Overview of Panic Treatments

Panic treatments mainly stress on medicines such as antidepressants and behavioral counseling. A successful outcome of the treatments often leads to a reduction in the number and frequency of the attacks. It also improves the quality of your life by helping you manage your symptoms.
In case your attacks were caused by a particular trigger, like a reaction to a particular medication, this will be removed as soon as you stop the medication. However, if the trigger is elsewhere, you will need more active management.
The primary or initial treatment you receive for your panic or anxiety attacks will depend on the severity of your attacks and other factors like how frequently you have them or whether you have agoraphobia (an avoidance of places and situations that might trigger an attack.  The initial treatment you receive may consist of the following:
•    Professional counseling-this may include regular advice and therapy provided by a professional psychologist. Usually, he will not advise you on medication. This is the first step you take in the management of the disorder.
•    Exposure therapy – this therapy exposes the patient to the situation or object which triggers the attacks. The aim is to help the person manage his reactions in a controlled environment.
•    Cognitive behavior therapy basically focuses on altering the behavior and thought processes you go through when you are about to have a panic or anxiety attack. This is considered one of the most important anxiety disorder treatments because it aims at stopping the attacks even before they start.
•    Panic treatments may also involve alternative management techniques like yoga, muscle relaxing techniques and lifestyle changes. People who have mild to moderate symptom of this disorder may try lifestyle alterations and diet changes to find out whether they are effective. However, it is very important to know when you should seek professional help. If these orders are few and far between and if your symptoms are mild, you can try counseling together with certain lifestyle alterations. If your disorder is more serious, you need medical help.
The usual medications prescribed in order to treat these disorders consist of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), sertraline and paroxetin. If these medications do not work for you or if you get serious side effects from these, the doctor may prescribe other anti depressants for you. The doctor may also prescribe antidepressants together with medicines which have different neurotransmitter effects. These may include medications like venlafaxine. Other anxiety disorder medications may include Benzodiazepines like alprazolam, Iorazepam or Diazepam. These may be administered alone or in combination with an antidepressant.
Benzodiazepines are usually used to provide quick relief for the symptoms of panic or anxiety attacks. They may also be used as a part off continuous treatment, either alone or together with an antidepressant. However, the relief provided is usually short term in nature. Other antidepressants that are commonly used include the tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) the doctor may also include monoamine oxidase inhibitors or MAOIs.
Once you start taking these anxiety disorder medications, your symptoms might improve in about six to eight weeks. If you do not experience any improvements, the doctor might alter your dosage or advise you on another medication altogether.

If you require continuous anxiety disorder treatment over and above the initial one you receive, the doctor may continue or change the initial treatment. This may include professional counseling together with medication.
The initial medications like benzodiazepines may be continued or stopped. You may be put on long term medications which will improve your condition after a while.
The most important thing you need to remember is that your condition needs continuous monitoring by a professional. These medications sometimes cause side effects in individuals. These can range from a mild headache to more serious ones that can interfere with your daily activities. It is not likely that you will understand which reaction is being caused by the medication. Therefore, the best option for you would be to consult your doctor in case of any reaction you might experience. He will decide whether your dosage can be altered or the medication changed.