# Can I take xanax for the rest of my life?



## maxpain (Mar 13, 2013)

I tried to quit it and every time it seems impossible.
I'd rather take it forever and be xanax junky.

I really tried to quit it, no offense, but no more quitting advice plz thx.

Problem is I'm developing tolerance. I take 1-1.5mg per day no more.(prescribed)

I'm getting immune to it. I need more to live every day life.
but my doc is reluctant to raise the dose. He is not psychologist but family doctor who can legally prescribe xanax. He doesn't want to meddle with my emotional problems by upping dose.

I don't wanna buy street xanax or through online, if I beg my doc might up the dose but I'm not sure..... can I take 2-3mg of xanax for the rest of life?
(if I develop tolerance again...well....some people take 10mg per day I heard..)

Is it Ok taking this meds for life and docs would give me that?


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## Cletis (Oct 10, 2011)

Most Docs use SSRIs for longterm treatment and benzos for short term and "emergencies".


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## SomniferumPapi (Nov 29, 2012)

You would have to research the long term effects besides addiction and dependency. Your tolerance can keep rising quickly unless you're really disciplined. I used to say i wouldn't mind being on opiates my whole life but problems rise with increase of dosage. Take small breaks in between to keep tolerance at a steady level or alternate phenibut or another thing that doesn't have cross tolerance with benzos


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## Coastal (Aug 5, 2012)

It's really not preferred. Actually, they are really only supposed to be used for about 2 weeks, as you are bridged to SNRI/SSRIs (since those take a couple weeks to work).

You really need to be tapered off. If you abruptly withdraw, the benzo will not bind to the GABAa receptor and you will get an abrupt decrease in chloride ions, which will cause CNS excitation. In severe cases, this can cause psychosis, seizures, panic attacks, etc.

Try decreasing the dose slowly over a period if 4-8 weeks, decreasing it by 25% every 2 weeks or so. This will help ease the severity of benzo withdrawal.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

many people are on it after 20, 30 years. whatever. I've been on it for almost 4 years, same dose, still just as effective. Whatever.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

maxpain said:


> I tried to quit it and every time it seems impossible.


The usual way to quit is to switch to a long lasting benzodiazepine such as Diazepam and taper off of that.


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## Skitzo (Feb 2, 2013)

can u take valiums for resat of life


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

don36 said:


> Sure you can but you probably won't be able to remember much of your life when you get older and your brain will be ****ed. I took Xanax for many years and took almost as long getting off it. The dose will probably keep going up and up - eventually your brain will start to shut down - at least mine did. In the nd I had terrible headaches every day and I couldn't think straight - now I can't remember whole sections of my life.
> 
> Trust me - keep trying to get off this garbage. It helps you now, but in about 10 years you're going to be very sorry. It will f*** you.


Very well put, I think people need to weigh the scales of pro's and con's=quality of life. If you have an agoraphobic, extreme case, that has not been able to leave their house for months or yrs. Than of course I would say, if the benzo is the only med that gets them functioning in any way. They will probably want/need to take one indefinitely but again for most there are better long term solutions. Benzos used strictly prn, for very short periods of time are usually ok. Long Term daily use if other meds or therapies need time to kick in but then you usually have the long slow reduction.


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## maxpain (Mar 13, 2013)

*Thank you guys for reply and...*

Thx for replying, guys...

I'ven been already taking xanax over 1 year...think I'm addicted.

I have asked my doc if there is any long term meds, he said no. He gives me small dose of valium already with xanax but only because it's usual mix when prescribing xanax in my city. (mainly xanax with small dose of valium... nearly in every hospital in my city.. I don't know why)

He is not psychologist, guess he doesn't know or care about benzo much.

I tried to imply there IS xanax xr or I have to take valium instead, but couldn't ask it straightly, he doesn't like when patients talk about meds, thinking patients are ignorant and internet-know-it-all.

I can't change doctor either, he is nearly only one who'd give xanax, in my city, most docs didn't even know about panic attack. I've met some Dr. who didn't know what was 'panic attack'.

What the...

If I have to find new doctor I have to leave my city area.
there are two or three mental hospital, but I don't want to have long term record having meds from psycologists because of health insurance policy.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

Skitzo said:


> can u take valiums for resat of life





metamorphosis said:


> Very well put, I think people need to weigh the scales of pro's and con's=quality of life. If you have an agoraphobic, extreme case, that has not been able to leave their house for months or yrs. Than of course I would say, if the benzo is the only med that gets them functioning in any way. They will probably want/need to take one indefinitely but again for most there are better long term solutions. Benzos used strictly prn, for very short periods of time are usually ok. Long Term daily use if other meds or therapies need time to kick in but then you usually have the long slow reduction.


