Does anyone have panic disorder and zoloft has helped a lot?

My boyfriend has panic attack disorder and he went off of Zoloft and didn't have an attack for awhile and now he went back on. Has anyone or is anyone taking zoloft and it has really helped them? I don't want him to be on medicine his whole life. his mom has panic disorder too so it might be a chemical imbalance and has to take it. Also, anyone have any good advice on how to support/help someone with panic disorder? THanks for your help and your thoughts.

Does NOT work. (I have been on it and it has had made things WORSE)!!
EVERYONE SHOULD STAY AWAY FROM IT!!

i was on that for a while, it helps. does have some side effects, read the brochure and ask questions, as far as being on meds, get over it. if he was sick with anything else he would take meds as prescribed. fact of life, we get sick, we need help from time to time. i am no longer on that and am off all meds. hope this not too strong or offensive, but , been there done that good luck

Zoloft is an anti-depressant NOT an anti-anxiety, but if it works for him it works for him. It is highly unlikely that the chemical imbalance that is causing these attacks is going to go away. So, he would either have to be on some kind of med or have the attacks - one or the other.

zoloft is used for depression not panic disorder panic disorders are not a full time condition panic disorders occur once in a while and when you feel oit coming on there is medicine to take at that time to stop the attack from progressing shortly thereafter you are relieved and can go on about your business as usual sometimes panick attacks do not happen for days weeks or months. your friend is obviously suffering from something else. perhaps he should seek help from a pro in the field because there are much better anti depressants available now such as celexa and lexapro they have very little side effects if in fact he is depressed most panic disorders are treated with small amounts of ativan vistaril or valerian root from the health food store again i caution you not to prescribe or diagnose this person he needs to seek pro attention. as far as you not wanting him on meds that is not your decision to make there is obviously a genetic problem with a mental disorder involved here because of the moms problems which you really do not know enough about i suggest that you are uncomfortable wioth this person and taking meds why not find another companion who has no problems and would be more suitable to your future intentions. as far as you supporting this disorder i am afraid that this is not in your expertise unless you are in the medical profession and i suspect you are not

it helps my sister she gets them

I have panick attacks a lot. I've been on zoloft for years. It does not help me one bit. It usually depends on the person though. If it doesn't work for him, he should ask about different medicine until he finds the right one for him.

I used to suffer from panic attacks for over 15 years of my life. I used to think I'd NEVER be "free" from having them. They started when I was 18, pregnant, kicked out of my home, and forced to live with the father of my child. Only he was physically abusive to me. But I felt I had no choice. My parents wouldn't let me come home unless I were to get an abortion. Lots of stress filled my life back then. When these attacks began, I at first did not know what they were. It was terrifying. Finally, I confided in my doctor and asked him to please tell me what was going on with me. He diagnosed me as having panic disorder, and because I had been telling him other things that were going on in my life (he was not only my Dr. but he delivered my baby)- he knew the stresses I was under. He prescribed medication to me, an "anti-anxiety" type, but he was very clear when he told me that I would never be free of the symptoms of my panic disorder UNTIL I resolved the underlying stressful issues that were ongoing in my life. At that time, I didn't really take him very seriously. I did end up on every type of medication (anti-depressants like Zoloft) and anti-anxiety meds.- all the "old stuff", all the "new stuff", and nothing seemed to help me. I actually kept having the attacks for the next 15 years. During that period of time, I had continued living with my abusive boyfriend, eventually married him, had two more kids with him, became more and more isolated from my family, he became an alcolholic, eventually a drug addict as well, lost his job, cheated on me, and eventually, I BROKE, emotionally, psychologically, physically. I hit what you would call "rock bottom", in every way. By that point, my panic attacks had progressed from hyperventilation and faintness, nausea and rapid hearbeat to temporary numbness and paralysis of my limbs- and heart-attack like symptoms. I knew BY THEN, that my doctor (so many years ago-) had been right. I needed to "resolve" my "underlying issues" that were creating my deep stress. It was affecting me physically, and getting worse. All those years I felt my life was beyond my control, that I just had to "live it" the "way that it was", that there was no "out" for me. The day I hit "rock bottom", I filed for a restraining order against my husband, and a few days later, filed for a divorce. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But since the day I removed myself from the abuse I had suffered for so long, I have NOT HAD A PANIC ATTACK SINCE. I did seek out counseling, for myself and my kids, and the next year or two after our divorce was as stressful as I could take, but, I was abuse-free, and panic-attack free. My point in telling you all of this is, medications can never cure panic disorders. You'd be lucky if they even help the symptoms of it at all. The only way to truly be free- permanently, is to face what's actually truly causing it- and for some, that's the hardest thing to do. Most in that position, like me, are in a great amount of "denial" about what's causing this great amount of stress in their lives. They blame it on bunches of "little things", and force the "big thing" to the back (or right out of) their minds. Sometimes it takes counseling with a professional, to get to "the root" of the problem, to bring it "up to the surface" to be dealt with. "Panic" stems from deeply subconciously-seated stress, that some part of one's life (that's very disturbing to them) is somehow "beyond" that person's "control" to DO "anything" about it. This "cause" is usually something that is currently still affecting the person in their daily lives, whether they are "aware" of it or not. My best advice to "support" someone with panic disorder is to encourage them to search for the stress-causing reason, to face what it is, and work through it with a professional, to rid themselves of it. Then support them in whatever it is they feel they must do to do that. Try to help "peel" away the "denial", if you think it's present. Don't belittle or ridicule the person for having the attacks, or tell them to just "stop it", be compassionate, and be calm with them during the attack itself. Do anything you can to try to turn the person's attention to ANYTHING ELSE if you can, during an attack. Remind them to breathe SLOWLY and DEEPLY. Chances are, they are hyperventilating. (During an attack you feel like you can't breathe, like you're not getting enough oxygen. The reality is, the person having the attack is actually breathing too "fast"- taking in TOO MUCH oxygen, hence the faintness and hyperventilation that occurs). Educate yourself as much as possible on the "panic disorder/attack" subject, and if he will be open to it- help him to want to educate himself. The more he learns about his condition, the more "empowered" he will feel and be. If medications are not helping (they ususally don't), what DOES help, (but isn't a permanent "cure" for all time) during an attack is learning how to put oneself into a state of self-hypnosis, to "talk oneself" out of the beginning stages of panic. It takes time to learn to do this. It starts with the learning how to "self-distract". I had to learn these things, and taught myself, because my attacks tended to happen when I was driving, which only intensified my terror and panic and escalated it. If I were going to be able to drive anywhere at all, I had to figure out ways to try to stop the attacks before they became "full blown". It was HARD, and not 100% effective, but really the ONLY thing that helped me at all, until I separated myself from my husband (my "stress"). Good luck to you both. Your boyfriend is lucky to have someone who cares as much about his well-being as it seems that you do!

-Tera (time4u420@yahoo)