Has anyone been on Xanax XR for an extended period of time? I have been struggling with panic disorder for about 2 yrs now and have been through all the SSRIs, SNRIs etc and nothing seems to work. They either make me feel like an emotionless zombie or actually aggravate my symptoms. My doctor recently put me on Xanax and Effexor and it truly seems to have done the trick. However I recently switched to the XR version of xanax so im not popping pills all day. Anyhow I am concerned about all the negative things I hear about benzos and especially long term benzo treatment. My doctor has told me that he has a few patients where typical SSRI treatment just does not work and I'm one of them. I just wonder if anyone out there can share their experience with me regarding long-term use of Xanax XR and is it really such a bad thing?