Hi everyone,  

I had been living with generalized anxiety disorder for a few years now, which gradually evolved into a full blown panic disorder. Up to a few months ago I had been able to manage it, but sadly since the beginning of spring, I have reached the point I'm practically unable to leave the house.  

I also have Non-24 sleep-wake syndrome, which generally worsens my condition due to constant personal and peer pressure. So it's possible my anxiety is secondary to that, although it's really hard to investigate that.

My doctor prescribed me xanax (alprazolam) and seroxat (paroxetine). I'm gonna start with a low to medium dose of xanax, 1mg divided into two doses, 2x0.50) per day, and after a few weeks I'll switch to seroxat, half a dose every night.  

I do have anticipation anxiety for both those medications, for possible side effects, and withdrawal. Benzos especially scare me (although I understand hard withdrawal appears only on persons taking big doses for a lot of time). However, are there any common side effects I should expect? Is it logical to expect that xanax could eliminate or minimise any possible side effects when starting seroxat?

Generally, has experience with that specific regimen? Did it work for you and how soon were you able to say that your anxiety was almost gone, or at best, over?

Thank you!