I've been taking xanax at either 2mg or 4mg daily now for, say, 2 years. it was great at first, but now it works just fair? why? other options? thanks

Tolerance: Hi, What you are describing is fairly common for benzodiazepines like Xanax. Due to the way that they work and the way that our bodies react to them, we have a tendency to develop tolerance to them over time. There are many other medication options available to treat anxiety related disorders. Discuss with your doctor because the medication options vary depending on the diagnosis.

Other meds & therapy: There often is a tolerance & a dependency especially to the short acting benzodiazepines ie. xanax. You probably will need to be tapered off this med probably with the use of a long acting benzodiazepine such as Klonopin which can then be tapered.This should be done with your doctor's supervision. IF you have an anxiety disorder an SSRI ie. Zoloft may be useful as well as various pscyhotherapies