Alexandra, a 27-year-old female, outgoing and active by nature, formerly a nursing student, now working as a secretary

Feeling out of control
"I just felt real dizzy, my vision was real blurred, and I couldn't catch my breath. And basically [I] didn't know what was going on with me."

Photo does not depict an actual XANAX XR patient.

"Well, I was a very outgoing person. I was very fun. I mean, I did everything. I wasn't afraid of anything. I traveled, I knew how to play hard and have fun, and really was fearless. I mean, I wasn't afraid to try anything—at least once.

Well, I just felt kind of unreal and not in control. My biggest fear was passing out while driving. I just felt real dizzy, my vision was real blurred, and I couldn't catch my breath. I basically didn't know what was going on with me.

I had just had my wisdom teeth out; it was three days later, and I was driving back to Arlington in a car. I started feeling kind of funny at first, and then I felt like I was going to pass out. My heart was racing, and I thought, 'something's happening.' I really thought it was related to getting my teeth out. I thought, 'maybe I tried to drive too soon.' I made it back to a friend's house and called for help from there."

How my life changed
"My life changed substantially in that I went from a carefree, outgoing, fearless person to one that was afraid of everything."

"I was afraid to do anything at that point. I was afraid to go out—I was afraid to stay in. I was afraid to ride in a car. But my biggest fear was being alone. My life changed substantially in that I went from a carefree, outgoing, fearless person to one that was afraid of everything."

Searching for a physical cause
"I would have been so happy if they had found a [physical condition], because there would have been a [physical] cause."

"I did get an appointment with my internist, and they checked everything out as far as my thyroid and EKG. Everything came out normal. And that bothered me a little bit because I felt, it can't be normal—something's wrong with me. I went to a lot of specialists— cardiologist, endocrinologist—to keep ruling out anything physical, because I wasn't convinced even then that there wasn't. Maybe I had a [physical condition], and they just couldn't find it—and maybe that had caused it. I would have been so happy if they had found a [physical condition], because there would have been a [physical] cause.

The doctors that I went to—as far as the internist and the cardiologist and the medical doctors—they would just give me various diagnoses of anxiety and would never find anything physically wrong with me. Most of them seemed to treat it like it was stress-related-that I just needed to get a grip on things."

Note: Individual results may vary.

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