Comparing Lorazepam vs Alprazolam

For Anxiety: My psych doctor switched me from 3 mg. diazepam/day to 0.5-1 mg lorazepam/day to help with near constant anxiety issues that peak in social situations due to a very severe lifelong hearing loss that has been corrected as much as possible with aids. I had been on the diazepam off and on for nearly 40 years for anxiety and Meniere's Disease and she had me switch because of lorazepam's shorter half life, important as I move into my late 60's. This med has helped me significantly with my social anxiety and with my anxiety in general. Although I realize I am on a pretty low dose (max of 1 mg daily..), I still try to take as little as needed to address my symptoms. Often, I am able to get by with as little as .5 to .75 total for the day. I believe this is important to do as I am also a recovering alcoholic with over 20 years sobriety. So, I'm pretty careful..

For Anxiety: Works great...no question about it, but I fear the day I go off it. That is the only reason I give it 8 instead of 10....because of the horror stories of withdrawal.

For Anxiety: For sure alprazolam - 1mg tds - can not be beaten for acute anxiety. No debilitating side effects (diazepam lorazepam and medazepam make one far too drowsy) - and certainly there is nothing else prescribed here in Scotland (even though 2mg bars have been "off the book" for 15 years or more) to touch it. For panic disorder I would recommend clonazepam 2mg tds, which I have had on Rx even longer since around 2006. Alprazolam (Ksalol, Xanax, FRONTIN etc) doesn't have a long enough half-life to be effective for chronic panic, hence I have been taking two different BzDs for 10 years+.

For Anxiety: I have taken Xanax for 8 years when suddenly, my doctor stopped writing it for me and all her patients who were taking Xanax. I’m not certain this was wise... at least for me because the sudden cessation of the drug caused severe insomnia, anxiety and I felt I had been catapulted back to the dark time of 8 years ago. Thankfully, I was able to see another doctor but he, too, wants me to cease taking Xanax. He prescribed 15 tablets to last a month and wants me to gradually taper off them entirely. My question is this ... In the past 2 years, I took only 1 tablet a day, at night, was able to sleep, was well-rested and functioned at a high level on my job. With the new dosage, my sleep has been curtailed, I remain jittery and anxious. I am very conservative in its use and think - at least for some - the drug has a place if it’s used responsibly.