# effectiveness of buspar/buspirone



## frodobo

Can anyone please give me their experiences and success/failure using buspar? I am on clonazepam at the moment but am soon to see a psych , where the principle discussion will be whether to try buspirone. I have GAD and mild depression as well as SP. I've head that it can be very effective for the GAD and mild depression but that most find it ineffective for SP. Does anyone out there get relief for SP from buspirone? Thanks.
Chris


----------



## frodobo

Outsider,
I'd really appreciate you updating me on how it goes over the next few weeks for you. I hope well. Also, are you suffering nasty side effects?
Chris


----------



## UltraShy

I tried it. My findings: Buspar = sugar pill. Only positive was lack of side effects.

I only tried it because my brother had some extra in his med stockpile and gave it to me. I asked my psychiatrist if it was worth trying. His opinion was that Buspar was basically useless on its own, but might help augment the large dose of Xanax I'm on. It didn't help.

My brother seems to only take it because he gets it free with his insurance and it lacks side effects. He says "he thinks it might be marginally effective", hardly high praise.


----------



## Noca

i asked for buspar and my doc refused saying its "useless"


----------



## sab_07

I took Buspar for about two weeks. The first week was fine, when I was taking the half of pill. But when I started taking the whole pill, it made my heart go crazy. It felt like it was on a rollercoaster, going up and down. I couldn't handle it so I just quit taking it, which is okay, since you don't suffer withdrawal from Buspar.


----------



## trixy

I have been on BuSpar for six months and have found it to be helpful with my GAD. For my SP not as much, so I take Xanax as needed for that. I have heard many say that BuSpar doesn't do much of anything, but I have yet to notice any negative side effects, only positive including increased libido, which I love it for that alone. It did take some time before I noticed a change in my GAD, probably at least a month. It is worth a try although many don't think it does anything for them.


----------



## frodobo

Thanks Trixy for the positive news. These are pretty much the effects I'm hoping for. If Buspirone can decrease my GAD and increase my libido then I might feel confident enough to start having sex again!
If it doesn't help the SP, then I'm more than happy to take a bit of xanax or clonazepam to keep that in order. My thinking is that this could be the 'perfect' combination to get me back into life the way I'd like it to be.
Cheers for that,
Chris


----------



## trixy

You're welcome Chris and best of luck with the combination. Another strange side effect that I get from time to time with the BuSpar is extremely vivid colorful dreams and often times erotic. All the numerous antidepressants that I have tried before killed by libido and caused weight gain...enough to make me depressed quite literaly. Since going off of antidepressants I have lost over 30 pounds and am still losing, so it is nice to know that BuSpar doesn't effect weight gain for me and more weight loss. No complaints yet with this med and am curious if anyone else has any input or experiences with BuSpar.


----------



## Gots2live2

On bpar for 3 weeks now.It actually kicked in the first time i took it, which is weird.It has reduced my anxiety like 30%.Sometimes that could be the difference between being anxious and losing ur mind.I'll take the 30%.The first 4 days made me dizzy for 20min after taking it.Now I will occasionally get dizzy,sometimes I break the pill in half to make sure I dnt get dizzy.Other than that no side effects.


----------



## nemasket

I've been taking Buspar for about a month, and I have been very happy with it. The best effect has been a great improvement in my mood, which is odd since my PCP told me it was not supposed to have an effect on mood (but I'll take it ). In terms of social anxiety, I do find that I have more "good" days, and my good days are better than they were before. I've had more of a genuine interest in other people and am more likely to make comments or just feel comfortable being around others. 

It's hard to put my finger on how much it has reduced my anxiety (because my anxiety is fairly constant - any change is more like turning up or down a dial), but I think the positive effects (that I feel happier, more interested in being social, more like "myself") are likely due to a general lessening of anxiety. I didn't expect any kind of miracles from medication, just something to dull the anxiety while I work on things behaviorally, so it works great for me in that respect.

I've had very few side effects, mainly tiredness. I've tried both Paxil and Celexa in the past, and the side effects were more than I was willing to put up with - no libido, 20-30 pound weight gain, and zombie-like emotions.


----------



## 14gardens

I have heard from three different people that buspar has helped them greatly with their anxiety. I am currently taking valium and asked my doc about switching (gradually ) to buspar. he said that people who are already taking benzo's don't seem to benefit as much as people who have not been taking them, but said we could give it a try.
Sometimes, he said, people can experience bad "panic" attacks while taking benzo's that are actually withdrawal sxs especially if they are on a very high dose and take it regulary. I only take as needed so i hope that i might benefit from the buspar...


