any xanax users?

[Ethansmom]

I've wondering if anyone here has taken it for a long period to get them through a rough patch? I've been taking it for awhile (desperately need to stay calm).

[panic_down_under]

I've wondering if anyone here has taken it for a long period to get them through a rough patch? I've been taking it for awhile (desperately need to stay calm).

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are not good primary, taken daily anti anxiety meds, imho. The main problem is that doctors are becoming increasingly reluctant to prescribe them so there is no guarantee you will get a prescription in future. Your doctor may be happy to prescribe them today, but may change his/her mind tomorrow, move, or fall under the proverbial bus. I've read too many accounts of people suddenly finding they can no longer get a prescription and having to endure the horrors of having to wean off their BZD in only a few days, maybe a couple of weeks.

But if you're determined to go down this path, the longer acting benzodiazepines such as clonazepam (Klonopin) and diazepam (Valium) would be better bets as dependence tends to develop more slowly with these.

Also be aware that there is good evidence BZDs can block the way antidepressants work so should probably be only taken occasionally when on those meds (see: Stefovska VG (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18991352), 2008; Wu X (http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(09)00106-1/abstract), 2009; Sun Y (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23639432), 2013; Nochi R (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23963779), 2013; Boldrini M (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4374628/), 2014).