Help: Alternatives to Xanax (long-term use)
Question:
I’ve been reading that taking xanax long term is a very bad idea. i’m currently taking 1mg, 3 times a day (ie 3mg/day). So far this has been helping me tremendously with anxiety, and most importantly has stopped me from cutting. At first I tried klonopin, but all it did was sedate me, and didn’t keep me from cutting at all. I’m worried about being on xanax long term, but is there anything i can do? (other than go back to my old coping mechanisms of drinking and cutting? oh, btw, i’ve got major depression going here, so i’m also on prozac, and elavil for sleep (insomnia)) any advice would be greatly appreciated! thanks, shadow Your e-mail reply to this message WILL be *automatically* ANONYMIZED.
Response:
I’ve been reading that taking xanax long term is a very bad idea. i’m currently taking 1mg, 3 times a day (ie 3mg/day). So far this has been helping me tremendously with anxiety, and most importantly has stopped me from cutting. At first I tried klonopin, but all it did was sedate me, and didn’t keep me from cutting at all. I’m worried about being on xanax long term, but is there anything i can do? (other than go back to my old coping mechanisms of drinking and cutting? oh, btw, i’ve got major depression going here, so i’m also on prozac, and elavil for sleep (insomnia))
I tried Xanax and I tried Buspar but nothing helped me stop cutting like cannabis. Now I know why I smoked so much pot as a teenager. It kept me from suicide. I will swear on it now. I’ve been using it for anxiety since June and the only time I’ve cut since then was when I ran out for two weeks. But now I’m a member of a Cannabis Buyer’s Club so I’m on a pretty even keel these days. 
It has been a great relief to find a medication that works for me. I hope you find something that works for you. -patricia PS I have a friend with severe depression who also finds it very useful for the anxiety component of his depression. I am not on any other meds besides marijuana, but his other med is Effexor. PPS If you decide to try cannabis, beware there is sometimes an initial rush of anxiety in new users. I experienced one when I started again. But it fades pretty quickly and then it is pure R E L I E F. Without the heavy price exacted by Xanax or the like. — there must be something i can dream tonight -patti smith
