anyone able to take L.T. without upping dose?

[marquetry]

I am being advised that long term benzo use at a low dose might be a good thing for me to do.

Just wondering if anyone has been able to take any one of the benzos long term without having to increase their dose over time.

Also, If I went on one of them, and over time it started to loose its effectiveness, but I didn't increase my dose, what would happen?

Just curious... it will make my decision on whether I want to try this route or not....

Thanks

[jt07]

I took 3 mg of klonopin (1 mg 3x day) for over 3 years, and it was never increased. I never had any problem with it and had no problem going off of it. I simply began to forget tablets and didn't feel a difference so I figured either it wasn't working anymore or I didn't need it anymore. So I came off.

[The Emperor]

I'm in pretty much the same boat as jt. Almost exactly the same, actually. I WAS on 3mg Klonopin a day (1mg three times) and then I switched to Valium 10mg three times a day for some reason, I can't remember why. Anyway, I've been on benzos daily like this for two years, and I too have started to forget or intentionally not take doses if I don't feel I need them. I've never had to increase beyond what I am taking. Worked pretty well for me. YMMV and maybe you WILL have to increase, Because I DID start off on .5mg klonopin three times per day, but that wasn't really cutting it, so we increase to a full milligram. But that was way at the beginning. I haven't had to increase since. I actually don't think there's much room to increase, actually.

[Thomas]

I take 6 mg. a day. 2 mg. of that used to be PRN, but my pdoc changed it to a regular part of my dose some 4 years ago.

[notfred]

I'm decades on the same dose.

[Cetkat]

I've been on 0.5 Xanax prn for almost a decade now. I've kept the same overall amount per month. My way of getting around the tolerance issue has been to take it less often & in higher amounts. I started out taking 0.5 TID fairly regularly. As that stopped being effective, I've switched to taking more than one at once for bad episodes (just enough for it to be effective) and compensated by increasing what I handle without meds. The fact that I know it's there and I have the ability to stop it helps me to tolerate my general anxiety and leave the benzo for panic that reaches a certain level where I know I can't deal with it by using mental effort alone. By treating it less, I can keep it working. The short burst of use also seem to hinder tolerance development.

I expect to be able to stay at this level for many years to come and keep any increases to a minimum that will allow me to stay on it indefinitely.

[crtclms]

I've been on 2mg (split into AM/PM), 1mg PRN for almost 6 years with no raise in dosage. In fact, I always have a ton of my PRNs left over every month. It works really well for me.

[bpladybug]

I was on low dose dose Xanax for several years. .25 once up to three times a day.

then I took a break

Now my doctor put me on 0.5 which I take one a day, for two years.

[marquetry]

Thanks everyone for sharing... it helps put my mind at ease.

I figured doing a little research before hand was better than dealing with an issue once underway.

I really appreciate all of your help.

[netsavy006]

I was able to reduce my dosage of Xanax over the course of time I've been on it. I was on 4mg a day when starting it and currently I take 2mg per day, which I've been sitting at for some time (3 - 6 months) and have been fine. My doc doesn't worry about me being on a benzo because he sees that I am honest with my prescription and I'm not addicted or manipulating things on my own.

I hope this helps.

~ Andy

[San]

I started with clonazepam 10 years ago, was off benzos for a while, then started needing them again, and took Ativan PRN. Eventually I ended up on Valium and then Xanax. I was taking 2-3mg of Xanax a day while going through a rough patch, now I take 1-1.5mg a day.

[colin]

Been taking a benzo of one kind or another for 30 years-mostly prn, but during rough times i'll switch to taking them everyday-my doc trusts me and so prescibing is not a problem because he knows I do not abuse them. The thing about benzos is ya gotta respect them-don't abuse them and if you come off them after being on them for a long time do a proper taper-your doc should know how to advise you on that hopefully.