Hi To much
It is wonderful to chat to you some more and I am so pleased to hear that you do have support in your GP and that you have started taking medication, I am sure that they have told you that it does take time to become effective, which I understand is very frustrating seeing that understandably you want this gone immediately.
I am not a professional and I am no doctor just a person who cares so I can give you my opinion on what I think and maybe that might help a little with regards to learning how to deal with it and how to control it. There will be things you have to put in place to help you through times when you are panic struck however what works for one person does not work for another, so finding things that bring you calm, can ground you and can bring you back to the present time will be what you need to discover. It may be music, it may be writing, it could be exercise or finding a friend to call or watching a movie...I think you see what I am saying here. I think also listening to your body and taking note of situations or moments so you can start to see patterns and maybe understand what situations or things trigger you, so you can prepare and can manage these situations.
I hear you say that you have great people around you and that is wonderful. I just want to mention though that not everyone around you is in a position to support you, and that is totally fine, so sometimes we think we have all these supports around but infact they are just good people, but not people who we can share our feelings and thoughts with, which is sometimes what is needed.
You are no failure and you did not "let this happen", ill mental health is not chosen or selected, it appears to whomever, whenever, you have not brought this on yourself or caused this. You are very right, you are most certainly not the only one and you are most certainly not alone.
It might also be something to think about if these panic attacks happen alot while driving that you may choose another method of transport if that is possible as you want to remain safe and not put yourself or anyone else in the way of harm.
So as far as your question goes at to "how long does it take"...the answer is "as long as it takes", which also is very frustrating but that is the nature of the process.
Keep chatting and keep reaching out, I am so proud of you.
Hugs
Sarah