----------



## Huk phin

In a way I hear what your doc is saying. When you take a Benzo, you "feel" the effects. Buspar is like an antidepressant in that you don't "feel" it working. You rather just notice that overall your anxiety may be a little lower over time. For many people with Benzo experience, Buspar just does not feel like it does anything. That being said Benzo's can present all types of problems especially with extended use and Buspar is probably better for you in the long run.


----------



## Oioioi123

Made me feel the best and anxiety free I have ever felt my entire life for about 3-5 days then it pooped out and made my anxiety worse cause I felt dizzy all the time


----------



## meedo

Oioioi123 said:


> Made me feel the best and anxiety free I have ever felt my entire life for about 3-5 days then it pooped out and made my anxiety worse cause I felt dizzy all the time


Exactly the same experience that i got


----------



## Oioioi123

meedo said:


> Exactly the same experience that i got


 sucks hey? its so harsh to feel so amazing and think wow i can finnally lead a normal life just to have it snatched away in a few days. It was like winning the lottery then going back to double check the ticket and realize you read the numbers wrong


----------



## meedo

Oioioi123 said:


> sucks hey? its so harsh to feel so amazing and think wow i can finnally lead a normal life just to have it snatched away in a few days. It was like winning the lottery then going back to double check the ticket and realize you read the numbers wrong


Definetly! It sucks big time! and since then i have been trying to find out how could i have this feeling again. SSRI's don't give such feeling of anxiety killing ... its more like anxiety relief for the worst 20% . But the Social Phobia and anxiety are still in the background. The initial feeling that i got from Buspar was like a reduction of a whooping 80% !! It was like i am a different man. Fearless and the world was full of possibilities,

I have a plan to try Grandaxin or Baclofen... hope i can find the same feeling in one of them.


----------



## barry1685

Oioioi123 said:


> meedo said:
> 
> 
> 
> Exactly the same experience that i got
> 
> 
> 
> sucks hey? its so harsh to feel so amazing and think wow i can finnally lead a normal life just to have it snatched away in a few days. It was like winning the lottery then going back to double check the ticket and realize you read the numbers wrong
Click to expand...

I has the same feeling with buspar. It pooped out on me. Zoloft was the same way and that effect pooped out on me as well. But I'm giving Zoloft a second try.


----------



## dist0rt

The last dr I seen refused to prescribe benzos and gave me buspar instead saying it would help. LOL, I will never go back there again - back to my psych dr even though its more expensive.


----------



## larrybrwn

I have been taking Buspar for a full week now. I am still on the initial dose of 15mg twice a day. This pill so far is very mellow. I was diagnosed with GAD after three years on benzodiazepines for IBS. It turns out I actually had Celiacs and did not need the benzos. I weaned off the benzos earlier this year and had one hell of a time doing it. The withdrawals were EVIL.....I cannot describe how bad they really were. I am very hopefull that Buspar help me achieve my goal of being pill free. I never had a problem with anxiety before any of this. I still feel/experience a higher rate of anxiety like a light/small panic attack coming on. I use .25mg Xanax to get relief but very hesitant to do so. I am determined to control my anxiety and hope Buspar will help me do that. My mother took Buspar for 20+ years and adored it. She even quit without any withdrawals!!!! I hope the positive things I have read here will be my experience.


----------



## Arisa1536

It does not work well with effexor in my experience, it just gave me headaches, tiredness and made me gain weight but perhaps on another antidepressant it would be a good secondary medication???


----------



## larrybrwn

Well after two weeks on Buspar I quit taking the medication due to side effects. The pill was fine while it was working but when it quit your anxiety went into a tail spin. It was not the thing to do for normal life. I did discover my previous doctor had me on a strong dose for the initial intake which may have led to the side effects. 15mg 2x day. This made me severly nauseous and with some inability to sleep. Anyone else have any ideas? Zoloft was also a no go!


----------



## baranok

Hydroxyzine is in some ways similar to Buspirone (non-addicting alternative to benzo, etc blahblah). But I found Hydroxyzine superior to Buspirone for SA.


----------



## Sarabear

I was on zoloft for a few months. The side effects were debilitating (tired all the time...zombiefied) so my doc put me on Vybriid which is an ssri combo drug with the equivalent of cymbalta. This helped the depression without all the side effects, but I still had a level of anxiety that prevented me from enjoying people and life. He started me on Buspar 15mg BID and it's like night and day. I feel like myself again...and have lost 5lbs to boot...probably because the anxiety threshold has dropped making my cortisol levels lower. I take klonapin for break through panic, but this has reduced to maybe once every 2 weeks (daily before). 

