[Claritytoo]

I take 1.5 mg of xanax per day for the last seven years. Now someone told me I shouldn't be taking it for that long. But I am fearful my panic attacks will return is I stop taking it.

[Luce]

Can you talk to your Dr about it when you next see him or her?

[finding_my_way]

there is the potential that you could be dependent on it. i used to take ativan up to 1 or 2 mg a day for quite a few years. even when i wasn't having a panic attack/anxiety, if i didn't have it with me, it would create anxiety because i was so used to having it.

my panic attacks/anxiety were very severe, so even if i took the ativan, it didn't always help, but i still took it because i figured that was what it was for.

years later when thankfully daily panic attacks/anxiety lessened, i was able to go for days, weeks, and then months without taking it. i learned that sometimes, a lower dose works better than a higher dose or i risk getting 'high' from it which causes its own anxiety cuz i hate the feeling...but it's hard to know what dose is ok since my body doesn't need the same each time and i can't figure that out... i also started to realize that if i take it more than 2 or 3 days in a row, when it starts coming out of my system, there is yet another type of anxiety for some reason.

so even though i do take it now, i limit the number of days in a row i take it because i don't want to build a tolerance to it or become dependent on it. i also use it only for severe panic attacks/anxiety and have had to work on other skills to get through them and base if i take the ativan on a few things (how long the panic/anxiety lasts, if i have chest pain associated to it, if it comes and goes for hours/days, etc.)

if you are worried about being on it, you could try to wean yourself off of the xanax (with your doctor's permission) slowly and see how things go and still keep some for if it becomes difficult again to see how you do.

[Claritytoo]

Originally Posted by finding_my_way

there is the potential that you could be dependent on it. i used to take ativan up to 1 or 2 mg a day for quite a few years. even when i wasn't having a panic attack/anxiety, if i didn't have it with me, it would create anxiety because i was so used to having it.

my panic attacks/anxiety were very severe, so even if i took the ativan, it didn't always help, but i still took it because i figured that was what it was for.

years later when thankfully daily panic attacks/anxiety lessened, i was able to go for days, weeks, and then months without taking it. i learned that sometimes, a lower dose works better than a higher dose or i risk getting 'high' from it which causes its own anxiety cuz i hate the feeling...but it's hard to know what dose is ok since my body doesn't need the same each time and i can't figure that out... i also started to realize that if i take it more than 2 or 3 days in a row, when it starts coming out of my system, there is yet another type of anxiety for some reason.

so even though i do take it now, i limit the number of days in a row i take it because i don't want to build a tolerance to it or become dependent on it. i also use it only for severe panic attacks/anxiety and have had to work on other skills to get through them and base if i take the ativan on a few things (how long the panic/anxiety lasts, if i have chest pain associated to it, if it comes and goes for hours/days, etc.)

if you are worried about being on it, you could try to wean yourself off of the xanax (with your doctor's permission) slowly and see how things go and still keep some for if it becomes difficult again to see how you do.

I think I need to get a different dr for my meds. The one I have is willing to write scrips but I don't think she knows a lot about getting off the stuff. When I forget to take my meds I get shakey and anxious. So I take it. Also I don't think I could manage the stress of work. There would be too many people to navigate. I think I would just go home. I have done that before. Or my blood pressure sky would rockets and I end up with tremendous chest pain. I think I want to get off xanax but I don't think I can afford it