I'm on Valium as well and yeah without BZD's I am agoraphobic, can't leave the house, sleep or live. Constant state of panic etc.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

istayhome said:


> I'm on Valium as well and yeah without BZD's I am agoraphobic, can't leave the house, sleep or live. Constant state of panic etc.


Yeah, I am definitely starting to show more symptoms of agoraphobia. It sneaks up on you, when you have SA. I can still go out with my g.f. and family but by myself is really difficult. I do use benzos. for that. I finally broke through one of my "glass ceilings" yesterday and finally went on a 20 mile bike ride. I know we both have a passion for cycling. I think it is one of the best ways to get out and exercise also. Your always on the move. You see all sorts of different, interesting, and beautiful landscapes and watch daily life, in general, pass by and you are outside. I love watching the weather patterns change as I ride. Also, the ride up to Red Rocks is beautiful.

We have a lot of bike paths here also. So using those cuts down my SA considerably without the cars.

By the way do you use just the regular xanax?


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

metamorphosis said:


> Yeah, I am definitely starting to show more symptoms of agoraphobia. It sneaks up on you, when you have SA. I can still go out with my g.f. and family but by myself is really difficult. I do use benzos. for that. I finally broke through one of my "glass ceilings" yesterday and finally went on a 20 mile bike ride. I know we both have a passion for cycling. I think it is one of the best ways to get out and exercise also. Your always on the move. You see all sorts of different, interesting, and beautiful landscapes and watch daily life, in general, pass by and you are outside. I love watching the weather patterns change as I ride. Also, the ride up to Red Rocks is beautiful.
> 
> We have a lot of bike paths here also. So using those cuts down my SA considerably without the cars.
> 
> By the way do you use just the regular xanax?


Yeah cycling is the main thing that gets me out of the house. The only thing I still enjoy doing out there. It's weird man, agoraphobia hit me over night. I had bicycled across the country. Extremely outgoing situation, meeting strangers all day, staying with strangers every night, etc. I got to the East Coast Where I stayed with a few different friends in Baltimore, Which is the most sketchy city ever. Also a former friend who I had traveled with, I was absolutely miserable with, it drained me for months being with him, just made me hate people. Anyways In Baltimore I got a few short-term jobs but life just got worse and worse. I had always had anxiety pretty bad. Eventually I was cycling to a job interview and just was overcome with anxiety. I blew off the interview and just went back to where I was staying, then I flew back to my old home in Oregon. I went out minimally with a few friends, then I just didn't leave my house. It was very weird.

My favorite part of cycling has always been seeing the geography in nature. How rivers have carved out valleys, how mountains have been worn down by nature, etc. I live in farm country so there is a lot of nice country side.

regular xanax? I just get generic 2 mg bars from the cheapest pharmacy. I go to the grocery store, run errands as little as possible but I try to get out on longer rides and visit family weekly, etc.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

maxpain said:


> Thx for replying, guys...
> 
> I'ven been already taking xanax over 1 year...think I'm addicted.
> 
> ...


Yeah, from the first pdoc I saw, he recognized the severity of anxiety. They've all seen that without high doses of tranquilizers, they might as well just sign my death certificate.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

istayhome said:


> Yeah cycling is the main thing that gets me out of the house. The only thing I still enjoy doing out there. It's weird man, agoraphobia hit me over night. I had bicycled across the country. Extremely outgoing situation, meeting strangers all day, staying with strangers every night, etc. I got to the East Coast Where I stayed with a few different friends in Baltimore, Which is the most sketchy city ever. Also a former friend who I had traveled with, I was absolutely miserable with, it drained me for months being with him, just made me hate people. Anyways In Baltimore I got a few short-term jobs but life just got worse and worse. I had always had anxiety pretty bad. Eventually I was cycling to a job interview and just was overcome with anxiety. I blew off the interview and just went back to where I was staying, then I flew back to my old home in Oregon. I went out minimally with a few friends, then I just didn't leave my house. It was very weird.
> 
> My favorite part of cycling has always been seeing the geography in nature. How rivers have carved out valleys, how mountains have been worn down by nature, etc. I live in farm country so there is a lot of nice country side.
> 
> regular xanax? I just get generic 2 mg bars from the cheapest pharmacy. I go to the grocery store, run errands as little as possible but I try to get out on longer rides and visit family weekly, etc.


I won't stay off topic after this. Oregon is very cycling friendly from what I've heard. I have always wanted to go there. What you said about observing the geography on a ride is so right on. O.K. sorry to get off topic! ;P


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## adidasman (Feb 27, 2015)

Late to this thread but you guys saying Xanax will damage your brain are out of order, there is no scientific analysis done to prove any such thing as true. This is really out of order when people are trying to get their lives on track. Xanax changed my life and I'd rather live on it than without.