My doc explained that in order for buspar to be therapeutic you have to take atleast 30mg a day.....most people aren't given this...thus buspar "does nothing"...


----------



## Sarabear

larrybrwn said:


> Well after two weeks on Buspar I quit taking the medication due to side effects. The pill was fine while it was working but when it quit your anxiety went into a tail spin. It was not the thing to do for normal life. I did discover my previous doctor had me on a strong dose for the initial intake which may have led to the side effects. 15mg 2x day. This made me severly nauseous and with some inability to sleep. Anyone else have any ideas? Zoloft was also a no go!


I was told to gradually increase my dose to 15mg BID to prevent side effects. in the beginning I noticed on days that I took the full dose I was dizzy and sleepy etc. I built up to my daily 30mg over a 3 week period and it's been great.


----------



## Inshallah

There are a lot positive reviews for buspirone on Everydayhealth (the majority of them even) so I wouldn't believe everything you hear about it on here. People parrot a lot. (1 guy starts saying it doesn't work at all, people take it over and it starts spreading)


----------



## Percolin

*Day 5 on Buspar*

I was previously prescribed prozac and clonipine for anxiety and mild depre ssion. I only took clonipine as needed .5 mg , I averaged about 4 pills a week. I only take the clonipine when I really NEED it.

It has been at least several months since I have felt like the prozac was doing anything. I thought it was helping me maintain my sanity, but meanwhile I just sat on my not happy, not sad butt on the couch. No motivation to do anything, but I wasn't anxious. I told my p doc and he increased my dose, I didn't feel any better, I just felt like sleeping all the time. So, frustrated , I quit taking my prozac a couple of weeks before I saw a new Dr&#8230; I forgot to mention, not only was I not interested in life in general, it was nearly impossible for me to be aroused sexually, even before the increase in dosage.My wife was getting very frustrated with me. I know she tried to be understanding and she didn't talk about it but I knew.

I saw the new doc, he , of course gave me hell for quitting the prozac on my own but told me he didn't think the prozac was working anymore "poop out".

He prescribed me buspar, Im taking 10mg in the afternoon and 20mgs at night.

I havent noticed a huge reduction in my anxiety yet but Man O Man, I got my sex drive back with a vengeance. Also I have got my energy and motivation back, Im doing all kinds of things that I have been putting off because "I didn't feel like it".

Its only day 5, but I feel like I have my life back. Buspar, please help with my anxiety in the days to come and please, don't poop out on me now.

I feel great, Side note, cyclothymia, I pray that its not just mania


----------



## MissP2014

*Gad/pd*

Today my MD prescribed me Buspar, I'm too afraid of SSRI's...I've been on Paxil and Lexapro and got off. I have been relying on Xanax for a long time. But I don't want to rely on it (which I have been everyday)any longer. I took 5 mg of Buspar an hour ago. I'm hoping that this works for me. Cause honestly reading these forums kind of discouraged me. I feel kinda groggy and sleepy but other than that fine. I'm very sensitive to medications so probably will take a lower dose (2.5) tonight.


----------



## MegOhx3

Hello, my name is Meagan and I suffer from panic attacks and GAD. I just recently got out of the hospital after having a serious panic attack. I could not move my hands or feet. My whole body went numb including my face. My eyes were twitching and my jaw was locked and I could not talk ... I genuinely felt if I close my eyes that I would die. I could feel myself loosing it. Thankfully I was only hyperventilating but I did not know that at the time ... But it was a serious life changing event and the scariest thing I have ever experienced. I am on 1 mg colozopam and take it as needed ... I also take Adderal xr 20 mg for school and work. I am 21 years old. I just hate suffering with panic attacks and GAD. Constant worries never leavin. Your head always wondering what is wrong with me. I legit always think there is something wrong with me but its just me being in my head. After the hospital the doctor prescribed me 5 mg buspar to take two times a day. I am just not trying it. Today is the first day I started taking it and I really hope it works. I want to get my life back and be happy again. Not constantly always in my mind where it interferes with my everyday life. I hear buspar increases libido as well !? Im hoping this is the case because my anxiety fuels so many thoughts in my head that I can't even get nearly as sexual at roused as I use to because I am all wrapped up in my head. If anyone has any advice or just feed back please let me know ! Thanks ??????


----------



## CopingStrong

With all honesty, Buspar is a JOKE in pill form. I took it for three months and it did absolutely NOTHING. I get better results from sugar cane. Don't waste your money on that crap. IMHO


----------

