Xanax for long term use or please recommend a long term med??

[lurky]

Hello
I have faced social, work, travel and gneral anxiety for most of my life
It runs on my fathers side of the family
I think I've done pretty well considering I've never taken medication or treatment, but it has been a struggle.
Recently work has become very challenging and for the first time I've found relief using Xanax.
I only take half a pill per day, and I did this for a few weeks then gradually decreased the dosage, now I'm off it again
But the job hasn't let up and the anxiety has returned.

Are there consequences of taking Xanax long term ? Does it loose effectiveness over time? If so is there another medication that is better for long term use? Please recommend a long term anti-anxiety med.Thanks

[alankay]

When used constantly, eventually tolerance will likely develop. It might take a while but if you use it every few days it be less likely to develop. Now longer term constant use is not the goal. Not these days. Drs know better so will encourage you to either use it sparingly or go to an ssri or buspar. I'd use xanax only for really high anxiety/panic. Otherwise a longer acting benzo might be better(less rebound anxiety if you get that). Having said that if you can do well just using it 1-2 times per week you might be OK with that. If your anxiety still seem to drift upward I'd consider an ssri like zoloft. It will take some time to work but they are not habit forming. You might be able to keep some xanax on hand in case you have a rough spot. If you have "generalized anxiety" talk to your dr. about buspar as well.

[felderbush]

I was on Ativan which would help untll it wore off and then I felt I had to take another one. I was recently prescribed Klonopin which I take one every 12 hours every day. It has made me feel like my normal self again. I tried Zoloft, but it made my symptoms much worse. Klonopin is the pill for me. That and therapy.

[fi83]

Xanax is great for those acute flare-ups of anxiety, but its generally not recommended to take it regularly long-term. Definitely look into something more sustainable long-term and try to use short-acting potent benzos on a per-needed basis where possible in my opinion. Tolerance will eventually form, and withdrawing from benzos is no fun at all!