Treatment for Panic Attacks – Think Twice Before Reaching Out for Prescription Drugs

It is not uncommon to find friends and family of sufferers of panic attacks getting desperate to find a proper treatment of panic attacks. Ignorant about the causes of such attacks and other therapy options, they rush to the doctors’ clinic.

At the risk of sounding rather hopeless, it must be said that the prescription drugs which many doctors offer are not only addictive and only able to offer short term relief but they also carry some very serious side effects with long term consequences. This is because doctors cannot reach the deep crevices of the mind of the patient, which is imperative for any effective treatment of panic attacks.

Therapy Options For Panic Attack Patients

Let us examine the therapy options which the doctor resorts to when he gets a panic attack patient. In other words, how does the doctor start the treatment of panic attacks? As strange as it may sound, doctors have two options in front of them, either use anti depressants or use sedatives to put the agitated or stressed patient to sleep.

For instance, benzodiazepine group of medicines are known to provide relief to a panic attack patient within half an hour to one and a half hours. However since this is rather habit-forming if consumed for a long period if time, doctors recommend only short term use.

Then the common sedatives prescribed by doctors include some very popular names, like alprazolam, chlordiazepoxide, clonazepam, diazepam (Valium) and lorazepam (Ativan). Many people who have had these medications think that these drugs produce a pronounced feeling of dizziness and drowsiness. Then some patients also complain of imbalance and lack of muscle coordination. These drugs if used in strong doses or for long term can give rise to memory problems. Driving and using heavy machinery are completely contra-indicated if you are on these genre of drugs.

Doctors also use busiprone, a drug which takes a long time to show its effect in the treatment of panic attacks. Though a patient does not normally get addicted to this drug, the main side effect of this prescription medicine is a feeling of dizziness, immediately after the intake of this medicine. Headaches, nausea and sleep disorders are also other side effects of this line of therapy. 

For the treatment of panic attacks, doctors are known to use anti-depressants too. Some of the popular drugs used for managing panic attacks include fluoxetine, paroxetine, imipramine, venlafaxine, escitalopram and duloxetine.

No matter what the doctor prefers – an antidepressant or a sedative, he would need sometime to find the right drug, through trial and error methods. This is because different patients react to the same medication in different ways. It is also to be remembered that anti-depressants often, take some time to show their effect and you cannot expect immediate relief.

Other Treatment Options

With this background knowledge of prescription drugs usually recommended for the treatment of panic attacks, you need to think seriously about which therapy option to choose. Cognitive Behavior Therapy is a viable option. This therapy goes deep into the mind of the patient to find the root causes of panic attacks and has given effective results in the treatment of panic attacks.