[bernieshaw]

First off my name is Bernie and I am 21 years old. I am a college student and I am very physically active.

For about a year now I've been prescribed 1 mg Xanax from my Doctor for anxiety and sleeping problems.

I haven't been taking them as the pill case says one should. It says take 1 every 8 hours as needed.

I ONLY take them at night before bed, but I don't take them EVERY night. On average, 2-3 nights a week because I don't feel like I NEED to take them, but they DO help a ton when the stresses of the day are a bit too much to bare as I try to rest my head.

The thing is that I kinda fluctuate my dose on the nights that I take them. I never go over 2 mg, and most of the time it's either 1 or 1.5 mg.

So now you know where I stand.

The reason I became a member and chose to post a question is because a close friend of mine recently became aware of my prescription and use, and was alarmed. He believes that xanax is "bad"-that's his word. He says that xanax is easily addicting, and that if I've been taking it on and off for a year that then means that I "have a problem".

He has really crawled under my skin and has me questioning the Doc.

What are your thoughts. It's my belief that I am not addicted or anything like that because I've had week stretches without any xanax (trip to Florida, business in Cali.) and like I said it's not every night. And when I don't take it I don't feel bad or anything.

[Robert_325]

It's really not that what you're taking is all that much. It's where it leads.

You've got your entire life ahead of you. It's normal to get stressed a couple times a week. We all have that happen. There is no reason to medicate just because we get stressed.

If you medicate due to some stress you'll end up addicted to those xanax. And it will sneak up on you. Trust me I did it for over twenty five years. I started at about your age, maybe a little older in the 70s.

Benzo dependency sucks! If you're able to go a week at a time without any then you should really just stop them.

I'm not saying that you're an addict if in a real crisis you take a xanax. I'm saying considering the reasons you take them you could be at risk. Being stressed isn't an illness that requires medication. You need to learn to deal with life on your own. God bless.

[KMH120]

Do your own research on xanax dependence and withdraws, it's really pretty scary and your friend is right they are very addictive. If you can go without them then I suggest you do. Read the other posts on here that other people have posted about their xanax addictions and then decide for yourself if you are willing to take the risk with them or not. Everyone is different. I hope you figure it out before its to late like I did. Good Luck

[bernieshaw]

Thanks for the advice. I looked into withdraw symptoms and that is indeed scary stuff. It really makes you wonder about how legit the need for xanax is in the treatment of anything. Do the long term potential negatives outweigh the short term band aid? From all my paranoia induced research last night and today, I say yes.

[Robert_325]

Good decision. Just to reinforce it go www.benzo.org.uk .... you'll see some people really messed on benzos fighting for their life to get clean. All they do at that site is benzos. It's a good site. God bless.

[seppie]

Yeah, its a good idea to do your research on xanax, yes it is addictive but not as bad as other painkiller meds, read through wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine so you know exactly what you are taking..

[KMH120]

I have to disagree with you seepie. Benzo detox is much worse than any opium detox. People die coming off benzos, with pain meds you feel like your going to die but you won't. Bernie I think you have made the best decision you could make about using xanax. It is a bandaid that can stick to you and almost be impossible to get off. Good Luck.