# Can you take Buspar with Lexapro?



## d223 (Mar 1, 2013)

Hi guys,

I have been having some serious anxiety issues. I am on 20mg of Lexapro, and it's just not working. I tried weaning off of it, and the withdrawal symptoms were unbearable. I need to try something different, as I want to live a normal life. Every time I try to date, it ends up not working out, because what type of girl wants to deal with someone who doesn't like go out and do stuff? (It's not that I don't like to, it's just that when I even try to, I get nervous.. and if it's really bad I'll even throw up). Do you think adding Buspar to the Lexapro will help? I'm trying to find a good psychiatrist... but I've been very unlucky. The last one I had tried giving me ativan 4x per day. I did that for about a week, and have no idea what happened during that time... yeah, never again.

Please let me know if you've ever tried Buspar or Buspar with Lexapro. I need some guidance. A lot of my anxiety is anticipatory. Well, the worst of it is at least. Once I'm in the middle of something, I tend to settle down a bit.

Thank you.


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## basuraeuropea (Jul 25, 2012)

yes, you can add buspar to lexapro. will it help? maybe, but likely not.


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## d223 (Mar 1, 2013)

Then what would you suggest?


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

d223 said:


> Then what would you suggest?


You can take Buspar with Lexapro, but Buspar has a track record of doing nothing. Go ahead an try it though as it does help _some people. Personally, I recommend trying a different benzo at a proper dose. Ativan tends to have more of a sleepy and hypnotic, amnesic, affect as compared to other benzos. You don't say what dose you were on, but you were taking it four times every day? Maybe try finding a benzo that works well without such side effects and only use it as needed for those anticipatory situations as opposed to daily, even when you don't need it. Or Pregabalin maybe.

Also, a little un-asked for advice from me to you. Don't focus on and believe that all great women want to/need to go out all the time to be happy. There just as many women who are just as great who prefer to stay in or just go to a movie or do something minor as opposed to going somewhere very social. If you can cook a woman a good meal and rent a DVD to watch with her, you are golden. You can find a woman who has the sane interests as you do to to spend a day, evening, weekend with. Trust me, some of the best women are not the ones who need to take their man out to a bar or club with them. Plus, If doing such activities are uncomfortable for you then the relationship won't work out in the long run. Find a woman who has the same interests as you._


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## d223 (Mar 1, 2013)

istayhome said:


> You can take Buspar with Lexapro, but Buspar has a track record of doing nothing. Go ahead an try it though as it does help _some people. Personally, I recommend trying a different benzo at a proper dose. Ativan tends to have more of a sleepy and hypnotic, amnesic, affect as compared to other benzos. You don't say what dose you were on, but you were taking it four times every day? Maybe try finding a benzo that works well without such side effects and only use it as needed for those anticipatory situations as opposed to daily, even when you don't need it. Or Pregabalin maybe.
> 
> Also, a little un-asked for advice from me to you. Don't focus on and believe that all great women want to/need to go out all the time to be happy. There just as many women who are just as great who prefer to stay in or just go to a movie or do something minor as opposed to going somewhere very social. If you can cook a woman a good meal and rent a DVD to watch with her, you are golden. You can find a woman who has the sane interests as you do to to spend a day, evening, weekend with. Trust me, some of the best women are not the ones who need to take their man out to a bar or club with them. Plus, If doing such activities are uncomfortable for you then the relationship won't work out in the long run. Find a woman who has the same interests as you._


_

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. I mean, I'm never going to be a big partier or drinker, but I feel like most women like to be taken to dinner every so often (going out to dinner makes me very nervous for some reason). Once I'm comfortable with someone, I am much better... but in the initial "dating" stages, I am horrible. And I feel like women don't get to see me for who I really am/who I can be/want to be. And it's all because of this stupid anxiety stuff. I mean, I have made a lot of progress, but no thanks to medication or therapy. I used to leave the house only for work and school... now I do many more things._


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

d223 said:


> Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. I mean, I'm never going to be a big partier or drinker, but I feel like most women like to be taken to dinner every so often (going out to dinner makes me very nervous for some reason). Once I'm comfortable with someone, I am much better... but in the initial "dating" stages, I am horrible. And I feel like women don't get to see me for who I really am/who I can be/want to be. And it's all because of this stupid anxiety stuff. I mean, I have made a lot of progress, but no thanks to medication or therapy. I used to leave the house only for work and school... now I do many more things.


