Xanax and increased appetite

I had been taking xanax on and off for years but they made me very irritable. depressed and I had dry mouth. I stopped taking them and was given another benzo for my anxiety. I took that for about 6 years but they stopped working for me. Now I am taking xanax again and this time I am getting the same side effects with additional ones. Such as increased appetite, horrible cravings for sugar and loss of memory. I am in the process of getting off the xanax, I hate them, they are a horrible drug. I am quite scared because the first time that I stopped taking them I ended up in the hospital with terrible withdrawals. My experience with xanax hasn't been fun. For people that are thinking of taking them for anxiety, depression, whatever, try something else first.