Chalmette, I don't remember if I took it with food or not.

The staggering and altered smell/taste didn't really bother me. But the side effect that happened at first, that was hard to deal with, was in the first few days of taking it, I felt very very hyper and agitated. Couldn't sit still. Like my skin was crawling. This lasted about 3 days. I was just about ready to give up and quit taking it when this effect subsided. Then each time the dose got increased, I would feel that again, but to a lesser extent. I have heard other people say they had this effect too, that Buspar is a hard drug to come on to. So, chalmette, please beware the first few days may be challenging. But it gets better, just push through if you can.

Good luck. Hope this helps you.