Yeah, a few years ago I had my worst bout with anxiety ang I was agoraphobic for about a year. But before and after that when dating I tried all different approaches. I thought I wanted the clubbing, party girl, you know- freak in the bed. But my anxiety made it way too difficult to live the kind of life that was attractive to those types of women. Plus I was all about bicycling, so I was riding close to 100 miles a day and spent a lot of times outdoors, so I just wasn't the "type" for that kind of woman who I thought I wanted. 
So I looked at the situation again and thought about all of the great women who I had formerly written off as just friend material amd I realized that these were the women who I had the most in common with, and most of them were very beautiful. So Because I had so much in common with these women all I had to do was ask them to join in the activities that I enjoyed doing myself anyways and the date went great. They often reciprocated and asked me to do something with them so I got introduced to a bunch of new activities which I never would have done otherwise.


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## basuraeuropea (Jul 25, 2012)

i think that i'd be prudent if i were you and try augmenting with another antidepressant, e.g. mirtazapine, before considering daily benzodiazepine or pregabalin use.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20531012

if adding therapeutic doses of mirtazapine (or another antidepressant) doesn't/don't place you into remission, then pregabalin is a very decent option, followed lastly by the benzodiazepines. those are just three potential augmentation strategies; there are many more that a qualified psychiatrist can discuss with you so that you are well-informed in order to work together to make a medication adjustment that's in your best interest. that said, try to do your own homework prior to going in.


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## Scorpiodog1 (Oct 12, 2013)

*Life on lexapro and buspar*

Hey buddy. You're in luck I actually take those two medications together. I took lexapro a year before adding buspar a month ago. I initially had headaches and felt dizzy but it went away in the first week. However, now I feel like a total flattened zombie with no life. I think that we are suppose to naturally experience anxiety and deal with it. I have to tell you these pills make me feel like I don't exist. Therapy seems to be helping me a bit. I want to get off but based on your withdrawal comments I'm not sure I want to experience that.

More about me I'm 25 graduated college and now lost in life.


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## Missbipolaranxiety85 (Oct 11, 2013)

Buspar has a history of not working for some people. The only way that you will know if it works for you is to try it. I am trying it and it has already calmed me down. Please try it and see if it works for you. That is really the only way to know. I didn't want to try it because of all the bad "reviews" but I have to say that there are good ones out there and I agree with them. It is worth trying.


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## tieffers (Jan 26, 2013)

I've never tried Buspar with Lexapro, but I tried it with Zoloft - another SSRI. Buspar is a partial agonist to a certain serotonin receptor, so the it will probably potentiate the Lexapro. I do know that some doctors occasionally prescribe Buspar as an adjunct to an SSRI if the symptoms are particularly severe, like in your case. I had hoped I would benefit from it too, but my personal experience was pretty nightmarish. A few hours after my first dose of Buspar put me into a very scary state of mind that felt like a bad acid trip, and I felt like I was losing grip on reality for the rest of the evening. Severe panic attack ensued.

Everything I was experiencing was indicative of mild serotonin syndrome. And that can happen if you dose these two together. But there's some therapeutic benefit to be had on the right dosage of each for some people, so I wouldn't knock it completely.

All that being said, a lot of people report feeling no effects on Buspar, so it's really individual. It should be safe, but I can't vouch for the psychological effects for everyone.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

(I have no formal education in this, so take this with a grain of salt!)


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