What Is The Most Common Panic Medication?

For the thousands upon thousands of people suffering from panic or anxiety attacks, prescription drugs are one of the top treatments for these conditions. Many people choose to medicate because they can be quite effective in handling symptoms of panic disorder.

Myself, for example, was on paroxetine for many years before I discovered a natural method to rid my life of panic. I personally feel medication is only a crutch, however when dealing with this problem. From personal experience, I can say that panic medication certainly helped me through some tough times, however, when I elected to come off (through safe methods discussed with my doctor), I found that in a matter of weeks I was back to my anxious state. The problem with medication is that it really only masks the underlying issue, and doesn’t solve it.

That being said, for a lot of people panic medication seems like the only option and it can definately help. However, with this type of medication comes a risk of side-effects, which can be life altering.

If you choose to medicate for your panic attacks it’s best to be well informed of what types of panic medication is on the market. So I’ve compiled a list of common panic medications, what they’re designed to do, and some common side-effects that come along with them.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
This type of anti-depressant hasn’t been on the market for very long but seems to be the most popular choice in panic medication today. It was first introduced in the 1980’s with Prozac. It’s aim is to help maintain levels of Serotonin, a chemical released by the brain which has shown to be rather low in patients with depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and OCD.

Some of the more common side-effects include: Sexual Dysfunction, insomnia, and nausea.

Examples of SSRI’s include:

Paroxetine (Paxil)
Fluoxetine (Prozac)
Sertraline (Zoloft)
Fluvoxamine (Luvox)

Beta Blockers
Beta Blockers are more used for controlling the physical symptoms of anxiety and panic, such as rapid heartbeat and shaking.

These are considered to have less side-effects than other panic medication, however, some people may experience light-headedness, dizziness, decreased heart rate, and insomnia.

Examples of Beta Blockers include:

Atenolol (Tenormin)
Propranolol (Inderal)

Benzodiazepines
This type of panic medication is used for immediate relief of panic. Some choose to take one of these if a panic attack is occurring as they tend to relax muscles, and calm you down.

Side effects include: Sexual Dysfunction, clumsiness, dizziness, fatigue, decreased mental sharpness

Examples of Benzodiazepines:

Lorazepam (Ativan)
Alprazolam (Xanax)
Diazepam (Valium)
Clonazepam (Klonopin)
Chlordiazepoxide (Librium)
Oxazepam (Serax)

Tricyclic Antidepressants
Tricyclic Antidepressants are used more for severe depression, however some studies have shown an effectiveness for General Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

Some common side-effects for this type of drug are: Dry mouth, insomnia, sedation, weight gain, dizziness, erectile failure and sexual dysfunction.

Examples of Tricyclic Antidepressants are:

Venlafaxine (Effexor)
Nortriptyline (Aventyl)
Imipramine (Tofranil)
Doxepin (Sinequan)
Amitriptyline (Elavil)
Desipramine (Norpramin)
Clomipramine (Anafranil)

As you can see, there is a lot of panic medication to choose from. If you think that medication is the right route for you, I encourage you to speak with your doctor or therapist about all the different options, and ask about anything you may have read here that you are unsure of. 

Alternatively, I invite you to visit my site which talks about my story and the program I found to help stop my panic attacks using one simple technique.