Panic Disorder: Should I Take Medicine?

"I was having lunch with some friends and suddenly began to feel strange-like I couldn't breathe and my heart was pounding. I didn't know what was happening; I thought I was having a heart attack. Although the symptoms began to go away after about 10 minutes, I went to the emergency room, where they did some tests and didn't find anything wrong. A week later, the same thing happened in the middle of the night. I went to see my doctor, and she suggested I may have had a panic attack. Since then, the attacks have been occurring at least once a week, and I have been diagnosed with panic disorder. Although each attack is still a horrible experience, I now know what is happening and that I will get through it. I have been going to therapy for several weeks and am learning how to deal with the symptoms of panic attacks. They are less frequent now and less intense. I think I can get through this without taking any medicine."

"As an executive, I have to travel a lot for my job. A few months ago, I was boarding a plane for a business trip, and I began to feel very apprehensive. I felt trapped and got off the plane because I was shaking and sweating and my heart was pounding. I wasn't sure exactly what was wrong, but I felt like I was dying. I had a drink at the bar and was still shaky but took a later flight. After that I began to feel nervous if I even thought about flying, and I had several more similar attacks. Then I had an attack on the subway. I felt like everyone was watching me and there was no escape. I didn't even want to go to the office after that because I was afraid I could have an attack at any moment. My doctor says I have panic disorder and agoraphobia. I can hardly function, so I am going to take antidepressants and try exposure therapy. My doctor says a benzodiazepine would make the symptoms go away sooner. But I am worried they will make me too drowsy and they may be too hard for me to quit."

"When I divorced my wife, Celia, I began to feel down and very anxious. As a contractor, I have to deal with people every day, and it seemed very hard to do my job when I felt so stressed out and depressed. I had my first panic attack when my dog got lost at a job. I knew he was probably fine and would soon come back, but with the stress of everything else it just seemed like more than I could handle. I felt awful; I was choking and had bad stomach cramps. Since then, I have had attacks like this nearly every day and a lot of the time I feel down in the dumps. I have been diagnosed with panic disorder and depression. I am going to therapy, and it seems to help a little, but I still have panic attacks and often feel like life is not worth living, and I feel anxious about interacting with people at all. At first I didn't want to take any medicine. But after reading about it and talking it over with my doctor, I decided to start taking an antidepressant."