I agree. I am so much better, but I think taking Ativan has also hindered my complete recovery. I find myself getting shaky at times I usually take 1/2 of one. I have cut back this wkend. I hope to completly cut them out by a week or two.

I doubt you were having benzo withdrawal, I don't think it is possible to have benzo withdrawal from taking .5 milligrams a day. That is what the doctors and medical books say.

I take 4 to 5 milligrams of xanax a day and sometimes I wake up without anxiety in the morning and sometimes I wake up with it. You have to be off your drug for longer than one night to go through withdrawal.

I'm glad that you can be ok without drugs though. That is really good for you.

I take 1/2 of a .5 Ativan every 4 hours, but am trying to cut back and eventually get off of them altogether. I've been taking them for about 4 weeks. Is this going to cause me withdrawal problems?

I'm not completely off meds, just off the benzo.

I disagree about the withdrawals, benzo's in any format can be addicting and I can't find another way to explain why I feel so much better after I readjusted to being without them.

Agree to disagree I guess!!!

I agree that benzos can be very, very addicting. I currently take 1mg Xanax xr 3X a day and if I miss a dose I get light headed, sick, etc....I know I will need to taper off of them when I want to conceive and have kids and that scares me :(

To lulizbug, your definfintely taking the dose that ppl start getting addicted at, your dose is just a bit lower than mine. They are addictive, it's true, but I can leave my house thanks to them (I have Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia).

The important thing to remember (not trying to scare anyone here) is that if you are taking high doses, like multiple milligrams, never stop without talking to your doctor.

When you take doses as high as me and the poster above, you can have seizures and even go into a coma if you stop cold turkey. PLEASE don't take this the wrong way. I'm really not trying scare anyone, it is just important to be safe.

I, like Iulizbug, take 1mg Xanax XR 3x per day. I would prefer not to have to take anything at all, but I cannot get through the day without help. I have tried several SSRIs, and had reactions to all of them. My Pdoc does not want to try me on any other SSRI because of these reactions. I did try Buspar, which did help the anxiety, however, it made my lightheadness/dizziness worse. My Anxiety seems to be age/gender related (peri-menopausal) and my Mom and her sisters all had difficulties with anxiety and lightheaded/dizzy episodes when they were going through "the change."

Yes, you do have to wean yourself off benzos, but you have to do that with ADs as well. I think any medicine that affects/alters the chemistry in your brain is going to require weaning rather than going cold turkey.

I do see a therapist, but have not been seeing her that long. The first one I saw in my Pdoc's office I didn't mesh with, so I decided to try someone different.

Everyone is different, and I mean no offense to any of the others who have posted. This is simply my opinion, and the way I am choosing to deal with my anxiety.

Good luck to us all!

:)

Yes, like junebug I have tried every other anti-anxiety anti-depressant but only had adverse effects from them. My doctor doesn't want me to only take my xanax xr, he wants me to take it with effexor but that just makes me more edgy. I wish I could cope with out my xanax but the truth of the matter is, with my hectic stressful job there just is no way that I could. So for now I just take day by day and stay positive. I hope that when my fiance (soon to be husband) decide to have kids I will be able to ween myself off of the xanax to have a healthy baby. Hopefully by then I won't have to work, so I won't be around such a stressful environment.