I get panic attacks or anxiety while driving cars on highways, bridges etc. I was taking treatment from psychiatrist in 2017 on escitalopram 10 mg for 6 months and felt better. Again it occurred in March 2019 and the doctor gave me the same medicine and I felt good and left the medicine after 6-7 months. Now again it has recurred and last one week I am taking escitalopram 10 mg. Why it keeps recurring, should I take this medicine for a longer time?

Dr. Saranya DevanathanPsychiatrist52yrs exp

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Dear lybrate-user, if you get recurrent attacks, the diagnosis may be changed according to the course. It may be a recurrent major depressive disorder or bipolar depression or some medical illness recurring. Please continue with the same doctor and before stopping, again visit the doctor and discuss with him about preventing future episodes.  

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Mr. Saul PereiraPsychologist52yrs exp

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Not perhaps. I think that you need to taper the medication under the doctor's guidance and let the brain get used to the reduction and in the meantime the brain will learn to produce the decreased medicines and make up the loss. This is called the teaser dose. I also suggest that you can go for some counseling to develop skills and techniques to have a behavior modification to counter the reduction too. Mere use of medication will not suffice to deal with the stage of giving up the medicines. Panic attacks are related to fear: you are afraid of something real or made up that is causing you to react in this fashion. You may not be totally conscious of it though. Talk to a counselor and see if you can locate the cause. In the meantime do some vigorous physical exercises daily, and attend yoga classes to learn some relaxation techniques. Deep breathing will help to temporarily stave off the reactions but not enough to resolve it.  

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Dr. Prof Jagadeesan M SPsychiatrist19yrs exp

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For many people anxiety can be chronic. Your psychiatrist has given the best medicine for your condition. If your brain does not produce enough serotonin, you will have relapse of the symptoms once the medicine is stopped, it can be few months or even years after stopping too. You will be most likely needing continuous treatment. Consult your psychiatrist and take the escitalopram for a longer time. Good luck.  

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