[payj]

I have yet to see a doctor about anxiety, but I feel I have it. I have been to several different websites and check out with most the symptoms. I want to learn as much as I can before I see a doctor, which is why I am on this site.

After doing some research it looks like there are several different medications used to help anxiety. After reading many posts it seems Xanax for the most part, is liked the most. I have also learned they are very addictive and can be dangerous. My question is, why are they so addictive? Is it simply because they simply get help with your anxiety or is it something else?

thank you for your help.

[vduda]

Payj,

I can help you out. Been on benzodiazepines for about 20 years due to an Anxiety Disorder. For the most part I took the medication as prescribed and did not abuse them. However, when I became addicted to opiates 10 years ago my intake of Xanax got out of control (40 to 50 mg a day). If I were you I would stay away from Xanax and use a longer acting benzo. The effects of Xanax are very quick acting and its half life is like 2 to 3 hours. In other words, you have to keep taking more and more to get the same effect. I went through detox over 6 and half months ago to get off the opiates and benzo. So far I have been clean fromt the opiates, but the benzos are antoher story. The withdrawals from benzos are horrible. Besides alcohol, benzos are one of the only drugs you can die from if you go cold turkey. In the first month alone I suffered over 120 seizures. The insomnia is crippling. Stomack cramping. Constant diarrhea. I hung in there for 4 and half months staying clean from benzos. But like I said the withdrawals never stopped and the seizures were literally killing me. The panic attakcs were horrible. Initially my family doc put me back on 3 mg of Valium a day. Almost immediately I started to feel well. The seizures ceased along with the other physical ailments. Only thing is that I still had panic attacks and I would take .25 mg of Xanax when this happened. Now my Psychiatrist raised my dose to 8 mg of Valium a day and 1 mg of Xanax for panic attacks. Valium works great because it is a long acting benzo. You don't feel that high that you get from the Xanax. Plus it stays in your system a long time. From what I remember the half life is 12 hours. I feel like myself again. There has been some bumps in the road, but if you take the med the way it is prescribed it works great. I don't crave them, in fact, sometimes a forget to take my dose and I end up having a seizure. My girlfriend now despenses them to me because the seizures freak her out. That's understandable it's not a pretty site. Withdrawals from benzos are horrible so know what your getting into. Nevertheless, benzos are the only things that controls my anxiety. I've tried them all; SSRI, SSNR, Antidepressants, Beta Blockers, Clonodin, Antipsychotics. Personally, I would stay away from all these med. Like I said Benzos are the only thing that work for me, but unfortunately i will probably have to take them my whole life because my central nervous system has become so dependent on them that it cannot function. The difference now however is that I take them medicinally and that makes all the difference. Klonopin is another long acting benzo, but it makes me slur my speech. Valium is the ideal benzo for me because like I said it comes on slow, you don't get a buzz and it lasts a long time. You don't build up a tolerance as quickly. Hope this helped. God Bless.