Your doing very well. I have been on benzos for over 30 years of one kind or another. I have PTSD among other anxiety related issues...Just grateful I have survived as long as I have. I just do not have the fear that a lot of docs and peeps do. I don't shop for doctors (normally) but I do like for them to understand where I am coming from....so you quit worrying about going off them. There is more than one doctor in Mobile, Al., and if need be you can go to B'ham or in between and just do what you need to do. No one knows you better than yourself. Inside and Out...you have got to be the one that is proactive....Blessings

Talk therapy might be a good alternative. You'd learn how to control your anxiety without medication with a little luck and some hard work.

I have 10mg of Valium for really stressed days but I have never taken them daily and know I'm not addicted. Everyone is afraid of valium since it was overprescribed quite a few years ago. I continually fight problems with sleeping. I stay asleep for 4 hours and am wide awake. That used to be good for studying and working overtime but I can tell it has taken its toll on my appearance and health. After years of trying different things to make me more tired, I now take Trazadone and an over the counter nighttime sleep aid (diphenhydramine). If the Trazadone doesn't kick in right away, I take one of those pills and it puts to sleep quickly. The Trazadone gets me through the rest of the night. However, there are many times when I still wake up at 4 am. Then I take another one of the over the counter sleep pills. I've asked and none of these is addictive. I'm not a doctor but this is what works for me.

@A MyCOPDTeam Member - a lot of people have anxiety, etc from steroids. My pulmonary does not want me to be on any inhaler that has steroids in it - thin bones osteopenia. Am sure there will probably come a time when I will need it and I dread the though as does not take much to make me climb the walls.
The states are getting so strict on what they will allow to be prescribed without considering the person who needs it. Hope it continues to help you.

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A MyCOPDT...

I take Xanax 2mg twice a day.My pulmonary Dr knows it.The inhalers and steroids ,if I didn't have Xanax I would be in a padded room.