Jesie, maybe look into benzodiazepines (sedatives) such as:
valium, xanax, ativan, others of similar nature. Doctors like to
prescribe them on schedule, so much a day. I had a friend who was
prescribed sedatives of this type who gradually built up the
inevitable tolerance to them and had his dosage increased accordingly till he started to develope severe mental porblems (which his doctor foolishly tried to counteract with yet more pills)and he was eventually admitted. I've been using these benzodiazepine type sedatives for years, at onset of an episode (takes 20-30 minutes generally with oral application) and have
found myself, over a period of roughly five to eight years,
needing less and less, to almost zero necessity. SSRI anit-deprssants may not alleviate anxiety at all, as in my case, but worsen or create other psychological problems. Just something to consider. A good doctor can probably find what will work best with your individual biochemistry. Best of luck. Hope you find something that helps you.
Dear Doctor,
Thank you so very much for your most reassuring reply. I have been free and clear of the thorazine for almost a year now. I stopped the medication with a slow taper lasting about a month, from 10 mgs. down to 5 mgs. for awhile and then quit completely as of April 1999. I was so very fearful of T.D. and feel much better since your reply. But, I do have a very real problem with panic , and hope that the zoloft has some beneficial effects for me. Again, thank you very much.
J.
Jessie,
The SSRI'S :Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, Prozac are the medications of first choice in the treatment of Panic disorder.
Unlike Thorazine, the SSRI's are not associated with tardive dyskinesia. You were taking a very low dose of Thorazine which greatly reduces the risk of tardive dyskinesia. The SSRI's are generally very well tolerated and there should be no problem switching from Thorazine to Zoloft. Please search the archives for further information regarding Zoloft etc.
Sincerely,
HFHS MD-JM
Keywords: Panic, Zoloft, tardive dyskinesia
forgot to mention i am 40 year old female, no health problems.
just have dealt with panic for years and am growing so frustrated with it.
thank you again,
J.