“What are the treatment options for panic disorder?”

It is a treatable illness with medications and psychotherapy.

The best options are a variety of antidepressants. See your primary care
doctor or make an appointment with a psychiatrist.

The good news is that there are a lot of treatment options for this. Therapy is often very effective for this, especially CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy). A psychiatrist can prescribe medication for this. Often, a doctor would start with a classic medicine, like lexapro or prozac, to help reduce symptoms over time. They may also prescribe an "as needed" medicine that you could take while waiting for the other medicine to take effect. Many people have gotten help from certain specialty books that teach you how to do CBT on your own. One example of this is the book "Feeling Great."

Panic disorder means you have panic attacks that disrupt your daily life and a feature of that is being anxious between panic attacks and wondering when the next one will occur. Treatments can include antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and psychotherapy.

In general, panic disorder is not a serious issue if all the other medical problems that can actually cause panic symptoms are looked at and completely ruled out. Panic disorder is more of a problem with regards to how it affects a person on a day today basis. It can be very difficult to enjoy life, sometimes drive, sometimes travel or be in certain situations. Once all the medical issues that can cause panic have been diagnostically examined and found to not be an issue, treatment is highly highly highly successful! Lots and lots of help. Currently, cognitive behavioral therapy with exposure response prevention, and mindfulness, are unbelievably successful. These are approaches without any medication! Medication, is also very successful in treating panic episodes!! Many people choose to do both, depending on your medical situation and the acuity of panic. Always seek out psychiatric consultation. So much hope!

Lance Steinberg MD, Inc.
Assistant Clinical Professor
UCLA (Geffen) NPI
1(818)224-3540

Combinations of medication and cognitive behavioral therapy helps. Benzodiazepine for example clonazepam at low dose helps.