Panic Attack Medication

When it comes to panic attacks they are a dicey business. Panic attack medications are often great adjuncts to counseling. If the thought of spending the next 30 years on a couch talking to a stranger (therapist) does not appeal to you then you are not alone.

Counseling or as one should say “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy” is really essential to getting at the core of panic episodes. But since the big pharmaceutical ramp up of the 1980s when drugs like Prozac hit the market, counseling is often an after thought.

Now the internet is here with some doctors being willing to see you online. They never will touch you or visit with you in real time. They will assess what you tell them are your symptoms, perhaps answer a few questions if you have them, and of course give you the obligatory prescription for a pill.

Is this what health care is all about? No not in the least.

Panic attacks and other ailments of an anxiety nature are best dealt with by real face to face encounters with your physician. Not on the internet.

Panic attacks often leave patients feeling as though they are going to die. They begin to breath harder and harder. Struggling to squeeze out every milliliter of oxygen. But then the tension and sweating starts. The body notices what is going on and immediately the fight of flight mechanism is set off and we’ve got a full blown case of panic disorder out of control.

There may not be a single pill that you can swallow to stop anxiety and panic disorder. But there are things or steps you can take to deter it from ruling your life.

First, you have got to know your triggers. What causes you to go into an attack? Knowing the answer to this question gives you the key to the city of your health care.

Second, there are certain things in your diet that may be sabotaging your efforts to ward off panic episodes. Do you usually consume:

  • Sugar snacks?
  • Candy?
  • Coffee
  • Caffeinated beverages?
  • Alcohol

And much much more…

If you do regularly consume those items, they may be sending your body into anxiety alley.

What all of the aforementioned items do to your body is raising its blood pressure, heart rate, sugar (glucose) levels quit a bit. Of course it just depends upon how many drinks you have.

Once your heart rate starts racing this may be the trigger for your to get into a stressful situation and start the cycle that you know as another panic attack.

Thirdly, there are all classes of medications used today to treat panic attacks and anxiety issues. Before listing them here, please understand that any drug can never do for you what you can do for yourself through cognitive behavioral therapy. Each drug must be used for at least a year to see the full benefit. This is not a quick pick me up type of treatment.

The following medications are available in the United States for treating panic and anxiety issues. Each one must be evaluated for its risk and reward profile.

* Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as Prozac, Zoloft, or Paxil

* Benzodiazepines, such as Xanax, Valium, Ativan, or Klonopin

Other medicines used to treat panic and anxiety issues include:

* Antidepressants with mixed neurotransmitter effects, such as venlafaxine (Effexor)7
* Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), such as Tofranil, Norpramin, or Anafranil
* Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), such as Marplan, Nardil, or Parnate

The final strategy is one that you should venture into depending on your situation. A free cure for panic attacks is to simply walk away from what is stressing you out. This may not always be allowed depending on your situation. As soon as you feel yourself escalating and getting frustrated just know that you may be on the brink of another attack. So walk away and come back after a bathroom break or a walk up and down the stairs a couple of times.