your symptoms yet minimizing the side-effects, can help to reduce the risk for drowsiness and dizziness due to the medication. If the unpleasant side-effects becomes bothersome, report them to your physician and other health care personnel, for any change in plan of care to be considered.
  10. Do not take alprazolam with alcohol. Both alcohol and alprazolam cause dizziness and depress the respirations. When taken together, their side-effects on respirations and dizziness can get added up. This can result in compromised safety, lead to severe respiratory depression, and can even be fatal.
  11. Alprazolam can take some time, about 2 – 3 weeks, to fairly adjust to your body, before any relief with your complaints and easing of side-effects is experienced. So, do not discontinue taking the medication without your physician’s consult, as you failed to see the desired result immediately after taking the medication.
  12. Continue taking Alprazolam as ordered, even if you experience relief from the symptoms of anxiety, muscle pain and spasms, seizures, and insomnia, depending on the reason for which it is prescribed. Discontinuing the medication abruptly can result in exacerbation of anxiety episodes, precipitation of seizures, muscle spasms and unpleasant withdrawal symptoms of insomnia and hallucinations. Discontinuing the medication should be gradual and only as recommended by your physician.
  13. Individuals develop tolerance to the dose of Alprazolam with diminished therapeutic response over time. Report to your physician regarding any blunting of therapeutic response, with reverting of anxiety episodes, seizures, muscle cramps, nervousness, irritability, restlessness and insomnia. Your physician could consider a change in the plan of care to provide the desired therapeutic relief.
  14. Your physician could change the dose of Alprazolam, based on the response you show. So, maintain compliance with follow-up physician appointments and be accommodative to the plan of dose changes, until you show an optimum response.
  15. Notify your doctor of any unresolving anxiety, muscle spasms, worsening muscle pain and discomfort, episodes of seizures, insomnia, excessive dizziness, or other continuing unpleasant side-effects, so that, your dosage on the medication could be revised.
  16. If you miss a dose, try taking it at the earliest notice of noncompliance. If it is time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and take the dose scheduled. Do not take an extra dose to try making up for the missed dose, to avoid toxicity with Alprazolam. Notify your doctor and other health care personnel regarding your dose noncompliance.