Omg I thought I was the only one I started taking them when I was 15 I’m 54 now. Finally getting some help with Psychiatry and getting them threw a Dr many years I would go anywhere do anything just to feel better by the grace of God I’m still alive I can’t feel normal without them.

I too have been on benzos for over twenty years I searched for a psychiatrist who helps me. So glad I found him.

OhhhhhEEEEE 14 hour tour 1 way! Wow! Thats possibly your driving force pun intended, in wanting to quit! Hope you’re able to get where you want to be medication wise! PHD is not me from others with long term experience reducing can range from 3-12 months… that car ride sounds brutal & would make me want to breakup with Xanax! Ughh. Good Luck.

It's the withdrawal I'm afraid of, it can kill you !!!

I was successfully tapered off clonazepam in 2018 after taking benzos since my early twenties. My neurologist and primary care provider supervised it. I had a seizure risk from craniotomy done in 2014. The taper took 7 months. I had no problem other than fear of seizure. Currently I take lamotrigine for seizure prevention. My dosage is being reduced. I havd GI issues possibly related to this. My neurologist approved this. I do feel better. I remain seizure free. 10 + years. I also take escitalopram . It was reduced to 5mg daily. It is linked to the GI issues I am having. I feel better with this as well. I am also altering my diet. Psychiatry overmedicated us for profit aka transfer of wealth. Research says most psychiatric disorders havd their roots in unresolved trauma. I was one whom psychiatry overmedicated. I am 64 now.Please get help for yourself. Long term use of benzos can change and harm the brain. Benzos are a toxic drug

Benzos only work for several weeks after that, your body builds up a tolerance to them. I’m sure you have a lot of symptoms that you think are caused by something else but they’re all caused by this poison. Why they have issued a blackbox warning on these and many doctors have stopped prescribing them. There are millions of people that have had their lives ruined from taking these for so long and all doctors do is keep poly drugging them for every symptom they have when it’s caused by the benzo itself.
I was only on them for four months because I was unaware of the toxic effects on these. I lost a lot of my hair I lost 40 pounds I could not even function. I had to get off of them. Majority of doctors. Don’t know how to treat or try to get you off way too fast. I finally found a benzo website website on Facebook and I was instructed to do a water taper where only pull out 5 to 10% a month. It took me a year, but I’m so glad I did this. This was done a few months ago, I feel like myself again by the way I’m 73 years old.

All your symptoms by the way are caused by the benzos and it will only get worse the longer you take this. It destroys the gabba receptors in your brain. I wish you luck.

John’s Hopkins has a in patient program to get people off of drugs including Xanax. I visited a 54 year old woman there who had been on the drug since she was 30. She did it! But it’s not easy and it takes weeks to safely come off of it. Good luck 👍

@ellerchim
What medication were you on that destroyed your appetite? Thanks for the info on gaining weight. I find it easy to drink protein drinks. I have to be careful of eating carbs due to my type 2 diabetes but I may have my husband get some higher calorie protein drinks.

I do worry about my husband because he is 86 years old with Parkinson’s disease. I should be taking care of him, which I used to before Sept. of last year. He is running himself ragged taking care of me and he has worsening insomnia. I feel a bit safer when he is home with me as I am afraid of being alone and freaking out. I miss having a dog to comfort me. We lost our Sheltie Logan 4 years ago. He was 13 years old and the 2nd sheltie we had. Before that, we had a Scottish Terrier and a Border Collie. Neither my husband nor I are in any condition to walk a dog so we just have each other — no children or even relatives where we live. Wishing you well.

@ellerchim
I am still the throes of a panic attack that has lasted about 10 hours. Finally, I took a .5 Ativan at 10;30am Arizona time, but I didn’t want to. I can’t go to the Emergency Room as they will send me to a lock down and force anti psychotic drugs on me like they did to a former friend who is still struggling with side effects from the drugs. I failed to keep my promise to myself about the Ativan and feel like such a failure.