[where_to_begin]

I know that the latest recommendations state that Xanax should only be used short term, but it seems that there are a lot of long term users, including myself.

I have been using it for 3 years to deal with anxiety attacks. I typically take between one and three .5mg Xanax pills a day. Some days I only take one pill. But most days it is two pills.

Some times I take one pill and am still panicky after an hour so I take a second.

I am careful not to take it unless I need it. But I really do need it.

I am also careful not to take more. I've acquainted myself with the cautions against the long term use of benzos and it really scares me.

I am wondering if anyone else here is a long term Xanax user.

thanks

[Yoda]

I have been using xanax since 1998 or 1999. When I was taking it in the beginning I was being abused by my live in BF and he went to all psych appointments for me and my son. So I think my pdoc knew I was being abused but we didn't talk about it until 2000 when I finally filed for a protective order. Back then I was taking 2mg tabs three or four times a day. I was still at pretty high dose after the death of my BF Sept 2000 when my ptsd was severe.

Now I have prn doses prescribed but rarely take it except to sleep and I only need 1-2 mg most nights. I suppose my doc feels comfortable that I am not abusing the drug because he asked me a year ago why I wasn't getting xanax refills every month and I told him if I didn't need it, I didn't take it.

[spring2014]

I was Xanax a long time ago. I didn't like what it did to me cuz I was given Xanax w serazone and these two meds don't work well together at all. my doctor put me on .75 mgs of Xanax daily . I slept most of the day w serazone and Xanax combine . I never went back on Xanax even though my psychiatrist wanted to put on it for when I had my transvagnial ultrasound to calm my nerves down . I told my psychiatrist no I don't like Xanax and ativan they worked w me .










Diagnosis: Anxiety and depression
meds: Cymbalta 90mgs at night
Vistrail 2 25 mgs daily for anxiety prn
50 mgs at night for insomnia

[vonmoxie]

I guess I'm a long-term user in the sense that I've been taking it on an as-needed basis since... about 2000? So 15 years.

But the most days in a row that I ever take it is 2, and in a month I probably don't even get close to taking it as many as 10 times. Also, the most I take in one day is half of a .5 milligram pill. A quarter of a .5 is what I usually take. So even though I've been taking it all these years, I don't think the effect on the body is nearly the same as if I was taking more, and taking it every day.

I can't speak for anyone else, but for me it has been very safe, not addictive, taking it on the basis that I have been, which is without mixing it with alcohol or anything else that could make it dangerous. It seems to me that the care I've taken around frequency and dosage has staved off the possibility of it becoming problematic, at 15 years and counting.

[Yoda]

vonmoxie makes a good point; by itself xanax is safe even in rather large doses but it doesn't play well with alcohol

[lunatic soul]

I took xanax daily for two years then one day I wanted to get off this med and I didn't sleep for two days, then I slept for 2 hours and didn't sleep two days again, my friends told me Im crazy and i can't just stop taking this med because of withdraw but I did it, heard voices in my head and felt like someone tortured me, after all that I felt really happy Im free. I dont recommend to anyone stopping to take xanax at one day, you could lose your mind, I almost lost mine.
Unfortunately I started to take xanax again and became addicted again but Im trying not to take it because I have no psychiatrist and my ex psychiatrist didnt want me to describe xanax knowing my addictions and drug abuse.
I took xanax for sleep but there are other meds too which helps to fall asleep like quetiapine etc which is not addictive.

[Suraya]

I've been taking Xanax and/or Clonazapem as needed in small doses (.25mg or .5mg a day) for about 5 years for anxiety. My pdoc doesn't seem to think this is a problem as I only take it as needed and never have had to increase my dose. I wonder thugh, if it has led to my depression worsening overall over the past 5 years.

I've been taking Xanax for the last 13 years, and I'm currently titrating off and replacing it with hydroxyzine.

Psychiatry used to believe that benzodiazepines (such as Xanax) were the best medications to treat anxiety disorders, but no longer believe that due to physical dependence. Xanax is metabolized very quickly (about 4 hours), so you're going to experience "rebound" anxiety (similar to withdrawal). Consequently, Xanax is causing anxiety, and what most people do to alleviate the anxiety is take another Xanax.

I have found hydroxyzine, which is not a benzodiazepine and does not cause physical dependence, to be much more effective for my anxiety (and I have everything from GAD to panic attacks).

Since everyone is unique, results may vary. Please check with your psychiatrist before making any changes in your medication regimen.

[Disorder7]

After 18 months on Xanax, I'm tapering off.

I was prescribed 2 mg daily, but quickly built tolerance and needed more to stop panic attacks, like 3 or 3.5 mg. Then when I tried to reduce the amount, I would have withdrawal symptoms in between doses.
I'm back to 2 mg and have had withdrawal symptoms every day for several weeks, even with a slow taper.

Of course you can't just stop taking benzos because you could die, or at the very least be thrown into a hell that you've never known. Keep in mind that even heroin won't kill you during withdrawal, but Xanax can. It's an awful drug.

[SingDanceRunLife]

I've been on benzos for quite a few years now (cycled through xanax, then ativan, then finally settled on klonopin), and for the past 2 years it's been exclusively klonopin, used for sleep and anxiety PRN. In general, I take it every night for sleep and then maybe once every day or two, but I also go on and off as I feel necessary.

For quite a few months this year, I was taking 4-6mg a day, and then my anxiety got better (after adding buspar to my mix of meds), so I only took 2mg at night. Then I cut it down to 1mg, and for about a week 0.5mg, but that was too much work since I have 2mg tablets...so I went back to 1mg, and the past 2 nights I've taken none, and none during the day, so I'm hoping to be done with it [for now].