I am thankful for my Xanax as well. Honestly a lot of times just having it in my purse makes all the difference for me.
After many debilatating episodes I finally went to a shrink who put me on Xanax. It allowed me to function, to work and do the things everyone else does. I was concerned about addiction, but he assured me that my dose was low and he had patients on much higher doses. My cardiologist does not understand why I need it. Seems like he would get it, but he doesn't. Afib and other heart arthymias are not taken seriously enough by the medical community. My family doctor is fine with it. Also, I just retired from a very stressful job in July and have cut my dose in half, which I frequently did on the weekends anyway.
I hear ya. I take klonopin and would be fine taking it the rest of my life. I started it 7 years ago for debilitating panic attacks. Since then, I have only had one full blown attack. I still have issues, mind you, but at least I am not in a ball on the floor in sheer terror on a daily basis.
I started it at .5mg twice a day and am still at the same dose this many years later. I am not too worried about addiction or building a tolerance.
Good to hear you are feeling better!!