I Have Anxious Toes

Disclaimer: Before taking any prescription medication other than exactly as prescribed, you should ALWAYS consult your physicians. 

I have a confession; I always have a prescription bottle of 0.5 mg alprazolam (generic Xanax) in my medicine cabinet. It's used to treat anxiety and panic disorders and belongs to a class of medications called benzodiazepines which act on the brain and nerves (central nervous system) to produce a calming effect. It was first prescribed by my diagnosing neurologist, Dr. Zonis when my step-son Mark died suddenly in 2009. I took half of a 0.5 mg tablet a couple of times a day for a few weeks. 

Over the years since then, I sometimes take half a tablet if I am feeling anxious or stressed. If I have to drive to Phoenix, Arizona, I will take half a tablet to help me cope with the heavy traffic. I take a half when I venture into Mexico to see my dentist.

I do the same if I have to fly somewhere. Trying to get through the airport, dealing with luggage, security screening, retrieving e-tickets on my smartphone and delayed flights are very stressful. Once I'm on the plane, I'm fine. 

My Movement Disorder Specialist and my primary care physician are both okay with this minimal usage and either will happily write me a new prescription when needed. A bottle of thirty 0.5 mg tablets may last me two years. I don't get high, or sleepy, I just feel calmer. 

Now, about my anxious toes. For months, I've had a problem with the three middle toes on my right foot wanting to curl under. Not only is it extremely painful when walking but it also irritates the nails on those particular toes. 

Sometimes, I can walk on my tip-toes and trick them into straightening out but that doesn't always work. On those occasions, I just hobble along on my right heel until I can find a place to sit. It's very aggravating, to say the least.  

It's January 2020, and Wonderful Husband & I are invited to a two-day Parkinson's event in Phoenix. I take half a tablet and I drive to the event hotel. The next morning, I take another half because I will be driving back home later that afternoon. The following morning, I take another half because I will be taking a visiting friend across the border into Mexico. It's not the dentist that bothers me, it's the uneven walkways and the constant hawkers trying to sell me stuff that makes me anxious (the teenage looking soldiers with assault rifles are a bit unnerving too.)

Later that day, I realized that my toes didn't curl when I was in Phoenix for two days and they didn't curl the Mexico day either. Hmm, interesting. 

I contacted my Movement Disorder Specialist to see if this was possible or if it was a placebo effect thing. She said Xanax can have a muscle-relaxing effect in your brain. She advised me to continue taking it for a week and then stop for a week and let her know the results.

I took half a tablet every morning for the next four days. No curling toes! I stopped taking it for a week and the curling toes returned. I started taking it again and the toe-curling stopped again. 

I told her about my results. She wasn't surprised and wrote me a new prescription and so far, half a 0.5 mg tablet every morning is working. 

I'm happy and my feet are happy. No more anxious toes. Yippee!

Clicking on the colored words will open a new window and take you to a different story or website.