The development of panic attack medication has progressed significantly, allowing sufferers of panic attacks to manage some of the more distressing symptoms they endure.The stress and anxiety of these panic attacks is quite severe and one of the prime causes of their recurrences is the fear itself of another possible attack.Medication alone can be a palliative and offer some temporary relief, but when used in conjunction with good therapy can provide benefits of a long lasting and more significant order.

Therapy approaches the behavioral aspects of panic attacks, such as reacting to different stimuli or situations, whereas panic attack medication focuses on the biological, or more specifically, the chemical behavior of the brain.

There are several different types of panic attack medication available and many of them are quite recognizable including Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft. These medications can help ease the symptoms of panic attacks and reduce the fear that sufferers often have about enduring another one in the future. These medications are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. They are anti-depressants and are commonly prescribed to help deal with depression.

They work by acting on the neurotransmitters in the brainand help block certain signals that lead to depression, or in the case of panic attacks, those receptors which can cause the heart rate to increase and/or one’s breathing ton increase, frequently observed symptoms (or conditions) which occur just before a panic attack is experienced.

These SSRIs are actually not the initial prescriptions recommended and used for the treatment of panic attacks. Tricyclic anatidepressants (TCAs) were forerunners in the treatment of panic attacks, however SSRIs, it turns out, have shown themselves to be  a better route to follow in the treatment and control of the longer term symptoms.

The most frequently used TCA medications used are Norpramin, Anafranil and Tofranil.It has been found that at times, a TCA panic attack treatment can be more successful than its SSRI neighbor, just so long as it is used under the supervision of a qualified medical professional. The side effects of TCAs were reported as being minor to potentially life-threatening. Under no circumstances is it generally recommended for a pregnant woman to use any of these medications as all will pose a potential threat to the unborn child.

There are also the more immediate acting drugs such as Xanax, Klonopin or Valium and these are also useful to ameliorate some of the more troubling symptoms/ These are recommended to be used more to deal with an immediate set of symptomswhile SSRIs have to be taken over a period of time. SSRIs must build up a level of sustainability in our bodies before their effects can be measured, whereas TCAs will act immediately and wear off in time.

With the use of SSRIs as a panic attack medication, it usually takes 6-8 weeks for their effect to be noticed on the panic attack occurrences. If no improvement is noted, a dosage adjustment or change in medication may be prescribed. Most of these medications are intended to be used for a year or longer before being reduced. These decisions concerning prescription medicine for panic attacks should only be made by a licensed and qualified practitioner. In any case, it should be understood that medication alone may ameliorate certain symptoms, but only when combined with effective therapy will the true value of treatment be found to be most effective, combating the ailment itself and not just the symptoms.