Switch to normal life: choose from wide range of medication for panic disorder

A healthy individual reacts appropriately in response to sudden events. These reactions like, fear, terror, fight, flight are essential for normal survival of human body. But excessive or inappropriate reactions characterized by sudden feelings of apprehension, uncertainty, or terror triggers anxiety attacks or panic attacks.  According to DSM-IV-TR, major types of anxiety disorder include:

•    Generalized anxiety disorder

•    Social phobia

•    Obsessive compulsive disorder

•    Posttraumatic stress disorder

•    Specific phobia

The exact causes of Panic attacks are still unknown but, genetics, biochemistry, family history, environmental change; stressful lifestyle may all contribute to have anxiety attacks. Before treating panic attacks, a physical and psychological evaluation can diagnose the anxiety symptoms. But before making a diagnostic test, it is important to find out the context in which panic attack is being experienced.  Three types of anxiety attacks are there:

•    Spontaneous attacks which happens suddenly with no associative cause.

•    Situationally bound attacks which occur anticipating some events, like one may have attacks from the fear to enter into an elevator.

•    Situationally predisposed attacks occur when in presence of the actual situation one experiences attack for an extended period of time. Like someone may have an attack after reaching a high area from the fear from height.
Apart from these medical diagnoses, there are some common symptoms of panic disorder, such as

•    Palpitations, pounding heart

•    Sweating

•    Shaking

•    Feeling of choking

•    Chest pain

•    Fear of losing control

•    Fear of dying

•    Chills

•    Sensations of shortness of breath.

•    Feeling dizzy, unsteady, and faint

According to the American Psychological Association, the symptoms of panic attacks generally stay for thirty minutes, but it may last as short as fifteen minutes or last long for some hours.
The good news is that one can choose from wide range of medication for panic disorder for treating anxiety attacks. Effective medications for panic disorder include:

•    Medicine:
The frequently used firstline treatment of panic disorder are, Selective Serotonin-Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), or the Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor (SNRI) Venlafaxine (Effexor). And for chronic forms of panic attacks Antidepressants, like Tricyclic antidepressants may be prescribed. But the problem with these kinds of medicines is that it has severe side effects like suicidal tendencies.

Benzodiazepines are generally safer to use daily. But long-term use causes dependencies and abuse and it takes long time to work too.

Buspirone is recommended to treat generalized anxiety disorder.

Beta Blockers like, Propranolol (Inderal) and Atenolol are also used for treating anxiety attacks.

For treating major depressive types of panic disorder Atypical Antipsychotics is very useful. But excessive use of this may cause weight gain problems.

Besides these, Anticonvulsants (Antiseizure Drugs) like, Pregabalin (Lyrica) and Gabapentin (Neurontin) are also given by the doctor for treating other forms of anxiety disorders.

•    Psychotherapy and other forms of treatments:
According to the American Psychiatric Association, a specific form of psychotherapy called “Cognitive- Behavioral Therapy” is the most effective cure to panic disorder. The objective of this therapy is to gain control over someone’s reaction to sudden situations so as to reduce the feeling of helplessness. Several reports say that another useful psychotherapy is “Panic Focused Psychodynamic Psychotherapy”. Another form of psychotherapy is the “Systematic Desensitization”. Systematic desensitization is a special technique to break the link between the anxiety-provoking stimulus and the anxiety response. There is emotion-based psychotherapy (EBT) also to cure anxiety attacks.

•    Herbs and Supplements treatment:
A dietary supplement Inositol which is part of the vitamin B complex is proved to fetch benefits in the context of treating panic attacks. For some patients, herbal aromatherapy is used as a relaxing aid for treating panic disorder.

•    Diet and exercise:
A healthy diet, regular exercise like walking, cycling, and normal lifestyle can contribute effectively to keep away panic disorder. Besides, one has to completely avoid caffeine and alcohol, soda and sugar plus fruit juices.  Junk food has a high Glycemic index (GI) which is more susceptible to panic attacks. It is advisable to take more fruits, vegetables which have low GI.

Keeping aside all forms of medical treatments, the easiest is to have a balanced lifestyle. High fiber, low caloric diet coupled with light exercise can help a lot to get rid of anxiety and panic attacks.