I haven't been on that high of a dose of Xanax, but of Ativan. The problem is that the longer you are on it, the more you need to get the same effect. It's not good for the longterm. It should never be prescribed for other than p.r.n. in my opinion. I've been on as much as 8 mg of Ativan a day, which would equal 4 mg of Xanax. I could barely function because it made me such a tired zombie. Again, though, you get used to it. I've been tapering myself off and am down to 2.5 mg a day now. I feel like that is far too much Xanax. I am a medical transcriptionist and my docs won't prescribe more than 0.5 mg 3x daily.

at one point I took 80 mg of prosac daily, I weaned myself back to 40 mg, and noticed a huge difference in how much I was able to feel again that I hadn't realized was being blocked by the meds. I thought the Prozac was just helping me cope so I could deal with life. Kind of like putting me on a level playing field until I cut back and felt the difference.

We need to be able to feel so we can walk through the emotions, deal with them, resolve them, and put them to rest so we can move on and become more healthy and whole inside. Stuffed emotions tend to find their way back up to the surface, and will continue to do so until they are resolved. Stuffed emotions never die, they wait for us to acknowledge and resolve them. Depression is anger turned inward.
Hello to all, I am new to the group :)

i know it is a very high dosege i dont feel like a zombie at all. i have a very high tolleriance. i didnt even know they came in this high dose till my doc told me. i know i am very addicted to them. trying not to take the whole dosege, but i allways do. its a very hard thing to overcome. ive been on them so long, i have a phisical as well as mental addiction. my sister says if i went off them cokld turkey, i could accually die from the whithdrawls. ya, i havnt accually felt high or anything like that for a realy long time. like a junky gets used to the heroin or whatever. i would have to take a whole lot to feel anything but normnalcy. am hoping i will some day be able to maybe think about maybe getting off them. the thought alone terrifies me beyond words. but i am trying.

Please try not to take Xanax. It is one of the most addictive and abused prescription meds out there. If you can manage life without it, I would seriously try. Xanax addiction has been compared to Heroin addiction, and that's not a monkey on your back, but rather a gorilla.

We posted at the same time! I now see that you're already addicted to it. Don't for one second think that you're a slave to the medicine. It's in YOU to make the medication a slave to you, you just need to step up to the plate and realize this. There are NUMEROUS resources out there for people addicted to medications, and I promise you one thing, when you take control over your life over an addiction, it will be the biggest high of your life!

Have you considered that the Effexor is the problem? It can make you manic and anxious. You might want to try a different anti-depressant.

I was on Klonopin for 7 years and NEVER had to take more than needed which was 1 mg two times a day.
I think whatever works, let it work.
(Just don't stop cold turkey like I did!!!)

I have taken xanax for years on an as needed basis. At times I took them daily. I did not like the desensitization it made me feel. I am on the smallest dose and take only 1/2 of one when I really need it and that is maybe twice a week. I am a light weight though and to take what your taking I would be in bed all day! But people are different. My mom was like that it would take a freight train to knock her out.
My doc is real cautious about prescribing them, she told me the problem is you can build up a resistance and they only go up to a certain milligram and that's it.
Talk to your doc and try to taper off, maybe get down to 1 or 2 a day.