Posted by NightOwl_Trisha on December 12, 2003, at 19:53:32
In reply to Re:Thanks Dr. Bob blocked for week » Dr. Bob, posted by Mercedes on December 9, 2003, at 9:52:55
> > Any long-term user will suffer horrific withdrawal if not tapered.
> > any dr. scripting benzos daily, long-term? unless they are doing so for the aforementioned reasons, if caught, they will lose their liscense to practice.
>
> Please don't exaggerate or overgeneralize. I've asked you to be civil before, so now I'm going to block you from posting for a week.
>
> BobWow, I am glad that person was blocked for a bit.
I am new here and that sure scared me!I have been on Xanax for 18 years. Yes, you read right. My life was nothing -- I was totally agoraphobic. My panic attacks were horrid. I was unable to care for my newborn son alone. I was put on Xanax and scared to death. It saved my life and let me tell you, my kids are so much better off than if I had not gotten treatment.
I went through a pregnancy on Xanax and had another son who is now 13. I have obviously been raised from my initial does over the years but now, with the long acting Xanax, I find myself able to taper nicely. I am on 3 mg a day. Sounds like a lot but for someone who has taken it this long, it isn't. I plan to taper slowly and I just started Lexapro (after a terrible battle with Effexor, YUK!) and hope to get to 1 or 2 mg a day but have no illusions that I will be able to get off Xanax completely. I may, I may not. I am in no hurry at all at this point.
And you know what? My health is FINE. My liver, kidneys and everything else are 100%. I have no long term damage physically from being on Xanax. Yes, it's very hard to get off of. Yes, I may have thought twice before taking it if I had known the withdrawal was so tough. BUT, I swear, if I can get off Effexor and live to tell the tale, I can get off Xanax. Slowly and with no rush.
Xanax may be "evil" in the eyes of some, but for a person who was stuck in the house, panicking daily, completely terrified of the world, I managed to fly across the country many times, go on cruises, travel all over, work in a very high profile career, deal with my mother's four year devastating hospitalization and other things that I never could have done before Xanax.
It's hell to get off, but it can be a life saver so please don't read the terrible things and think Xanax is an awful medication. For some, like me, it is a miracle.
Trisha
poster:NightOwl_Trisha
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031208/msgs/289244.html