Graciecat

I don't know if this will really be an answer to your question, but this was my experiance.
The anxiety commericals you see on tv are for SSRI medications such as Paxil and Zoloft.
These do work well for some people, but not for everyone...at the risk of sounding like a broken record...what works for one person doesn't work for everyone.

I had no luck at all with the SSRI medications.
There is another class of drug called Benzos that are also used for anxiety.
Two of these would be Xanax or Ativan.
The benzos are the only ones that worked for me.
Some people...not all...but some people can become dependent on or tolorant to this class of drug.
The people who have had problems with these drugs..be it an SSRI or a benzo are the ones you usually hear from.
They're usually very quick to tell you how you'll become addicted to the benzos and will go through a very hard time when you try to get off of them.
While this is the case for SOME people it is not the case for ALL people.
It wasn't the case for me and I know several others who had no problems using or coming off of any of these drugs.

The SSRI's seem to cause increased anxiety at first until your body gets used to them, but for people who can use them this side effect seems to go away after 6 to 8 weeks.
It's the same with these drugs, people who've had a problem will be quick to tell you how hard it was to come off of them.
Again this is the case for SOME, but not ALL people.
As I said, I couldn't use the SSRI's...I had an allergic reaction to them, but I know several people who did use them with success and were able to come off of them without any trouble.

What is important to remember is...no one single thing works for everyone.
Some people will have trouble with the Benzo's and others will have no problems at all.
Some people will have trouble with the SSRI's while others swear by them and have no trouble at all.

As to whether medications are the cure...to tell you the truth...and this is only my opinion...I'm not entirely sure there is a cure for panic and anxiety.
I believe that once you realize that a panic attack can't kill you and realize that you can get through them they get less and less severe and happen less and less often.
That was the case for me, then one day they just went away.
I believe the medication did help me get to the point that I no longer feared the attacks so I know longer needed the medication.

For some people the attacks are brought on by an event and for others they come on out of the blue for no reason at all...that was the case for me...I came to find out later that several people on my Mothers side of the family suffered with panic disorder...my Mother, Grandfather and several Cousins..but I'm the only one of my Siblings who has/had it.
So if it does run in your family, that doesn't mean that you WILL get it, but you probably have a better than average chance of getting it.

Some people go the therapy or CBT route...that did nothing for me, but I know others on this board have found help doing only that without medication.
While others combine medication and therapy or CBT...again everyone is different.

What I would suggest you do is go to your Doctor and tell him/her what you're feeling.
There are other things that can cause the same symptoms as panic disorder.
A few would be high or low blood sugar or a thyroid problem.
Your Doctor should order these tests before telling you that you have panic disorder...because they only way to dx it is to rule other things out.

Sorry this was so long, but I hope I answered at least some of your questions.