Dealing with Panic Attacks: Seeking Advice on Medication

I’ve taken Klonopin for a year so it depends on your provider. Some understand that legitimately benzos are the only thing that works for people. It’s hard to find these providers but if you show them proof that they’ve substantially helped you and you have tried a number of other medications the few weeks rule shouldnt be so strictly followed. It’s honestly ridiculous to me that doctors and psychiatrists are so hell bent on following that rule when they could be more so putting a patients well being and life at risk and in a worse condition by not prescribing them a benzodiazepine.

Ativan has helped me ! I found Xanax and klonopan makes me more anxious which is weird and antidepressants were a nightmare as well as buspar

Any antidepressant I have tried has made me super depressed and more anxious but be so are addicting and you can’t take for more than a few weeks so idk what to do

I think no matter what medication you start you should be given a filler like Xanax or Klonopin to help with potential increased anxiety in the first few weeks

I have been prescribed Effexor in just scared of it

Also I’ve heard Effexor is good for panic attacks if you haven’t tried it already and can tolerate SNRIs

This may not be super helpful but I personally felt that cymbalta was the worst medication I ever tried for me. I, however, can’t really tolerate any non-addictive medications. Clonazepam has done a world of wonders for me and it lasts much longer than Xanax and I believe makes you higher functioning (at least for me). It’s not as immediate and takes about 30-45 mins to work and a week to really build up in your system but it’s changed me from not being able to leave the house to doing pretty much everything I need to do. It’s also much longer lasting and has a half life of like 24 hours whereas Xanax I think is like 8-10 hours maybe??

depersonalization/derealization is very common in panic and anxiety disorders. i've experienced it too and it's scary. i take klonopin (clonazepam) for panic attacks and it works wonders. this one stays in your system alot longer than some of the other ones. i take 1mg as needed and within 20 minutes im feeling better and the panic and anxiety is gone. I'm also on cymbalta but unsure if it's really doing anything.