effects of zoloft and ssri's

i was prescribed  a low dose of thorazine years ago for panic attacks.  at the time, the newer ssri's were not available.  the dose was one 10 mg. daily.  just one.  i was on this for not quite 10 years, always the same dose.  well, i never realized, til surfing the internet, the horrors or tardive dyskinesia.  i have never had any symptoms of this, but over a 2 month period of time, weaned myself, slowly,  off this drug.  this has been over a year ago, and I've had no problems at all.  my only question is, if I were to start and ssri, because i still really have a panic issue, and my doctor thinks zoloft will help, do you think it may cause any trouble being i was on the other medication for so long?
thank you for any help you can offer.
jessie
p.s. i never had any psychosis or such, just given the thorazine because g.p. felt it was non addictive.

[HFHS MD-JM]

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

[Jessie]

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.

[Jessie]

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.

[Jim]

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.