Hey budd..ugh sorry to hear you had to go through all that. I too wish I had not tried ADs as a first line treatment when I had those few panic attacks. There should be a law not allowing people who have been in a panic state to make such choices within a certain period of time until they settle down..
My panic attacks came at a time of stress and some other issues, too much caffeine and after I had lost weight recently and was underweight. I'm absolutely certain had I addressed these issues then that would've been the end of it. Slow wean (I mean really slow, think months&years) does seem to have the best results especially for long termers. I hope the more experienced people here can give you some idea.