I've been on Xanax since age 15 I'm 54 :( help

That’s a lot! Could not get that down here.!!!! Those are the bars I think. Wow!!!!! Wish you luck!

Btw. Zanax just like thyroid meds and others, hurt your bones. Oye! They should just come clean! “We don’t want to give you that”. It’s a lot. Never get that amount down here nor would I want it. Go slow, use THC.

Hi...I know where you're coming from. I am in my 60's and have been on Xanax for almost 30 yrs. I wish they would NEVER have prescribed this....long story short, I was prescribed it because of panic attacks from taking me off another prescription. My situation should have been handled COMPLETELY different, but here I am and it is what it is. No ethical doctor will 'yank' this med from anyone....my God, you CAN die. Your system will 'speed up', your BP will go up & you could possible also have a heart attack. You would have to be very slowly weaned off, and not by yourself. Monitored carefully. That's a pretty big dosage. My prescription has been 0.5 mg., twice a day, so 1 mg. total daily, for all these yrs. Much lower than yours...I will more than likely stay on it. I have 2 sons and 6 grandchildren (2 passed away)....I want to be around for longer, also. If ANYTHING, you'd think maybe a dr. would suggest slowly reducing the dosage....VERY slowly, because you WILL go through withdrawal....which is of course, anxiety. It's hard. Many yrs. ago, a dr. prescribed Xanax to me....started out at a low dosage....I later found out that he was doing this with many women (one was a neighbor), he always attributed any problems we had to 'nerves'. Every time I left his office, I'd sit in my vehicle and look at the prescription he had written out.....every one of them would be MORE PILLS.....he always said to me, "Don't worry...if you need more, take more....if you can't sleep, take another one"....on & on. (he was nothing but a 'legal' drug dealer) I became addicted. How could I not? Yes.....some may say, well....it was up to me to take it or not....and that is true. BUT, I trusted him when he said I 'needed' it and that everything would be 'fine'. So did other women. MANY women! Well...we all eventually saw why he was doing this....to get more 'customers'....that's what we were....'customers'. I finally had it...I called him & asked him to please help me wean off of it. Do you know what he said? His exact words...."Uh...there's a nurse waving at me...I have to go." And....he hung up on me. My God, instead of weaning me off....he YANKED the prescription! Before I knew it, I had a call from my pharmacy...with another med. he had called in. I can't remember the name of it now....but they said he was prescribing it as a 'maintenance' drug....all I remember was that it was HORRIBLE. I was having tremors, horrendous anxiety, I was scared....called my neighbor, she went through withdrawal, also (he had been her dr., too)....but she said she wasn't on the huge dosage I was given. The reason he was prescribing all of this was to make more money and open his own practice, which he did. He didn't care what he did to people....he was only trying to 'get ahead'. He left a lot of people in limbo and in mental pain. I soon got a new Dr., I was still VERY anxious (shaking badly, almost crying) when I went in, told her the whole story, she was pissed & knew who he was, she was the one who put me on THIS dosage....it has remained the same, she retired 5 yrs. ago, after 15 yrs. going to her. Best Dr. I ever had! Like I said, wish I DIDN'T need it....on the other hand, she saved me. I was an emotional mess when I went in to her. She had said she would help me wean off the new prescription, if I ever wanted to....but what she prescribed me was a tiny fraction of what the other dr. had prescribed me. It's been a rough road. Wow....sorry, didn't mean to go on & on. Guess it just reminded me of what I went through because of a very unethical dr. My new dr. said it was a miracle I did not go into seizures, possibly have a heart attack, etc. But....it was HORRIBLE. Do you have any rehab centers close to you, where you could call & speak to someone about this? Maybe a center that takes regular insurance and Medicaid, also? Do you have any refills on your Xanax prescription now? I should scroll up and see, but am so tired....but also worried about you. Even a counselor at a rehab center can give you information (I called one)....maybe have you come in to see another dr., and he could do this in a very safe environment.....or even as an out-patient. You would not have to be COMPLETELY off of it, if you feel a small dosage would help you. You know how you feel....only you can know this. And, I very much agree with you.....to yank a prescription on Xanax on anyone IS murder....or it could be. I was lucky...I made it through. Please keep us updated....the dr. who did this to me should have been disbarred (sp.?), but he wasn't.....he made enough $$$$ on customers to open his own practice. I hope there is such a thing as Karma!! Take care now and let me know how you're doing....hugs!!

This is totally disturbing to me. Xanax is a drug used for mental health treatment and disorders. It's not an illicit drug. In Indiana it is schedule 4 substance, the same schedule as Adipex, which is prescribed on a regular basis for weight loss. The opioid epidemic is what has caused the scare effect and stigma. Oxytocin to be exact. How the government didn't realize the molecule make-up of oxy? I don't believe they had no knowledge. Anything that the United States bans, and I do mean Anything, let it be cigarettes, abortion pills, down to Pepsi cola, the cartel will view as profit and flood our country with it. The government immediately took thousands of people off of oxy and what happened? Our country was flooded with heroin. At that time there was no back up plan put in place for those in withdrawal, Suboxone was not available and when it became available it was not covered by insurance for approximately 2 years. Cash only doctors. $300 a visit. This made Suboxone a "valuable" drug and at times it was sold for around $20 per pill/strip on the street. Indiana insurance companies finally approved paying for it and it is now easily available to anyone who needs it. The street value is now $5. There is no demand for it. The DEA, physician's etc. are taking away prescriptions from those who may legit need it, and those who have been on it for many years. Unfortunately this is the making of a drug addict. People will seek it elsewhere, or self medicate with other drugs. In 2024 they preach mental health but still there is a stigma on medications that help mental health disorders..and there should never be a stigma. Xanax, Benzo! People are scared to say it, ask for it...why? If it helps a person, they use it correctly and there is no adverse side effects then what's the issue? Addiction? Prozac and many other antidepressants are highly addictive, yet prescribed like candy. The physical and mental results of stopping an antidepressant could result in suicide, tremors, blurred vision, increased anxiety etc. Is it the fear that starting a Benzo could cause euphoria? God forbid anyone have a feeling of euphoria, especially someone who has suffered with extreme anxiety. A lot of things cause euphoria. The Benzo thing is political, lack of knowledge, education, and stigmatized. I'm okay with people believing in what they believe in but I don't think any doctor should allow their personal beliefs to interfere with someone else's health, treatment and life. They say what works for one person may not work for everyone but when it comes down to it, they don't mean it. They still are ignorant when it comes to mental health.

