whats the best med for panic disorder?

[rooby]

hi I would love to hear from those of you who have found a med that has helped with panic disorder, I have tried ssris but can't cope with side effects, thing is I had the panic take over 2 yrs ago and ended up having a breakdown and now I can feel the same symptoms starting again and know I need to do something fast,

rooby x

[kibbutz83]

Hi Rooby, venlafaxine works wonders for panic disorder... but it's got pretty bad withdrawal symptoms. Good luck...

[annette1]

Hi rooby

I'm sorry to hear you're going through a tough time, hand on in there I'm sure there must be something that can help.
I've been taking Citalopram for 21/2yrs, initially the side effects were hard to take but over a few weeks they lessened and so did my panic attacks. I would suggest you start on a very low dose though. Although I'd like to come off them i know they are still supporting me & have helped me to return to a near normal life.
I combined meds with therapy & i'm sure that is why i'm feeling so well.

I hope you find something soon, in the meanwhile we are all here to support you.

[shoegal]

I would also be interested to know what meds have helped others with agoraphobia and panic disorder. I am chemical sensitive and react badly to anti-depressants (vomitted all night the last time I tried Citalopram). I was fine on Dosulepin but I'm not allowed to take that anymore because it's now known to cause heart problems in some patients, and I can't take Pregabalin because I'm asthmatic. I have used Diazepam occasionally which has been very effective for me but my Dr won't allow me to use it much because it is addictive (I use less than 5mg a week when at my worst, and none at all when I'm not at my worst, so I'm hardly using it a lot anyway). Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)

[Tyke]

I've been helped by a combination of Propranolol (beta-blocker) and Sertraline (SSRI) for general anxiety/panic. You can't take Propranolol if you are asthmatic. Horrible side effects for first four weeks with Sertraline, but felt much better at five weeks in. Propranolol was good for me at lessening physical effects of anxiety, but doesn't alter what goes on in your head (I sometimes felt I should be physically more panicky than I was which was quite strange at first). I lost that feeling when the Sertraline started to work.

Tyke

[blueangel]

I've had various types of antidepressants, as I've had a number of episodes of anxiety and/or depression during my life.

Of the older-style ones, I've had amitryptline and imipramine, both of which worked fine on the symptoms, but they did make me tired (and constipated!).

Of the SSRIs, I've had Seroxat, which did work on the anxiety symptoms, but if anything, they made me too placid, which I didn't really like. Citalopram seems to work well for me, and I seem to be quite resistant to the side effects; this time when I started them I felt more agitated for about 10 days, then it tailed off.

I've never used any of the second-line SSRis like venlafaxine or the more atypical drugs, so I can't comments on these.

[rooby]

well thanks for all the replies and advice, it seems like different things work for different people I suppose.