Buspirone/buspar?

Hi,
My pdoc does not like to give klonopin out too much. My previous one did. I've been on it for years, but not every day. Since she is concerned that I need it a few times per week, she said if that does not change, she would switch me from klonopin to buspirone. I am afraid of that and wonder how effective it has been for anxiety? It would likely be something I take at least multiple times per week or maybe daily. My anxiety is really bad. I have thoughts that race, problems socially, my breathing gets heavy at times. They aren't full-blown panic attacks, but typical symptoms that you would see someone with GAD have.

I'd appreciate hearing about others' experiences before making a med change since I'm really nervous about taking away something that works for me. But I can't control that she wants to move away from using the benzos as much. Thanks.

Buspar never did anything for me. My daughter (age 35) has been on it for many years for an anxiety disorder and finds it very helpful.

That's what I'm starting to hear; that some people do really well with it, while others say it does nothing. I'm nervous about telling my pdoc that I'll switch, just to find out it does not work, and then I won't be able to go back to clonazepam. SSRIs aren't an option for me either. I hope to hear some more success stories.

Ive taken both. I was in your situation too. I took klonapin as needed and was needing it multiple times a week to almost daily. My doc switched me to buspirone and it worked for me at a higher dose. I now take buspirone 3 times a day at 15mg. I really could do the morning and afternoon doses at 10mg, but this is how she wrote my script. I feel better off the klonapin.

Interesting. In what way do you feel better off the klonopin? Is it less sedating?

Quote:

Originally Posted by xRavenx That's what I'm starting to hear; that some people do really well with it, while others say it does nothing. I'm nervous about telling my pdoc that I'll switch, just to find out it does not work, and then I won't be able to go back to clonazepam. SSRIs aren't an option for me either. I hope to hear some more success stories.

Nothing works like benzos do - in the short term. The problem with them is that your body requires more to keep the same level of anxiety reduction. I started out, over 20 years ago, taking Klonopin prn. Somewhere along the line it was prescribed to me at 2mg/day. I've been stuck on it, it doesn't help anxiety anymore (not for at least a decade), but I'm physically addicted to it. I'm currently trying to come off it - a very slow process.

Benzos are not a long-term answer to anxiety, unfortunately.

I worried about the physical dependency. It did make me very drowsy. I feel more alert on the buspirone.

I'm not sure how much it helped the first time I took buspirone. It was my first psych med ever, when I think I was 15. I don't recall staying on it long, though. At 15, I wouldn't have. My mother let me handle it.

When I was about 36 or 37 I tried it again. I recall even suggesting it to the inpatient psychiatrist. I told her that my father was taking it and liked it. The only side effect that he ever attributed to it was vivid dreaming that he said made him sometimes wake up while violently hitting something in his sleep. I never experienced that. I don't recall any side effects, or at least no significant one. I was taken off quickly the second time because it wasn't cutting the mustard, but then again I was in very bad psychiatric condition then, having had numerous hospitalizations in the few years before, and also soon after.

Buspar was never a "prn" type med for my father or me. In fact, usually at least twice, if not three times daily.

It's one of the meds where you shouldn't drink/eat grapefruit. Doing so reduces the drug's effectiveness and may increase side effect risk. OJ and oranges are fine.

Here's an article about using buspirone with bipolar disorder: Buspar for Anxiety With Bipolar Disorder I don't think it would cause mania risk in many. That may be based on reports that weren't clear.

I agree that long-term benzo use is bad news. I am finally off Klonopin and feel liberated.

Soup, thanks for the article.

Thanks for sharing this. I don't like the idea of being dependent on klonopin, but it seems that buspirone is something that either works for someone or has little to no effect. If I end up being in the group where it doesn't work, I will feel at such a loss with finding something effective.

Some of the antipsychotics work well for anxiety (at a low dose). Trilafon has been a miracle for my severe anxiety. Nothing else has ever even touched it.

I've never heard of that AP before. Is it an old one? I am on Latuda and Seroquel, but they have just helped me with sleep and mood.

Trilafon (perphenazine) is an old one. None of the newer AP's (I tried all of them) ever helped my anxiety one bit. Plus, they have so many deleterious side effects. Finally, my pdoc prescribed Trilafon (at a low dose) and finally, after 9 years of battling hellish anxiety it calmed down. Therapy definitely helped, too - but I couldn't have calmed the anxiety without the med. The only bad side effect I've had from the Trilafon is it causes tremor. But then, most psych meds do. I take it at night because it causes very mild sleepiness. There's another member of this board, haven't seen him for awhile, but he also takes Trilafon for anxiety & says nothing else has helped him.

It's my wish that pdocs would go back to using the older AP's, in lower doses, more frequently. The new ones cause so many health issues and aren't always helpful.