Xanax is a lifesaver for AS.

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It's just awesome. It's like all the anxiety and worries I have constantly about, well, everything, are gone. Why isn't this prescribed more? It works a hell of a lot better than SSRIs.

Well parlty because I don't need drugs to function properly personally.

The downside of benzos is that tolerance eventually develops until it doesn't work anymore, and the only way to counter-act that is to take more or come off of it for a while (withdraw) -- and some people have a really hard time coming off of it. (Personally, I didn't find it too bad, but I've read a lot of horror stories.)

is xanax similar to zoloft? i was put on zoloft about three weeks ago and it's not doing anything for me...

Xanax is considered addictive long term. It maybe useful in the short term but not long term. Which is why most doctors probably don't prescribe it? Google "Xanax + Addiction" and see what you get.

Meanwhile you might want to investigate Cognitive behavioral therapy to see how you can manage your anxiety level without drugs....while you are on the Xanax...

From what I know traditional therapy is of not much help to most Aspies. Talk about your feelings and private thoughts to a stranger? No way, no how, at least not for my son.

It's not prescribed more because it's designed to be a short-term drug for anxiety. It's not supposed to be given long-term; long-term, patients develop a tolerance, and require the drug to feel "normal"--that is, they need to have it to feel the way they did before they started taking it, and if they stop taking it, they feel even worse.

Benzodiazepines are a useful tool for anxiety disorders. (Not, however, for AS. You would probably have had the exact same result if you were an NT with anxiety disorders.) They can be used to help people with a fear of flying get through an airplane flight. They can be used to help calm patients before surgery. They can be used short-term to help people initiate a course of therapy to deal with their anxiety disorders through CBT.

But they should not be used long-term, because they are not effective long-term. Use this time to get a leg up on your anxiety disorder(s) and a head start on therapy. Talk to your doctor about how long you have before tolerance problems start cropping up--it won't be a hard-and-fast deadline, more of a "the sooner the better" thing--and make some plans. There are non-benzo medications for anxiety that can help if you still have severe anxiety when it becomes unwise to continue on the Xanax. Quite a few doctors will overlook the fact that what helps in the short term will not be good in the long term, and will not engage patients in planning. This is your responsibility. Initiate the conversation with your doctor: "I know I can't keep taking this stuff forever. How do I take advantage of this time so that when the time comes, I won't need it anymore?"

If you want to read more about this class of drugs, the Wikipedia article is pretty accurate:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine

Zoloft is an SSRI, which in my opinion is a load of BS. SSRIs don't do a damn thing for anxiety. They're only useful for clinical depression.

Er, well, actually they are useful for anxiety for some people. SSRIs are a well-known option for anxiety; in fact, some are more useful for anxiety than depression--Prozac, for example, isn't that good for depression but seems to be pretty effective for anxiety.

Maybe for some people, but I was on Paxil, the most powerful SSRI available(I think) for over two months and it did nothing. Zip, zilch, nada. No good effects, no bad effects, just... nothing.