I wish I had a Buspar success story to relate, but it did nothing for my anxiety and panic issues, some of which may have been caused by Prozac I think. I tried taking it for a few months, but it did not help. I had no problems quitting it cold turkey. I then reluctantly tried a few different benzo's - Serax, Klonopin, and finally Xanax XR. Xanax is the only one that seems to work for me - it doesn't make me high or tired, it just controls the anxiety. Klonopin and Serax both made me sleepy and high, which I did not like.

I don't have an addictive personality either, so my pdoc is not worried about me abusing it. However, there is a huge difference between addiction and dependence. I am not addicted to Xanax and do not abuse it, however my body is physically dependent on it. That is, when I lower the dose to a certain point, my body starts to withdrawal, which is very uncomfortable. The issue with lowering the dose to this point is that you can't be sure whether what you're feeling is all the withdrawal symptoms, or if it is also your anxiety condition coming back strong because the meds are not there to control it. My guess is that it is a combination of both, at least for me when I dropped down too low.

My suggestion would be to try to find something in a class other than the benzo's and only go to them as a last resort. I have been on Xanax for over a year now, and I can honestly tell you that my tolerance has not built up - in fact, the dose I'm on know is a fraction of what I was on 9 months ago, and I'm doing fine. At some point I will probably reduce and quit it completely, but right now life is full of anxiety for me, so it allows me to function. Being stressed and anxious all the time is not healthy for you, so it is a trade off. Good luck!