Asked to share

Sharing is important to me .. especially as I am withdrawing from Xanax ... and I have read all the comments and am grateful to you all who did ...

I was informed that this drug can be highly addictive ... and yet was also told that I would probably NEED it for LIFE ... don't think so ... at the time it was orginally prescribed I did need it ... and the increases came gradually over the last 7 years ...

So in response to some issues , and good ones, raised here , I chose to first wean off Lexapro , another long term medication ... I then chose to get to an MS Center for a solution to my muscle issues ...

Ran into a few issues with bowel movements and got totally confused as to what was the cause .. I also gradually reduced my smoking and finally quit ... so where were the bowel issues coming from ...

Having had only one relapse in 7 years since being dx'd ... changed my eating habits once again to get myself self "going" ... so the next issue was the Xanax ... the hardest of them all .. the trazadone , I know I will end up being on long term as I have full blown depression .. have for quite a long time ... and I am not ashamed anymore nor am I afraid ...

Therapy has taught me to be even more aware of how I feel , what is causing the anxiety and how to cope with it .. so after all the progress , I was determined to rid myself of Xanax , as I said ... and bear with me as the withdrawal symptoms come in waves ...

To answer one comment ... I started weaning as discussed myself from 6 pills a day ... to 5 ... to 4 ... and down to 3 (and an occasional 4th) ... over a period of 6 months ... not realizing what I was feeling anxious about was in fact the medication effects , symptoms, hence the occasional 4th here or there ...

While I agree that your PCP should be the one who tells you this, sets up the program and determines what, if any "replacement" drugs should or are needed ... I find my Pharmacist , who is Walgreens', and has a 7 year history of my drug intake , was better at determining all this ...

Whereas my PCP has ALL my records, but only really knows of me for two years ... it may seem confusing and it is ... what I thought of as anxiety and panic as a part of my life forever is not so true ... that over the last two years this PCP increased my dosages and intake ...

My trust of doctors was always wary .. so my therapist and I determined that I trust whoever I see, but I felt the most knowledgeable was the Pharmacist ...

After being called and told by my PCP of the "new" regimen yesterday , now have to follwo up as they did not follow through with a script ... trust ? No, business ... so I will call to prod them to do as they promised .. my question is , who is responsible ?

Me , the patient or my PCP the one who said they would care for my health and guide me in the right direction .. oh, I am angry ... and have little patience ... but I also have to take some responsiility ... so I will call, be patient and make sure the script is filled ...