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## Sleeper92 (Oct 3, 2010)

inb4 dreamingmind comes to tell us how drugs are great .


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## Onemansopinion (Feb 27, 2015)

don said:


> Sure you can but you probably won't be able to remember much of your life when you get older and your brain will be ****ed. I took Xanax for many years and took almost as long getting off it. The dose will probably keep going up and up - eventually your brain will start to shut down - at least mine did. In the nd I had terrible headaches every day and I couldn't think straight - now I can't remember whole sections of my life.
> 
> Trust me - keep trying to get off this garbage. It helps you now, but in about 10 years you're going to be very sorry. It will f*** you.


 That said, I agree that xanax should not be used as a daily med. There are other benzos with a much longer half life that you can use instead. Xanax should be used in "emergencys" only while the longer acting benzos can be used long term if not forever with little chance of the nonsense "Don" was talking about.

_Staff Edit_


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## Onemansopinion (Feb 27, 2015)

maxpain said:


> Thx for replying, guys...
> 
> I'ven been already taking xanax over 1 year...think I'm addicted.
> 
> ...


Ask for klonopin. It is perfect for your situation, has a much longer half life than xanax, and many people take it for life wih no side effects or issues with addiction. That said, you can't just quit any benzo after taking it for a while. You have to slow taper under a doctor;'s supervision.


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## Onemansopinion (Feb 27, 2015)

metamorphosis said:


> Very well put, I think people need to weigh the scales of pro's and con's=quality of life. If you have an agoraphobic, extreme case, that has not been able to leave their house for months or yrs. Than of course I would say, if the benzo is the only med that gets them functioning in any way. They will probably want/need to take one indefinitely but again for most there are better long term solutions. Benzos used strictly prn, for very short periods of time are usually ok. Long Term daily use if other meds or therapies need time to kick in but then you usually have the long slow reduction.


BS! I trust my doctor! Not to mention after three years on klonopin I have had NO PROBLEMS and have not had to raise my doseage at all. In fact, many days I take LESS then prescribed or sometimes forget to take it.

_Staff Edit_


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

> Sure you can but you probably won't be able to remember much of your life when you get older and your brain will be ****ed. I took Xanax for many years and took almost as long getting off it. The dose will probably keep going up and up - eventually your brain will start to shut down - at least mine did. In the nd I had terrible headaches every day and I couldn't think straight - now I can't remember whole sections of my life.
> 
> Trust me - keep trying to get off this garbage. It helps you now, but in about 10 years you're going to be very sorry. It will f*** you.


I removed the user name when quoting because it doesn't matter, seeing how this is a widely held view. It's also a gigantic load of bull s***!

As for the story above, mine is the polar opposite. My lifetime cumulative intake of benzos far exceeds that of anyone I know of who currently posts on SAS, so I speak from experience. I'm not in any way discounting the experience of others. I'm simply presenting the other side of the story such that nobody mistakenly believes that benzo use automatically leads to every ill under the sun.

My dose did not escalate over time. In fact, it has greatly decreased. My prescribed dose is 4mg of Xanax per day, and I have a big pile of it to prove that I'm most certainly not taking more than prescribed. This represents a massive reduction from the 10mg/day I was prescribed from 2004-2012 and 8mg/day I was prescribed from 2003-2004. During 2003 I mainly used Valium at a dose of 40mg/day. I have also used Klonopin & Ativan.

Above I'm told my brain will shut down. I'll allow you to make your own judgement on that. Read my posts. Am I reasonably articulate and able to form logical arguments (even if you may well disagree with me)?

I don't have the daily headaches described above nor any other ailment that I can link to my benzo use. I have not forgotten any sections of my life, even if there are plenty of things I'd prefer to forget. A couple weeks back one of my critics on SAS pointed to what he thought was an example of my defective memory. It turns out that after over 30,000 posts I was not able to specifically recall one post in particular that consisted of only two words. Yeah, he got me there. I don't have a photographic memory. I can't count cards either, so I'm not Rain Man. I don't think that means my memory is deficient though.

I demonstrate what happens to memory after using benzos for nearly 15 years. My first benzo use was 5mg of Valium in August 2000. Aren't you amazed that my swiss cheese of a brain can recall that detail?

There's an endless supply of benzo horror stories online. You'll rarely see a positive tale, but then who's going to post about how they uneventfully used benzos?

I personally am unimpressed by benzos, considering them sissy drugs that aren't nearly potent enough. That said, I recognize that they work for a great many patients, with drowsiness being the most common side effect by far. And that drowsiness tends to go away pretty quickly with regular use.

I entirely reject the orthodox view that SSRIs should be the first-line treatment for SA. Given their efficacy, cost, speed of onset, and tolerability I'd say benzos should definitely be the first-line treatment for anxiety/panic disorders including SA.

