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Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder - Treatment Overview

Panic disorder can be controlled with medicines (such as antidepressants) and professional counseling (such as cognitive-behavioral therapy). Successful treatment reduces the number and frequency of panic attacks, lowers the anxiety you feel because of the fear of future attacks, and improves the quality of your life.

If your panic attacks were caused by a specific trigger, such as a medication reaction, you may not need treatment after the trigger has been removed, which in this case would mean stopping the medicine with the help of your doctor. But sometimes panic attacks caused by outside factors can continue after the trigger has been removed and may develop into panic disorder.

Initial treatment

Initial treatment for panic disorder depends upon how bad your panic attacks are, how much fear or anxiety you feel about having another attack, and whether you have agoraphobia (avoiding situations or places that might trigger an attack) along with panic disorder.

In general, initial treatment includes:

Your symptoms of panic disorder may start to improve within a few weeks after beginning medicines. If improvement is not seen within 6 to 8 weeks, a higher dose or another medicine may be needed. 10

Should I take medication to treat panic disorder?

Ongoing treatment

Treatment for recurring or ongoing panic disorder usually consists of continuing or changing initial measures, which include professional counseling and medicines.

During initial treatment, a short-term medicine such as a benzodiazepine may be prescribed to help you deal with immediate symptoms. The short-term medicine will likely need to be tapered off and stopped after long-term medicines begin working and your symptoms improve.

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WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

Last Updated: September 16, 2008
This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.
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