Same here. 25 years on Xanax. 3 mgs. per day. I told my doctor the Xanax was no longer effective and I needed to taper off. Long story short he abandoned me. That’s what they do because they have no idea how to taper someone and they don’t want to deal with a patient going through withdrawal.

I am so sorry! I wish there was an 'ANGRY' icon to click on....that's what I am.....angry. They take a damn oath to do no harm....and that's exactly what some of them do! They are taught to prescribe pills...that's one thing that medical school teaches them. They usually know NO side-effects, etc., unless a patient has told him (or her). I've found that my best bet for side-effects, if I don't find them online, is to call my pharmacy....speaking to a Pharmacist is always my best bet. How are you doing on your Xanax? Are you still on the 3 mgs. daily? Do you still have this Dr. or have you found another? I know what a hassle it is to find another....I hate doing that. I'm just concerned about you....when you have anxiety....and are wanting to cut down on the drug to treat it, it's a double whammy.....it just makes a person MORE anxious. Please let me know how you're doing. I haven't been on the forum for a while....been wrapped up in cardiologist appts. Geez....I had heart surgery 30 yrs. ago.....and now am being told I will need another....but they want to send me to a cardiologist hospital in Chicago, IL....they said it's too dangerous to try it here, but my God, we have tons of Cardiologists! Well....I go in the hospital this Thurs. for several more tests, then we'll see what's what!! LOL we're supposed to be able to grow older and just ENJOY life!! Anyway, please keep me in the loop....talk at you later. Hugs!

Sorry to hear you’re having health issues. Heart issues can be confounding for sure. It’s taken forever but I switched over to Valium 4 years ago and am now taking 1 mg. Valium. My doctor says it’s safe to jump off but I’m scared to death to do so. He’s so patient. This is the doctor I found after being abandoned. It took months to find another physchiatrist that would take a benzo patient over 65. I live in a very large city and couldn’t believe it was so difficult. The doctors that take seniors were booked 6-8 months out. It was a nightmare!! I swear I have PTSD from all this. I never dreamed I’d be going through this at my age for this long. If only I could turn back the clock. I would have never in a million years put that first Xanax in my mouth. Remember there was no internet in 1989 and information was not at our fingertips. The older folks have really gotten the short end of the stick on this benzo thing! I just keep plugging along and hoping for the best. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Wishing you well and hoping you find the best care that need and deserve. God bless!

I am so sorry that is beyond awful . I have extreme anxiety. Please tell me how you are doing . I take klonopin . I am
Beyond sorry .I hope you have found someone to help
you .

You are right , we did get the short end of the stick on these benzos, I also wish I never put one in my mouth, I'm glad you found a Dr to help you ,thats amazing, I'm in a tiny town in Indiana and well not one Dr will help me , honestly i thought about suing the company,i have called them and have emails from tge company,i just need the right kind of lawyer, i appreciate hearing something more positive than my situation and again Thank you for reaching out to me , stay safe and God Bless 🌹

If you have been taking your medication as prescribed and not abusing it, then your current predicament is not your fault. Even if you've been abusing it, you're not to blame; blame is pointless. Medicine routinely embraces the newest and best drug, oxycontin anyone; when the medication turns out to be toxic, everyone scrambles for the exit.

Benzodiazepines were touted as safe, effective, and non-addictive, so much for that. Doctors are now moving patients to antidepressants, convincing themselves that SSRIs and SNRIs are, once again, safe, effective, and nonaddictive despite all of the evidence to the contrary.

I have been on and off Benzo's for over a decade despite never having experienced anxiety; I'm not sure why they gave them to me. In January, during the titration of venlafaxine, I was hit by crippling anxiety, a common discontinuation effect. I requested an—increase in lorazepam from .50mg once a day to twice a day. My request was refused.

I ended up in the hospital after I tried to hang myself three times. The attending physician prescribed .50mg of lorazepam three times a day. After my three-day hospital stay, my prescriber wrote me a prescription for .50mg twice a day, as I had requested. I know I take .25mg once or twice a day. As the discontinuation effects recede, I hope to do away with this med entirely.

So, that's one way to get what you want. I don't recommend it.

You will find prescribers more helpful if you go to them requesting help titrating this drug rather than keeping you on it. It helps to do your homework. Approaching a prescriber with a plan goes a long way.

The best intervention I have found, after a lifetime of mental illness, is exercise and eliminating foods that trigger me. Caffeine, sugars, and highly processed foods.

We have all been lab rats for the pharmaceutical industry, enabled by medical providers who always have the answers even when they don't.

You are physically addicted. You did as you were told. Now you need help. Keep looking, and you will find a mental health professional to help you. Don't expect that anyone is going to keep you on the level of Xanax you have been on. The doctor who continued this crazy drug regimen should have addressed this a long time ago.

Titrating Xanax is going to be tough and is going to take quite a while. Try going to a new AI search engine, Perplexity, and type in the question, "How do I get off of" whatever your current regimen is. You will have more information than your providers.

Good luck!

May you find the peace and good health you deserve.