I entirely reject the view that they're for short-term use only, feeling they should be used for however long is needed. At the extreme that can mean for life. And I feel that they should be used at whatever dose is needed. Benzos are exceedingly non-toxic. Keep in mind that Klonopin is FDA approved for the treatment of seizures with a maximum recommended dose of 20mg per day. Yes, I said TWENTY! Feel free to look that up if you don't trust me and my drug-addled mind. Before the creation of newer anticonvulsants, Klonopin was actually used at such staggering doses that make any SA benzo script look absolutely tiny by comparison.

Karl


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## harrison (Apr 14, 2012)

As I see it the problem is this. Some people can take benzos (it seems to be irrelevant which one) at the same dose for long periods of time without having to raise the dose and without developing problems such as memory loss etc. Then there are other people that have to keep raising the dose to get the desired effect - the dose keeps increasing and eventually the side effects start. I was in the second category. My mum was in the first - she took the same dose of Serepax (Serax in the US I think) for many years without problems.

If you are one of the lucky ones that can take benzos without problem - then good luck to you. There are others that are not so lucky - pretending they don't exist will not make them go away. I would suggest there are quite a few of us by all the resulting medical literature that has been done on memory loss and the other problems associated with this class of medication.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

don said:


> As I see it the problem is this. Some people can take benzos (it seems to be irrelevant which one) at the same dose for long periods of time without having to raise the dose and without developing problems such as memory loss etc. Then there are other people that have to keep raising the dose to get the desired effect - the dose keeps increasing and eventually the side effects start. I was in the second category. My mum was in the first - she took the same dose of Serepax (Serax in the US I think) for many years without problems.


I think the issue is the person, not the substance. Isn't it the same as alcohol where some folks have a drink and eventually they're blacked out on the floor having no memory of who or what they did to get there after their daily binge? They attend AA meetings and every day is a great struggle to remain sober. All this while many others will have a couple glasses of wine with dinner or enjoy a cold beer on a hot day and they do this for a lifetime without incident. Same substance, but entirely different experiences for different people.



don said:


> *If you are one of the lucky ones that can take benzos without problem - then good luck to you.* There are others that are not so lucky - pretending they don't exist will not make them go away. I would suggest there are quite a few of us by all the resulting medical literature that has been done on memory loss and the other problems associated with this class of medication.


I don't consider myself one of the lucky ones. The lucky ones get serious relief from benzos. Benzos do next to nothing for me, which makes me totally screwed in a world where the medical community deems benzos the be all end all of anxiety treatment. If benzos don't magically work for you, well, they don't have anything else to offer. They pretend that no tranquilizers existed prior to 1960. They won't let me try barbs nor meprobamate as they're "too dangerous." So I can enjoy being safely nervous till death!?! Ugh!:mum

Do you have any idea how insulting it is for a middle-aged man to be told he's not competent to handle a pill bottle? There's abundant evidence to support my contention that I'm competent & highly responsible, yet I'm treated like a retarded child in need of a nanny. As I've pointed out before, it would literally be easier for me to lawfully purchase a machine gun than to get the meds I need for my treatment resistant anxiety. I'd just have to send in an application with photo & fingerprints along with a $200 check to the ATF and 6 months later I'd have a license allowing me to own an M-16 just like US soldiers charge into battle with. Too bad the DEA & FDA don't work similarly, where one could get a license to own "restricted" drugs after passing a background check.

Because of junkies & other dumbasses I'm stuck with crappy drugs. Doctors worry about the potential lethality of drugs. I simply want something that works and I'm competent to not take a lethal dose. Unfortunately, due to dumbasses who fatally mixed barbs & booze, & opioids -- such that they were a walking pharmacy -- doctors only want to prescribe benzos where you'd be hard pressed to die unless you literally ate the whole bottle and choked to death on the bottle itself. I'm been condemned to a hell of inadequate & ineffective treatment due to junkies who damn well deserve to be dead. If that sounds mean, I guess it is, but it's hard to have any compassion for junkies who have stripped me of the right to ever be happy.

For example, if someone really wants to sleep, I hear from the old folks that Seconal works amazingly well. I'll never get to know as doctors would never prescribe it to me, fearing that it would intentionally or accidentally be used for suicide. (It is the drug they use in euthanasia.) How do I convey to Dr. Dumbass that if I wanted to end my life I'd put my 1911 to my head and pull the trigger without sounding suicidal?:stu Thus not needing their pill for such a purpose. I want meds so that I can live! I want meds so that I can actually enjoy living! If I wanted to be dead a .45 caliber bullet to the brain would have me DOA even if I pulled the trigger in the world's finest trauma center -- infinitely more deadly than any pill could ever be.


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