Jaide,
I have taken Paxil, Klonopin, Lexapro, Xanax, and Zoloft. The only ones that didn't cause bad side effects for me were zoloft and xanax (DON'T LET THIS DISCOURAGE YOU - EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT AND ANY ONE OF THESE DRUGS MAY BE PERFECT FOR YOU). I have heard from several people that Paxil kicks in pretty quickly. Zoloft has a side effect of anxiety (which sounds crazy, I know, to prescribe it for anxiety disorders). I experienced anxiety day and night the 1st 2 1/2 weeks on it. I rode it out and took xanax as needed to get me through the bad days. After the initial 2 1/2 weeks, I had no side effects and the anxiety/panic was gone and I didn't need xanax anymore. As to your question about whether or not you need medication to get better............this is how it was explained to me by my Dr............If you have a chemical imbalance, then you need medication. If you have something mentally troubling you that is causing the panic, then therapy by itself or with medication will work. Does that make sense?? I don't know how you determine if you have a chemical imbalance though. I went through counseling and they couldn't find anything significant in my present or past so I guess that is how they determined it was chemical related. As I've said in other posts, don't wait too long to get help for panic attacks. The longer you wait could possibly mean a longer recovery time. Hope this helps! Good Luck!