I've been taking it for 16 years, so I'd say yes :)
You might want to consider other drugs like Buspar that doesn't have the addiction baggage. If that doesn't work? I'm not an expert just another patient dealing with Anxiety attacks. I think that Benzos have a place because they do work for a lot of people with Anxiety disorder. The problem (my opinion) is that taking them daily is a mistake because you build a tolerance and it becomes harder and harder to go without them. Instead I think this is a drug that you should only take as needed. So unless your in the middle of a panic attack don't take the drug. Assume taking it will be the exception rather then the rule. Its unlikely that you were having all day everyday panic attacks. So why take this drug everyday? Ask your doctor about this before you do anything because my 2 cents is just my experience and I'm not a doctor.
Sure. Until it stops working, but it might not. I might disagree that you "can't" deal without it, you'd have to have tried everything to know that, but that's hard to do. If you've been on it for a long time, quitting is going to be a long and difficult proposition. Trying something else has an unknown outcome. You know what you're doing is working. I've been on it for decades now, but I wish they had never put me on it. I wasn't told of the downsides and for me it has never done a whole lot. I have to take a lot more to have any effect. But I'm not dead. I just go nuts if I forget to take it. The main downside other than withdrawal is long-term use of benzos is believed to, in some people or many people, block the brain's ability to learn how to handle stress. But that happens if you stop the med. If something is working, and you've tried lots of things that didn't, it's hard to suggest not doing it.