Which benzo least addicting

I am on Xanax for anxiety. My Dr. prescribed me .5mg 2x a day. I am concerned about addiction and dependence so I try to take half a pill (.25) as needed which has been 2 (to occasionally 3) times a day. I have been doing this for a few months pretty much daily.

I remember reading (I think on crazy meds) that xanax is the toughest dependence of all the benzos because you can not switch to another one to ween off of it.

Is this true? What would be a comparable benzo that would allow me switch it up to help with weening when I can?

I appreciate this board being here . . . Dr.s are not always honest about these drugs.

Honestly xanax is awful and terribly addicting. I was on it and it was terrible. I was on Ativan for 3 years. Not really addicting but its short acting like xanax. I favor klonopin and most shrinks do because it is long acting and not really addicting. I mean in my opinion all benzos have the risk of dependency and we are all dependant on benzos because we rely on them to ease our anxiety. Just my opinion.

The half life of Klonopin (clonazepam) is 35 hours. What this means
in 35 hours after taking a dose, half of the drug is still circulating
in your system. In another 35 hours, half of that which was left at
the first 35 hours, is circulating. And so on and so on, until it is
gone, providing you are not taking anymore. If you are taking your
daily dosages, then you maintain a steady therapeutic dose; the
optimal dosage needed to alleviate disorder symptoms.

Valium is one of the most slowly eliminated benzodiazepines. It has a half-life of up to 200 hours, which means that the blood level for each dose falls by only one half in about 8.3 days. One of the  only other benzodiazepine with similar half life is  Librax.

Librax is a combination of two separate drugs. One of the drugs (chlordiazepoxide) is a benzodiazepine, a family of drugs which are most often prescribed for anxiety and tension. The other drug (clidinium) is an anti-spasmodic, used to relax the muscles in the gut wall.

Just FYI.

Kindly,

Kitt

I have been taking xanax for many years. At one time I was taking 4mg a day. 1mg 4 x day. I now take 1 mg a day. .5 mg 2 x a day. So I have come down on it substancially. I had no problem going down on it. I do always carry some extra around incase I need it though. I am prescribed three a day. That way I don't worry about running short. I stock pile them for if I need them or can't get my prescription refill. You never know. I think it is just an insecurity on my part. I know that a lot of people abuse xanax. So it has a bad reputation. I just don't understand what they get out of it. If I were to take too much, it would make me sleepy. I guess that is the difference. Who knows. I can't take valium, it gives me a hangover. I tried it and whenever it wore off, I became grouchy. So I stay away from that.

Good topic,

Hugs, Karen